Gear / Technical Help > Remote Power
Sony "L-series" (NP-F) batteries
jerryfreak:
Introduction
this thread is for the ubiquitous "L-series" Sony camcorder batteries that have become standard in the videography world. my hope with this thread is to share information, tests, reviews, and applications of the L-series batteries, in the hopes that we can find economical, reliable, high-capacity cells that are best suited for our purposes, while exploring potential use cases. Relevant information will be aggregated at the top of the thread in a wiki form
originally a Sony creation these are often produced by third party manufacturers for a fraction of the cost of the OEMs (in wildly varying quality)
They are designed for camcorders and are often used with LED lights, monitors, and other things youd find in a videographer rig.
Some of the devices we would use them for:
Sound Devices Mixpre series via the MX-L mount
Zoom F6 (mounts directly)
any device requiring 6V or 12V:
basic cheap plate with adaptable coax jack:
https://www.amazon.com/Andoer-Battery-Adapter-Plate-cable/dp/B01FYSD1VC
or something like this, with a fixed cable you could hack off the dummy battery and put the appropriate connector on the end (like a locking switchcraft for a V3)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PHK8TVC/?coliid=IB1PWMG6RPKRQ
or this deluxe one with DC and USB output
https://www.amazon.com/Power-Junkie-NP-F-Blind-Spot/dp/B07NF14XW4
you could even double these up on a V-mount adapter+d-tap cable to power 12V equipment like an AD2K
https://www.amazon.com/Neewer-Battery-V-Mount-Converter-Alternative/dp/B075R8DMKF
https://www.amazon.com/INKECI-D-Tap-5-5x2-5-V-Mount-Monitor/dp/B08153Y3YM
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Specifications and common sizes
these batteries consist of two of the common 18650 Li-ion cells in series to form a 7.4V cell
At full charge they are 8.4V and depending on the equipment used they will generally cut off at 6.0-7.0V (3.0-3.5V/cell) in order to prevent cell damage.
Most cells will go into a protection mode after a deep discharge (2.5V or below), which can 'brick' the battery in some cases.
Discharge curves are relatively linear over most of the capacity and is typical of Li-ion cells. The graph is courtesy of the ever-useful batteryuniversity.com. Voltage is stated per cell, double the voltages on the y-axis to correspond to the L-series batteries:
at high discharge rates voltage drops considerably, which is a point of concern for devices with relatively high cutoff voltages like the Zoom F6 that will not use the battery below 7.0V (3.5V/cell). This can leave almost half of battery capacity unusable when a smaller L-series battery like a 2200mAh is used in a high-drain application like phantom powering 6 mic-ins.
L-series batteries come in 3 common sizes:
"2200 mAh" batteries using two cells, like the sony pictured above. common part numbers are NP-F550, NP-F570, about 90g
"4400 mAh" using four cells. common part numbers are NP-F750, NP-F770, ~180g and 2X as thick as a "2200 mAh"
"6600 mAh" using six cells. common part numbers are NP-F950, NP-F970, ~275g and 3X as thick as a "2200 mAh"
While the official sony parts are relatively expensive, there are tons of third-party replacement parts on amazon and other sites, with batteries commonly available for $15-$20 a cell. There are many anecdotal reports of battery 'quality' but few actual test reports or teardowns of the actual batteries to ascertain capacity, durability, or authenticity. In some cases unscrupulous manufacturers use larger 6-cell cases and use 2 or 4 cells and fill the rest of the case!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PjdxgqY55k
there are manufacturers that claim in excess of 10000 mAh from a six cell battery. Are these fakes? or is it possible? see next section
Fundamentals of the 18650 cell
Presumably, the first iterations of these batteries used the 2200mAH version of the 18650 Li-ion cell commonly available at the time, which is why they were traditionally labeled as such. Currently,the 2200 mAh cells are some of the cheapest on the market, which is probably why packs in multiples of 2200 mAh capacity are the most common (Probably also marketing, aka limited consumer understanding of capacities/compatibility with their equipment)
https://www.batteryspace.com/Sony-Lithium-18650-Rechargeable-Cell-3.7V-2200mAh-US18650V3.aspx
believe it or not, the humble 18650 forms the basis of the batteries used in Teslas and other EVs, and has been an area of considerable R&D
https://www.reddit.com/r/teslamotors/comments/29mxnz/the_progression_of_the_18650_battery/
as you can see from this site, commercially available batteries range from 1500 to 3500 mAh
https://www.batteryspace.com/18650seriesli-ioncells.aspx
current state of the art for commercially available cells are the 3400-3500 mAh cells. As of now I only know of one manufacturer utilizing these cells in their NP-F packs, and unsurprisingly, they are priced accordingly: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1467200-REG/hawk_woods_dv_f590_dv_7_2v_25wh_li_ion.html
Recommendend, tested batteries
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Charging options
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Use w/adapter plates for devices requiring 6V
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Use w/adapter plates for devices requiring 12V
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L-series batteries with auxiliary 5V USB out
https://www.amazon.com/Vemico-NP-F970-2x7800mAh-HDR-AX2000E-DCR-VX2100E/dp/B07WQDNVYD
https://www.amazon.com/Powerextra-Multifunctional-Battery-NP-F970-NP-F975/dp/B01M189SS0
Adapters using 6xAA cells in L-series form factor
https://www.amazon.com/FalconEyes-Battery-NP-F970-Batteries-BB-6/dp/B01HCP88CC
https://www.amazon.com/Bestshoot-Battery-Monitor-Replace-Batteries/dp/B075RBFDQV
https://www.amazon.com/Horenme-Battery-Holder-NP-970-Monitor/dp/B083PW9V8Y
https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Replacement-Adapter-NP-F970-Moniter/dp/B07DVC2L79
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mcFZCvfqbU
DIY projects in L-series form factor with 18650 button-top cells and others
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Battery testing resources
bookmarking for later:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?438814-Testing-Li-Ion-NP-F970-batteries
https://www.ebay.com/itm/18650-Li-ion-Lithium-Lead-acid-Battery-Capacity-Meter-Discharge-Tester-ZB2L3/172577675238?
jerryfreak:
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jerryfreak:
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jerryfreak:
so my personal use case:
I tried a Dracast 2200 mAh battery for use with my Zoom F6 and was disappointed with the runtime of just over 2 hours at max power consumption, you can read all about it here: https://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=190161.msg2320144#msg2320144
it only had about 1/4 of the capacity of a 4400 mAh generic battery i bought.. i dont really need 9+ hours, but 2 isnt enough. I like the compact 2-cell battery, if only there was a middle ground between 2 and 8 hours of capacity...
I'm not really keen on throwing down $75 for the 3400 mAh Hawk Woods battery, theres got to be an affordable alternative with decent capacity. In this case there appears to be multiple options in a 2-cell form factor with a claimed capacity of 2800-3000 mAh
2800
https://www.amazon.com/Sony-NP-F550-2800mAh-HandyCams-batteries/dp/B00C77M9U8
2900
https://www.amazon.com/CCD-RV100-CCD-RV200-CCD-TRV66-CCD-TRV67-DCR-SC100/dp/B073WVYH74
https://www.amazon.com/DSTE-Replacement-NP-F550-Compatible-Sony/dp/B00CPYXQ2S
https://www.amazon.com/NP-F550-ENEGON-Battery-2900mAh-CCD-SC55/dp/B07RDJ1JSW
3000
https://www.amazon.com/Vemico-NP-F550-Battery-Replacement-Batteries/dp/B07Z3TGC7B
https://www.amazon.com/Newmowa-NP-F550-Battery-Charger-CCD-SC55/dp/B011E4AMTY
I wanted to try that 3-bay rapid charger, and $35 all-in for 3 batts and that charger ($18 by itself) is a square deal (if they work). I will report
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078TBDBS9/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A1X9ZYH75S4ATO
voltronic:
I also had disappointing results from the Dracast 2200 mAh battery with the Zoom F6, but have had outstanding results the past few months with the 6600 mAh version.
Here are the results of my runtime tests with both batteries.
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