Battery Life Tips- Sony A7RII, Sony A7II, Sony A7s

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Battery Life Tips for the Sony a7rII and a7 series of cameras. I have listed them in order of impact on battery life. If you do nothing else on this list, turn on Airplane mode when you want to save battery.
More info at:
Buy the USB Battery Charger: www.amzn.com/B00WAB5I5E/?tag=photorecomm0a-20
Buy Spare Batteries: www.amzn.com/B005OBCI32/?tag=photorecomm0a-20
Airplane mode - Turn ON. (Default setting is OFF) The Camera is constantly monitoring for WiFi signals and powering the NFC reader, both negatively impact battery life.
Set Display Quality to standard (default setting is standard) High is brighter, crisper. Possibly a faster refresh rate too, all which impact battery life.
Turn Pre-AF OF (Default setting is ON) Camera focuses before you half press the shutter button, I turn this off for battery savings AND because I only want the camera focusing when I press a button (see back button focus)
Monitor Brightness Manual or turn down (Default is Manual centered) Also an option for sunny weather. The LCD becomes very bright but will draw additional power.
Audio signals (default setting is ON) Turning off the audio beeps, mostly the focus confirmation beep will save a small amount of power.
Reduce the camera's processing power - Turn off Noise Reduction and DRO (Dynamic Range Optimization) I shoot RAW and edit in Lightroom so I don't need or want the camera spending anytime "helping" me process the photos.
Activate Back-Button Focus
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[@PavlosPapageorgiou]

Learn the habit of switching off the a7rII as soon as you take it away from your eyes, and back on as you bring it to your eyes. Your finger is on the power lever anyway if you're holding it one-handed. You'll get hundreds of shots easily.

[@bwenski]

Thanks for the tips! To add, I have set one of my custom keys to deactivate monitor, that's gotta help.

[@luboyanev]

Thanks for sharing, another tip thats been shown to improve battery life is to not usethe viewfinder/monitor function in auto, but in stead to use only in monitor mode

[@zethiel]

I wanted to take a moment to congratulate you on your decision about picking up the A7RII, because it's an awesome camera; despite knowing that a ton of people are going to post trash here on your channel, and call you fanboy or something stupid. Keep up the great work Toby, thank you for all the great content!

[@MaximumDiver]

I received my Sony A7R2 today and loving it. The only thing that's annoying is the fact I can't change the amount of zoom I get in Playback when pressing C3. I wish there was a way to tell the camera to NOT zoom that much...

[@drew-gray]

Excellent tips! Hadn't thought about a USB charger, thanks for suggesting!

[@ColinShreffler]

Very nice and informative video. Thank you very much!

[@deanbond3204]

Nice helpful video man 👍🏽

[@Enrique-the-photographer]

Very good video, thanks for sharing, now i'll try all the settings you recommended on my A7-MK2. Rick.

[@matrodmedia]

I love the way you address the trolls at the end there Toby! Awesome non-chalant way to passively fire-back at those type of people. Cool!

[@TheJazieyone]

Thanks for your tips. Does the a7II have a way to activate release/focus priority? I am not understanding how to set this up.

[@ajrc1987]

How may shots can u get applying this tips? Thanks for the video.

[@onek7559]

Thank you so much for this video! Keep them coming. =)

[@sevance1]

Great stuff! One note. On my A7II, I tried your tip about the BBF. However, after programming the buttons as you've suggested, when the switch is flipped UP to the AF/MF position, the camera will NOT go into AutoFocus mode at all. In that position, the button will only toggle it from manual focus to a disabled auto focus mode. Am I missing something? UPDATE: Just tried this on a new A7RII and same problem.

[@vinhqngouoc]

Thanks for the great tips Toby. My favorite cam of ll times going back to my first cam Pentax k1000, Nikon FM.... during the 80'

[@mbenjamin292]

Thank you for some great ideas wow fantastic video.

[@EmoEmu]

Very nice tips. Thanks.

[@nzsims]

This is a pretty random one - But i discovered that when 'remote control' was enabled, my camera wasn't going into sleep mode. As I'm always forgetting to switch off the camera its crucial that it goes to sleep as quickly as possible

[@fouadelbatrawi]

Hey Toby, can you give an update on the long term usability of the Vivtar USB charger? Is it becoming slower to charge? Did it melt? Thanks.

[@gill7728]

.Nice work and very informatory video.

[@dannakinsky]

is there a way to know the life span of my battery - how many cycles it has gone through? trying to figure out which battery is not mine from the bunch i ended up with after a shoot. thanks!

[@burrdaddy]

Great info. Thanks.

[@sonyametzler3054]

Thank you for sharing those tips! How long does the battery last when shooting in 4k? No seems to mention it :/ Thank you in advance :)

[@mikefretwell842]

Would you recommend leaving the battery in the A7Rii or removing it between shoots and why?

[@beckywaters1843]

Great tips! I just traded in the A7r for A7rII and have seen a huge benefit. Now with these tips i am much better equipped. PS: I own 7 batteries!!

[@biscuitsalive]

Good tips. I will put them to use on my a7s.

[@bowenrichardc]

What button do you use for eye-AF

[@EastyUK]

Nice tips. Be weary of the amazon prices and search the item to see comparable. the link currently show the duel charger at 24 and its only 13 also in a different item.

[@tamasvarga67]

Great tips, I can use most of them on my RX100IV :)

[@AgnostosGnostos]

At 5:15 Long Exposure Noise Reduction can't be made with Lightroom or post processing. Long Exposure Noise Reduction has more to do with the thermal noise of the sensor after very long exposure. Even at base ISO 100 there is significant and visible image noise after very long exposure. So the camera takes two shots. On normal and one dark shot. Afterwards it compares both the two photos in order subtract the hot pixels and reduce the thermal noise. That process can produce a raw file of a photo. Very common method and usable with Astro photography. It takes a long time for double the exposure and some time for the digital processing of the camera. It certainly drains the battery but it is vital and shouldn't be turned off. During the cold days of winter the process is more efficient than the hot days of summer. It is not the same as multi-frame noise reduction which is available only with jpeg files and reduces the very high ISO noise.

[@max4997]

Do you know if the A7ii can charge while making photos? I read that the A7rii is capable of doing so.

[@infinitefilmphoto]

Can you please provide the link for the rav battery brick you use?

[@SaldeCodillo]

lol what was with that abrupt music stop in the beginning?

[@JulianBaird]

All these settings (except BBF) also work on the Sony RX100 M4.

[@SuperMario127.]

Battery icon meaning: 4 bars: >80% 3 bars: 51-80% 2 bars: 21-50% 1 bar: 1-20% Red battery icon with slash:

[@geraldjohnson3015]

Thanks for the tips. I'm curious how you feel about buying generic batteries. B&H sells the Watson batteries for about half the price of the Sony batteries and the reviews seem fairly good.

[@bluefilmsltd]

What about the battery life A7S II??????

[@allanredford6070]

great video. apart from the obvious, turning off camera, if you are moving locations, setting up a complex shot etc. assign function button 3 (or whatever one you want) to display off. this overides the auto-switching between EVF and LCD, when off. normally,unless your eye is at evf, the LCD lights, like when camera hanging on strap. this effects LCD only. I read the EVF actually uses more power than the LCD. but still worth trying. as battery tech/chemistry improves, I hope Sony will launch better version, one day. the market would be huge.

[@meirperetz4540]

Thanks for the tips , I agree with the Airplane mode trick . I have a Sony A7 II , can you reccomend the best batteries to use ? Thanks

[@photorectoby]

Use true SONY batteries.

[@iOS4guy]

Great tips, but Long Exposure NR is beneficial and reduces noise in a way you can't do with your computer. It doesn't take a lot of battery because you rarely really use it. You should simply leave it on.

[@LoomyX]

+EdenTech LENR is the work of Satan. Who's got the time to wait twice as long for every single photo? Dark frame subtraction is easy to do in post anyway. Heck, Lightroom does it automatically, even without having taken a dark frame in the field. God knows how it can differentiate a hot pixel from a star, but somehow it can.

[@Jeff-vw4rm]

Have you experimented with using the vertical grip for the a7R II, to extend battery life? I'm considering getting one but would be interested in hearing any input you may have on the matter prior to doing so. Thanks.

[@beckywaters1843]

+Jeffrey LeMire I got a non-sony battery grip from Meike and it has a wireless remote intervalometer included and it that works great! The only quirk is that i have to loosen the screw to my non-Sony L Bracket attached to the grip to get slightly out of the way to open the battery compartment but this is no biggie. Very happy with a cost effective solution.

[@lefturn99]

I nailed a Sony rep about the battery life (probably not his fault, but.....) and he told me that as I am putting it down to let it hang from the strap, turn it off. I was outraged, as I leave my Canon on for weeks between shoots and it never runs the battery down. I don't want to have to change the way I shoot. But I grudgingly did it and it works well and I guess it isn't that bad. I just turn it on as I raise it. Still gripes me, but.......

[@photorectoby]

+Mike Spivey That was probably the change I made too that had the biggest impact on my battery life.

[@seanman22001]

+Mike Spivey This is the total achilles heal of this system. I was amazed when they went to the bigger grips but left the same little battery. Their Sony Artisans conveniently skip around this topic when discussing the camera but it is the elephant in the room

[@sharqun]

How does Canon EF 70-200mm f/4l USM work with A7 II? What adapter do you recommend for it? Does 5 -axis stabilizer on A7 II work with this lens?

[@allanredford6070]

I use adapted (Fringer AF mk3) Contax-N Ziess lenses, they work with IBIS on my A7II.. depends on adapter used, I think. you need to try adapter+lens it,on appro, to be sure. Contax N uses similar protocols to Csnon system. do web-search for 'Canon EF - Sony E AF adapter test reviews/comparisons', I suggest. manual focus only('dumb') types very cheap. don't get confused.A canon-sony user

[@devjames3854]

nice music fade at the beginning

[@emon66666]

You havent mentioned why ''Battery Exahausted'' error shows up.

[@mohamedalajmi3276]

Im having this issue

[@marz2657]

It happens when your camera is out of charge, just charge it and then you can use it

[@raniasulemange]

@@marz2657 what if its not letting my camera charge

[@konstantinsherbetov2865]

@@raniasulemange What if you try to think with your head a little instead of spamming stupid comments? In such not likely to happen scenario, you just contact the official repair center in your area or you just purchase a new one... Nobody have reported such issue before, why are you concerned at all? I am insanely surprised how whiny people are, instead of just go and do whatever you have to

[@Shibzzeg]

Hey, Toby, thanks for the tips, I'll try these on my A6000. I have a question for you regarding USB charging: is it possible to charge and shoot with the A6000 at the same time? In my experience, whenever I connect a micro-USB cable - the screen goes to 'Connecting via USB' mode and I'm unable to use the camera. Is there a way to bypass this? I'd suspect, if it's possible on A7 it should also be possible on the A6000. Thanks!

[@PieterBreda]

Not possible for the A6000

[@dalibormrkic7808]

+Джавид Бунятзаде No, this function was added to A7RII

[@eternalwings7]

+Javid Bunyadzade Too bad it's not possible. However, shooting while charging your battery actually gives you negative impact to the battery. You should notice that the battery will get warm under normal usage and when on charging. If you charge and drain the battery at the same time, imagine the amount of heat. Also, it'll make your battery degrade much faster. So, the solution from Toby, getting a separate portable battery charger is better and cheaper in long run.

[@Shibzzeg]

Bima Adi Nugroho Sylirian yes, that makes perfect sense. The only downside is that I'll have to take off the tripod mount every time, but I guess it's a worthwhile tradeoff

[@suhazliey]

turn off lcd or turn off EVF

[@philindeblanc]

@ Mike Spivey The OTHER elephant in the room is that I have EITHER Viewfinder to look through, AND preview, or I have Monitor to look through to focus and preview. There is no real good way unless it is Auto, and Auto leave the monitor ON when you are not looking in the viewfinder. This is not talked about and a MAJOR crippling of speed as well as battery life.

[@chrisg4433]

I notice switching the power button to off- saves about 22% battery 🔋

[@wesleyhyun]

Custom key to toggle on EVF/LCD since starting on RII; it actually turns off the LCD instead of displaying black.

[@antoniorodriguez1506]

Thank you for the tips. Do you know why I run off battery while I not using my sony a7ii? I had like 85% battery, i turned off, and after 4-5 days, battery was dead. Please let me know if you have a solution for it. Thank you!

[@destin263]

You need to take off the battery, it drains if u let it in the camera

[@ThePoplord2010]

i have this problem now , thats mean destroyed or what?

[@clickstudio4596]

Incompatible battey use correct model

[@orlov_alex]

The worst part is that A7II Drains battery even switched off. I have RX100 charged half year ago, and it is still on ~95% (not using it at all), but A7II drains half battery within couple of weeks. That is mystery for me.

[@delphimiranda]

Alexander Orlov hi sorry for this late response. About my a7Rll, I went out to the mall with the a7Rll in my bag. I was just going around the mall, passing time nothing to do. When I checked on my battery status before going home some 5-6hours later, it was down about 10% remaining battery charge. Oh goodness!

[@whitneyminthorn445]

I just watched your battery go from 78% to 72% going through the menu system in this video. Ahhhhh. I wan't.. but not sure this is for me.

[@user-jt6xh2ln9z]

It’s a non-issue, those batteries are light, 3 will get you through the whole day of shooting

[@SuperMario127.]

It’s not normal for 9 minutes of usage to deduct 6 percentage points from the battery.

[@moniqueesparza4184]

my battery seems to only charge up to 88%

[@Avio033]

I just found out about the Jupio powervault dslr, which apparently is a powerbank with a camera battery at the end of it which replaces your normal battery: www.amazon.co.uk/Jupio-JPV0530%C2%A0DSLR-NP-FW50%C2%A0Power-Vault-28Wh/dp/B014CWYI4U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472409206&sr=8-1&keywords=jupio+jpv0530 This one for example is for the Sony A7 series (or all Sony camera's with the NP-FW50 battery). Maybe that is cool too for you because now you don't even have to charge a battery or bring several battery's because this one is at least 4 battery's in one. Could you maybe test this product? Cheers!

[@ninwithwes]

man, just set the center dial button to back-button AF. then its like every other camera.

[@botchok5]

Just got my A7 II today.... First thing I looked for was the external battery charger. Then I realised that it doesn't come with one hahaha.

[@azmiryusof3301]

botchok5 yes its. i was shocked when i bought it 2 days ago. and then buy a new one for keep my camera lost lasting

[@jasonlam8588]

Why don't you charge the camera directly using the power bank instead?

[@MsDarkChild]

it wouldn't be very handy to be shooting with the camera while having the power bank attached to it, unless he was using a rig anyways.. but charging one battery with the powerbank, while using another battery in the camera enables you to shoot more or less continuesly because once the battery in the camera dies, the camera being charged with the powerbank may have finished charging.. hope that makes sense

[@cuongly5933]

Not so long ago, we have to open the back and reload after every 36 shots, it takes about 1 minute, to reload the battery it takes 5 sec, ain't we're all spoiled.

[@slevinshafel9395]

4:19 why no option to turn OFF the big screnner and use the OLED when look throw it. That is REAL battery save. Turn off all that screnner

[@photorectoby]

Did you know that it is often the EVF - the viewfinder that draws more battery life - it is higher resolution. The screen on the back isn't the culprit.

[@sipvenco]

Hi,guys! I ve bought a new solution for better battery life-Ex pro sony on the move. There is for 7600 or 16000 mah. I saw a review by David Oustler and he told about this one. Who else have this?

[@konstantinsherbetov2865]

Whole video and not a single scientific test at least for the charger. This is not how you should do tutorials...