USB Power Explained (USB Power for Dummies!)

USB power can be really confusing! We explain the different types of USB Power, the level of power each USB type supports, and why the USB cable you use makes a difference. We also explain useful terminology so you know what to look for.
0:00 - Intro
0:50 - Terminology
2:13 - USB-A types
4:05 - USB-C
4:42 - USB-C PD explained
5:49 - Camera compatibility
6:44 - Determining charger type
8:38 - USB-C Cables
9:31 - Computers as chargers
10:57 - AC vs. USB chargers
11:39 - The wrap
Music provided by BeatSuite.com
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[@PANAFRAZER]

-Full Disclosure- Panasonic Employee here... I wanted to chime in and give some information on the Lumix cameras that support USB-PD, they are the S1, S1R, S1H and GH5M2. These devices can be continuously powered via the USB port and trickle charge the battery at the same time but require the use of a PD device that delivers 9V/3A (27W) for continuous power (battery must be in the camera too). Please refer to your charger/powerbank specifications to determine if this exact wattage is supported. What if your don't use this PD specification? Not a problem, you can still charge the battery via the port (even with USB A 1.0 spec) but the charging will be slower and you will not be able to power the camera continuously over USB. What if my USB-PD charger supports higher wattage output but I do not see 9V/3A supported... unfortunately you will not be able to continuously power your device and the charger will default to highest safe supported Voltage/Amperage (most likely 5V/3A) so charging will be fairly quick but again no constant power. Great topic BTW Chris!!!

[@niccollsvideo]

Really appreciate that info Matt! It's fantastic info to have for our viewers!

[@Aman_Mondal]

what about the S5

[@networm64]

Very good information and Pany users will appreciate it so much. But as a Sony user I feel so pissed that they didn't mention about any sony cameras in the video while the whole video was recorded on a sony camera! How the hell should I know how my cameras will act in similar situations? Maybe a Sony employee is also needed here while DPreviewTV doesn't give a s*** about any other brands users than the canikon.

[@niccollsvideo]

I don't think it's necessary to go down the well trodden path of biased, brandist accusations on our part. We simply didn't mention Sony because firstly we don't want to get into every single possible permutation of camera and powerbank compatibility, and secondly because Sony cameras are very flexible and we've never really had an issue charging them. Although I believe the latest Sony cameras are PD compatible, they don't require PD chargers to charge the batteries. The only real issue we ran into so far was Canon, so we used them as our example.

[@networm64]

@@niccollsvideo Thank you for the enlightment and information. I didn't mean that anyway. Just got pissed and felt I'm watching a video from a decade ago when we Sony Alpha users been ignored in most of the photography contents. Honestly I get surprised whenever I watch an old review of a Sony A-mount camera on KZbin and feel the dominance of Canon and Nikon was making most of reviewers going harsh on Sony cameras novelty in models like A77 and A99 with their best of all times rear screen mechanism and many other slt models and features.

[@AxelWolstenholme]

Hey guys not to confuse further but theres a mistake at 2:05 where you say it can charge the camera battery 5.8 times, the milliamps is rated at 3.7v on the power bank and 7.4v on the camera battery, you multiply the voltage by the milliamp to get the actual capacity of the battery (Wh) watt hours, so the watt hours on the camera battery is 12.8 Wh and the power bank is 37Wh so you would get upto 2.8x charges from the power bank (it would be roughly 10 - 20% less due to power lost in conversion)

[@LuizAlejo]

THIS ^^^^ Is crucial that this is clarified in the video, because even the manufactures of powerbanks use examples of how many times a certain battery can charge a certain phone. For example, Anker may say that its 10.000mAh powerbank can recharge an iPhone 12 just 2.5 times (just an example); if you do the math, it will never add up, and that's just because of the power lost in the conversion due to the output through the USB port.

[@marcus3d]

Exactly! It's very sloppy to mislead viewers by implying Ah would equate capacity. It's like the whole "this tiny camera is 25-300 mm f/3.5" nonsens all over again. DPReview has learned equivalence of optics, and now needs to learn the equivalence of power.

[@marcus3d]

@@LuizAlejo No, it's not the losses from conversion, but the actual capacity difference. The Ah of different V aren't comparable. Doubling the V will halve the Ah, and vice versa. Losses come then on top of that.

[@timlaunyc]

Yup, it's well below 3 charges for that specific battery. There's loss from converting the 3.7V from the batteries in the powerbank to 5V (assuming it's using 5V), then the camera's internal conversion from 5V to 7.4V.

[@albedo0point39]

This is true (I was going to post the point myself). Let’s face it, the power bank manufacturers do this to confuse buyers into thinking they’ve got more capacity than reality. Dpreview fell for it… but they wouldn’t be the first!

[@niccollsvideo]

We appreciate the corrections on the capacity of batteries, and losses of energy whilst converting. Thanks to everyone for helping to clarify this situation!

[@_o__o_]

u cute

[@agenericaccount3935]

Did you know you made a mistake on the internet? Don’t worry, six million people that have nothing else to do will make it their sole mission in life to nip at your heels because this mission is more important than the meaning of life. Loved the vid.

[@anthonyc1883]

@@agenericaccount3935 Correct information is important. It is easy and appreciated to provide an update/correction/whatever in a civil tone that benefits not only the content creator but the viewers.

[@agenericaccount3935]

@@anthonyc1883 Calm down. It’s a video about chargers. It’s not especially critical.

[@anthonyc1883]

@@agenericaccount3935 Calm down? What a laugh. You're the one who wrote line after line after line about people who make corrections on the internet. I made no correction, I simply pointed out that there's a polite and civil way to do it. But I'm the one who needs to calm down? OK, guy.

[@miguellee3]

Not going to lie, this is the first video I’ve ever watched where these protocols are explained so thoroughly and dumbed down for me! 😂

[@yeungns]

Love DPR for also giving us contents that are not related to any brands or products. Very useful and clear explanation. Great job Chris and Jordan!

[@dtibor5903]

Sorry to be picky, but the olympus battery works at 7.4V (2 cells in series) and by the power bank works at 3.7V. In this case you can charge only 2.9 olympus batteries from that power bank, but in practice you will get around 2-2.5 full charges due to losses.

[@senged]

I paused the video to type the same thing. Thanks for lifting the burden of being the "AcTualLy..." guy from me.

[@okaro6595]

Nice to see I was not the only to notice. I was expecting him to say "but..."

[@BubbaBearsFriend]

It's not picky if the error results in 2x fewer full charges being claimed in the video.

[@totinospizzarolls4737]

yup, thats why you gotta use WHr and not mAH

[@Azeemmerchant]

I'll never miss the dislike button for this channel! Lots of love ❤️🙌🏼

[@MarksUkuleleTips]

Great video. Yes, a video explaining the I/O data protocols and transfer speeds would be of great interest.

[@gileselliott]

Thank you for this. Clear explanation that I have searched for and not found anywhere else.

[@timlaunyc]

USB PD spec was updated this year to 3.1 (not the USB data protocol), increasing the power limit to 240W. It keeps the same 5A current limit, but added 28V, 36V and 48V as part of the spec.

[@mbvglider]

Isn't Apple's power brick the only one that supports it so far? Looking at the size of that thing, despite it using GaN, I worry about the availability and size of PD 3.1 chargers in the future, lol.

[@jaffarbh]

Indeed. Some new smartphones (Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra I think) are shipped with 120W chargers!

[@ShaneTheGeek]

While I already know all this working in the IT field it’s nice to see a concise and easily digestible video that breaks it all down for the laymen.

[@HBProductions.]

Love this video! I'm not a professional photographer though, just an electronics repair and repurpose enthusiast/hobbyist and this info came in extremely useful to know how to setup electronic diagrams for power consumption/delivery for DIY projects to make custom hubs for muti device use. Thank you very much!

[@leosmidhammar4076]

Great video, I didn’t know about the pd specification. Thanks a lot!

[@andreverville9492]

Great video, thanks! Since a few years, I only use USB chargers that have a digital display showing the amperage out. This is often the only way of knowing what is really happening and if the charging really gets done. They cost more but are worth it.

[@francisresch6654]

Thanks once again for a very informative and well organized video. You guys do an outstanding job. YES please do a video or series of videos outlining the broader functions of USB interfaces. It’s a subject that needs to be addressed and I’m sure that you two would do your typical thorough job.

[@peternavanac9310]

Wow, that was super helpful. Love your channel, content and the professionalism with which you deliver your content.

[@stevechan5569]

Excellent presentation. Greatly appreciate you took the time to put this together.

[@Helix5370]

Long time fan of DPReview. Great video! thank you

[@GoodGuysMedia]

This was a great installment! I had to do all this research to demystify my confusion. But all of your info was spot on (as always)! I'd be interested in a video on transfer rates and the various types of USB cables and adapters available to achieve maximum data transfer speeds. I'm still tackling that one myself

[@marcus3d]

No, it wasn't spot on, because he doesn't know even the very basics of electrical power. He uses Ah (incorrectly calling it A/h) when he should be using Wh. See other comments above for correct information.

[@danbuchman7497]

Thanks for explaining this issue. I’m not an electrical engineer and never took the time to learn everything you explained today. It really cleared it up for me. I’m not sure if you have done a deep dive on storage solutions in the past, but would definitely enjoy a similar video on that topic. Everything from SSD hard drives, difference between SD & CF, RAID, and even cloud storage would be interesting. Love the content. Would have really enjoyed more of the watching the camera charge as well. How long can Chris sit still???

[@pg205]

Great content! ...now you need to repeat it with every single camera brand on the market!

[@MichaelSeneschal]

I love this kind of stuff. It’s important. Thanks for making this. I remember FStoppers made a video about their charging station and how they have it set up… super interesting. You’d think it would be boring, but we all deal with this (charging, etc.) so it’s all a common interest.

[@geraffe8763]

Thanks Chris. Very useful video and kudos for starting to tackle a subject that others haven’t. Look forward to subsequent one regarding cables and data transmission

[@PaulBawby]

Very well explained, I learned some very useful things about USB-C and PD. Thanks for sharing!!

[@artmaltman]

Excellent video. Never heard of PD! Please do more like these. Thank you.

[@brandon1941]

Very helpful and clear presentation. More like this would be very welcome. Great job!!!

[@dpreview]

For a rundown of some of the best portable USB chargers, check out Gannon's new article on DPReview: www.dpreview.com/news/2527438260/the-best-portable-chargers-and-power-banks-for-every-situation?

[@DavidDatura]

Very informative 🤔 I wasn’t aware of this complicated mess when it comes to charging. I’m more “in the know” when it comes to data exchange speeds with all these different protocols though.

[@adnanabdull4h]

Just what I needed to know, and more. Thank you!

[@rick-ross]

This was extremely informative! I would love to see more videos on USB (and/or Thunderbolt).

[@raymondmenard5444]

Best i didn't know i needed to know video, thank's for sharing guys and yes i would be interested now, to learn more about the different capabilities and transfer protocols of the different cables out there. I'd watch such a video for sure.

[@matthieuzglurg6015]

just a little note : that's not "milliamp per hour" but milli amp hour, and that's a huge difference. milliamp hours is basically milliamps times hours ([A].[s]) while milliamp per hour is the rate of current per hour ([A]/[s]) milliamp per hour is a rate of discharge, milliamp hour is a capacity of charges (for reference : Amperes (Amp) are coulombs per second, basically the number of charges that goes through an electrical wire every 1 second). So, if you have milliamp hours, that's basically ([C]/[s]).[s] = [C]. Coulombs being the number of charges, milliamp hours really are a unit of charge capacity) On the battery there's also a Wh rating, and that's the same kind of deal. That's not Watts per hour, but Watt hour. A Watt can be found with the current and voltage going on a wire at time T. But a Watt can also be a unit of energy, since a 1 Watt = 1 J/s. A J is a unit of energy, and 1 Coulomb (an electric charge) has a value of 1C = 1.6e-19 J, so you can land on your feet afterwards converting mAh into Wh (you need to take in account the voltage of the battery, especially if you want to compare the capacity of two different batteries operating at two different voltages. That's why we generally prefer the Wh rating because it is independant of the rated voltage of the battery) (yeah I know that's a bit long and complicated for a "little note" but hey, I'm a measurements physicist, that's literally my job to be picky about units !)

[@scottslotterbeck3796]

This is why I am not a physicist.

[@marcus3d]

To be fair, everyone should be picky about units if we want to understand anything at all. Although sometimes you can guess what people mean when they say something stupid like "fast speed" (usually meaning high speed, not high acceleration, which it actually means) or "cheap price" (meaning a low price, which was acquired for free by looking at the sticker on the product). And it's not only related to science. E.g., check out the short discussion Alice has with The White Knight about "A-sitting On A Gate" (a song, which name is called "Haddocks' Eyes").

[@zfisher]

Really good and informative video. Thanks!

[@JazZia]

Would definitely love to see more videos about data transfer rates, efficacy and adaptability of cables, and all that kind of techno-wizzardry of work arounds and make-do. The current scope of tech is amazing and confusing in equal measure

[@artsilva]

Super useful info, Thanks! 'Learned some new stuff today that I had no idea about.

[@klipschs]

Very useful, after buying several new chargers and cables thinking it will save me time and convenience by giving me super fast charging, now I realized they are not going to do that. PD cables and charger is what I need!!!

[@ThomasParis]

I wasn't sure whether to watch this one but did learn a couple of useful things. Thanks!

[@davecurtis8833]

Great vid. More of this type of content would be great. eg data rates, tips for charging multiple devices/batteries etc

[@stevenwaldstein2249]

Very well done and that complement comes from an Electrical Engineer who spent time designing charger IC for smart phones. It might be nice to add a brief addition for PD vs Quickcharge vs IQ3 chargers and their cross compatibility. Take care.

[@solomonessienyi3297]

Best video I have ever watched that explains this concept the way I will understand it easily.

[@Pfagnan]

Great video thanks for the upgrade in my education!! 😎

[@thomasocheltree4170]

Would love to hear your thoughts on USB-C data, thunderbolt etc. Thanks

[@peterebel7899]

Perfect information! The lack of cable labelling is a mess.

[@charlieself]

Seems good footage from the Sony A7 IV. Thanks for the information, didn't know about differences in usb c cable ratings.

[@tennisphotography]

Great info............ many thanks..........

[@everydayisextra]

Once again a great resource info package on stuff everyone deals with one way or the other, highly valuable and important details, beautifully done - thanks so much!! One aspect though should have deserved some more attention, and that is the question about whether a powerful charger can possibly hurt a small device, like using a laptop charger that can send 65W on a camera or cell phone that needs only 5W to 20W for example. You briefly mentioned the handshake technology (always reminds me a bit of two fax machines exchanging their noisy spec info while negotiating their fastest common denominator), but I believe a lot of folks would have found it comforting to hear a bit more about what might and what will not hurt our sensitive equipment.

[@DonJoyce]

Clear explanation of a complicated subject!

[@jiffijoff9780]

Great video, thanks for picking up that topic!

[@599miata]

Super interesting video boys. Well done. 👍👍

[@petermcilroy5742]

Great video - it really helped me cut through the confusion of USB-C!

[@patricktangggable]

Excellent!. Not many people knows the information!!

[@bobcat6653]

Fantastic, Thanks! Maybe touch on these universal camera battery chargers in a future video. I like to charge my removable batteries outside the camera.

[@martinportelance5843]

Amazing video, so informative! 👌

[@jadefinchscene5644]

excellent walkthrough. thanks

[@midwinterphoto]

Great breakdown Chris!

[@ericberger4511]

excellent discussion, thanks!

[@princetarun]

Great Explanation Need One of This

[@matteugenio]

Thanks so much for this! Learned a whole lot 😅

[@bachmannmanuel1562]

very nice and easy explained.

[@TMM6900]

Thank you so much! I thought i know so much until lately with so many new things

[@ScottJWaldron]

Great job on the video, I've been working on something similar though not nearly as detailed. The Nikon Z5 seems a lot less picky than the Canon M6 Mark II that I have. Those two cameras have gotten me exploring USB-C cables and chargers. Definitely has been a journey, lol. I agree that if you can find the right combination of components it's more convenient and travel friendly than old direct charging adapters.

[@kenta5185]

So helpful. I’m using DJI drones and SONY cameras. Now to get it all charging fast as possible. Thanks. Kent / Montana

[@leobn2010]

Very informative! Thanks very much. Cheers!

[@Hindsight101]

this came at the right time I was wondering why my a7siii wasn't charging now I know why. Thank you

[@PavelTrka]

Absolutely great video guys!

[@ed2023bc]

Great info, thank you

[@merlinzipp]

You learned a new word to substitute other words with and now you don't need to think as much to use the proper words. Just got to bleep or silence them out. Good for you.

[@workingwiththelight3119]

Thank you. Very interesting information.

[@korpulian]

OMG, at the third minute, my brain just blew up. It's not you Chris, I clicked on the video, it's me.

[@thomasploner9424]

Very useful video, thanks!! My Sony is "older" now but still it's good to know. Transfer rates etc would be interesting too

[@glenklassen779]

This was an excellent and needed video. After watching every cell phone on earth go to usb-c I was shocked that cameras were still stuck in usb-micro (a6400etc) When the zv-10 was released most reviews did not even mention the usb-c port. Transfer rates and charging are so improved it would be excellent if you could educate us more on the new capabilities of the newer cameras with usb-c. Thanks.

[@mikemcdonald5147]

im waiting for the 2.4 jiggawatts version to power my flux capacitor :) good video and good explanation of all the crazziness.

[@IEBATechThoughts]

@chris, this is a fantastic video. So much of this basic stuff is usually overlooked but is actually critical to successful production especially in the field. You did a great job explaining things without getting too technical. Kudos on that. A correction: you said a 10,000 mAh battery pack can charge a 1720 mAh battery, 5.8x, but your math is based on being able to use all 10,000 mAh. The fact is that you can never get ALL of the 10,000 mAh out of the battery pack- you can never deplete the cells to zero. All cells have a "base" capacity where you simply can't draw any more. Moreover, lithium packs have controller boards that will stop output to protect the cells. The same goes with the battery pack for the camera. It's 1720 mAh, but you'll never drain it to zero. It's almost impossible to know the exact actual "usable" capacity of the battery pack because it's dependent on the type of cells, the number of cells, quality fo the cells, etc, and much easier for the manufacturer to just label with total capacity. Secondly, you noted that all kinds of PD rated gear can be charged by universal PD rated adapters. You say this is more convenient than separate AC battery chargers. I find having a battery on a charger, separate from using my camera in a gimbal, to be far more convenient than trying to power the camera with a wire, or charge it while using it. Your mileage may vary. This is especially relevant for camcorder batteries like the ubiquitous NP-F (Sony Infolithium-L) battery that is used for cameras, lights, monitors, and a lot more these days. A single 7800 mAh NP-F can run gear for hours at a time, while another set of batteries are getting juiced back up in "video village." I find a 5 second battery swap to be the most convenient solution for mobile filming than having my camera tethered to an external power source. Also, as a Panasonic employee noted on the KZbin video- some devices can't charge and run the camera at the same time, or can only trickle charge if the camera is running, and either of those are dependent on the wattage of the power adapter / battery bank, and the capacity / capability of the camera to draw and utilize enough power to do one, or the other, or both. Making t a lot of cross referencing minute, obscure, and sometimes simply unavailable specifications. Again, making the case to charge the batteries externally. This is what works for me. Again, Kudos on a fantastic video about an important, and near universally overlooked topic.

[@WobbleMatic]

Good info. Thanks for the clear explanation.

[@ParityError0110]

I had no idea. Thanks for sharing.

[@ruff1draft]

Excellent. Glad you filmed this.

[@GOLDDYNACO]

Thank you so much for making a video about this and trying to make it as easy as possible. My brain still hurts anyway... Long live analog photography!

[@wjuice2020]

I want more videos like this! Great info!

[@joefaracevideos]

This was wonderfully useful Thank you

[@jimgd4]

I'm an Emergency Room Psychiatric Clinician, and for years, I've wondered how you guys still roam free. To get back on topic though, things have been such a maddening mess since the Pandemic, and seeing as how these PD chargers are capable of delivering such a stable flow of reliably high current, I was wondering if you or Jordan have any personal knowledge on the off label use of these devices as Electro-Convulsive Shock Therapy Delivery Systems. There is such a profound shortage of Mental Health resources at this point in time, this might be just the ticket. Thank you so much for your brilliant work. You guys keep me relatively sane. =)

[@FelixAlonzo]

Thank you for this. Its a mess trying to figure it out. Would be great to do a video about D-tap V-powered etc ..

[@tylerdoestech]

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I prefer having the wall charger over USB solutions. USB solutions are always a secondary method of charging convenience for me. While all of the increased wattage is great for the newer USB and Thunderbolt specs, that increased wattage creates excess heat, which, in my experience, is not the best for prolonged use of electronic equipment or batteries. Wall chargers tend to be much better at managing this than USB power options are and, to me, at least, seem safer and more reliable than USB solutions. Furthermore, USB C connectors have this nasty habit of falling out of their ports after extended use! We need a better semi-locking connector especially for power or audio connectivity in our devices. Excellent video, as usual!

[@nathanwaldock782]

I agree. I much prefer wall chargers. I can buy two batteries, charge one at the wall, while using the other. With USB charging, when my battery is dead, I have to plug in the camera, and it's not available to use - unless I buy both a second battery AND a wall charger. I don't see the advantage of USB charging over wall charger. Another point against USB charging, and this may only refer to some cameras, is that it takes a long time. My old Nikon D5100 batteries would charge in 90 minutes in the wall charger. My current camera, a Fujifilm x-s10 takes around 4 hours or more to charge the battery in camera!

[@cbflazaro]

heat comes from inneficiences on conversion or badly graded cables for the current they supply. Dc to Dc charging is far more efficient than ac to dc.

[@PierreVilleneuve88]

It is not labeled next to the port, but Sony A1, AS7m3 and A7m4 all support PD but do not require it to charge the battery.

[@svenkatachary659]

thank you. please do one about usb c cables, TB 3/4 etc.

[@Halfhoff]

Great video. Nice review.

[@15ThousandDayCrisis]

LOL…slow news week guys? Still, for a dry topic, all the dirty talk made it quite good! Appreciate your stuff!

[@richardruda267]

Wow - excellent explanation !

[@MichaelWheatland]

Thank you so much for using the metric system. It would have got way too complex if you used USA units of BTUs. Hopefully the USA will change over soon to simplify other unit conversions.

[@menusgc]

Agree.. And referring to the Zed5

[@cmichaelhaugh8517]

Very helpful. Thanks.

[@jc525exc]

Thanks- great job!

[@phynx2006]

Great stuff Chris, just purchased the Canon R6 and was having that exact issue. I found that my Samsung S20 charger works to charge the R6, but none of the other hundreds of cables and USB plugs seem to work and know I know why👍😎👍

[@larkins621]

Great video, but I think you also need to cover PPS... ideally to fully cover the gamut in pursuit of "one charger to rule them all", it needs to be USB C PD 3.0 PPS compliant, and 65w or greater (such as the Anker powerport lite or Anker Nano II).

[@JC-77]

Came here looking for answers on what type of USB charging ports would be best to integrate into a "charging" end table for my living room. Everything here was dumbed down to my level of understanding perfectly.

[@jeffdrew625]

Oooohhh volts amps & wattage! Energizing! more coffee needed too! ☕️

[@sophiergabriel3103]

Chris, when you have a multi port charger, do you have to divide the power output by the number of thing you have plugged into it?

[@neuregu0]

Very necessary and educational video! Thank you! I, though, keep things simple, All my current cameras are using the same family of batteries, 6D2, R, R6, So I just keep a dozen batteries charged if I am going out on field. Swapping batteries is still the fastest! I do have at home/studio a bunch of Canon charger for the batteries. Not a big fan of charing using USB ports on the camera.

[@dkirk335]

great video, I will also add that if you are charging while shooting the camera battery can drain at the same time as does my sony A6400. This may be a subject for another video on how to keep cameras running for a longer shoot.

[@themangix357]

DPReview did a better explanation than LinusTechTips. Damn.

[@marcus3d]

DPReview's explanation was wrong. Damn.

[@michaelcroff7097]

Wouldn’t mind seeing more tech videos from you. Been watching your reviews for 10 years. Can we get a comparison of Cinelike, CLog 3 and HLG3?

[@chrismills3874]

Thanks for the clarification - I was aware of the differences in transfer rates etc but not the charging rates - makes a shitload of sense now - thanks also to the people in the comments that further clarify the particulars