charging battery during hike

[denhaagsony]

Hi All,

 

Soon I will leave for a hiking trip and plan to shoot a lot of pics. Sadly enough there wont be electricity for days, my sony a7 is known to consume a lot of energy and to make matters worse it will be cold (hopefully not to rainy). What should I get to?

 

Gear now:

Sony A7

1 standard battery

1 car to usb 

 

Extra batteries, how many? I follow this dicussion: http://www.sonyalphaforum.com/topic/666-a72-battery-question/

Charger via solar power?

Powerbank?

Other?

 

Any good advices and experiences? Which option is most reliable and gives flexibility? Cheap and likely hood of using after? What is weight & seize?

 

Ciao from The Netherlands

 

 

[Apollwnios]

http://www.sonyalphaforum.com/topic/495-external-power-to-a7-cameras/

[Waldhaus3]

The best solution other than carrying a large number of spare batteries is a solar charger. What you need is a 12 volt foldable solar panel and a charger for the Alpha 7 batteries that comes with a 12 volt adapter. 

then you can either drape the panel over your backpack, connecting the charger to the panel or if you will be stopping for a couple of hours periodically lay out the solar panel and connect to the charger while stopped.

I used a system like that on 2 passages by raft through the Grand Canyon lasting 2 1/2 weeks and kept my alpha 99 and alpha 77 batteries topped up that way.

You will need at least 1 extra battery and probably more in addition to the charging system. 

The other solutions suggested in the prior post are mainly good for augmenting power input into the Alpha 7 presuming available supply of already charged batteries.

Charge time should be 3-4 hours if you are in full sun.

You may find charge is incomplete (70-80%) if you have partial sun or shade. Hence the value of having a couple of extra batteries.

Depending on the number of shots you plan on making simply carrying a supply of batteries is unlikely to satisfy you. If by days you only mean 3-4 days I suppose you could carry an adequate supply of batteries if you don't mind the weight, but if you are planning a couple weeks between charging opportunities, then I think solar is your only practical option. 

 

The URL for the vendor I used is:

http://store.sundancesolar.com/solar-digital-camera-battery-charger-for-sony-with-5w-foldable-powerfilm-solar-panel/

 

It has been 3-4 years and i am sure products have changed. the key is you want something with a 12 volt output, and with a 12 volt cigarette lighter type adapter, as well as a 'charger for the Sony battery that has a connector to the cigarette lighter type adapter. The vendor I referenced may supply that or you can find one on eBay or Amazon.

 

I hope this is helpful. 

[Navman50]

I recently did a seven day hiking trip through a remote part of NZ's South Island and took four batteries, which are cheaper to purchase than a solar charger. I bought Watson's from B&H and they have been just fine, and despite taking between 500 and 600 images, I didn't need to start on my last battery until the morning of the last day. I have it in airplane mode with the remote off, and usually have the back screen set so that it is just showing info with the image showing only in the viewfinder. 

[Golem]

......... I have it in airplane mode with the remote off,

and usually have the back screen set so that it is just

showing info with the image showing only in the viewfinder.

IIRC, your efforts about the screen do not save energy.

The screen has a constant degree of backlighting and it

looks darker or brighter according to how much the image

layer blocks that light. AN OLCD [Organic LCD] does save

energy. It works the way you think your regular LCD works,

IOW a dimmer/darker image uses less power. Again IIRC,

the EVF is an OLCD. So ... to save energy when hiking, or

whenever you have no electric power, go into the menu to

shut off the Auto-EVF-to-Monitor sensor/control and use

only the EVF. You CAN control everything while looking

into the eyepiece. You may find it unconventional and/or

not the utmost as to convenience, but when conserving

power reserves is a priority, thaz life.

 

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