Nitecore’s new Sony camera battery charges through built-in USB-C

Every year, companies like Canon and Nikon push camera technology forward with new models that add features like 8K video recording and 30 fps shooting speeds. But the batteries powering those cameras haven’t changed nearly as much during the mirrorless era.

Enter Chinese manufacturer Nitecore with its newly announced replacement for Sony’s NP-FZ100. Spotted by Sony Addict and later Gizmodo, the UFZ100 features a built-in USB-C port so that you don’t need to use a proprietary Sony power adapter to charge it. The battery also includes a handy LED indicator to tell you when it’s below 10 percent charge. That same LED will indicate when the UFZ100 is below half power, above 50 percent and finally fully topped up, with a constant green light indicating the final state. With a 2,250mAh capacity, it’s only slightly smaller than Sony’s 2,280mAh NP-FZ100 and works with many of the company’s most recent camera models, including the A6600 and A7 IV.

USB-C charging has been a standard feature on Sony cameras for a few years now, so it’s not like you couldn’t live without one of the company’s proprietary power adapters before. But having a USB-C port on the battery …read more