Charging the NP-F...

So basically all my portable Aputure lights takes the Sony NP-F style battery. However the charging of a "NP-F970" takes ages. All night and then some. I have tried to source a faster charger, but basically the design shown in the image is sold by like a dozen various different brands, Jupio, Batmax, Andoer, Duracell, etc. Other options based on a USB power input seems even slower.

Basically the charger does only provide a "plus" and "minus" connection, there is no "temp" probe, like on my power tool batteries. Etc. But the power tool batteris can be quick charged in 1 hrs! A "NP-F970" takes like 12 hrs plus.

Is this a limitation of the NP-F battery itself because of old tech?

Or is there a magicall NP-F charger around which could cut the time down to i.e. 4hrs for the "NP-F970"?

@Vitaliy_Kiselev

Yeah, the charger in the pic delivers 1x 1500 mA, or 2x 800 mA so already here we have a problem with the charger. It should have been 2x 1500 mA.

My NP-F batteries are 7200 mAh so the charge time with two batteries in the charger will be the insanely long 7200 mAh / (800 mA x 0,9 loss) = 10 hrs.

But it seesm hard to find a charger with will output a charge current with i.e. 1500 or 2000 mA with both battery positions in place.

I did some googling and Andoer has a four position NP-F charger as well.

But it has the same issues somewhat with these charging currents:

Output Current: 2000mA * 1, 1000mA * 2

I guess this is for each of the halfs, so it might be able to charge two (one at each side with 2000 mAh), but if you use it for four batteries at at time the charge current is halved again.

For speedy charges it seems necessary to get multiple single battery chargers with 1500 to 2000 mAh.

This SWIT S-3602F Dual Charger/Adapter for Sony NP-F970/770/960/950 Batteries seems to be 2000 mA charging on both ports, but is of course much more expensive than the chineese el cheapo ones.

Got the Batmax version of the noname "china" charger in the mail today. It does not have the button and gives 2 x 1000 mA for charging. So slightly better than the Andoer version with button (2 x 800 mA).

@EspenB I was looking for a better NPF charger earlier this year and remembered pricy, Dolgin. https://dolgin.net/zen_dolgin/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1

The chargers are expensive, but, sometimes on sale for cosmetic defects via his eBay or Amazon account (check those sites).

I wound up renting one of his chargers for a shoot and while I didn't have much time to study it closely, it did charge them relatively quickly and reliably.

I was concerned some of my NPFs had developed a memory, and he offers a charger with a "discharge" function. I called their info line and he confirmed while it will do a discharge cycle, Li-Ion batteries once degraded can't be revived by several discharge cycles. So while his charger can do it, it won't help the longevity of your batts. Unfortunately the charger I rented thru lensrentals.com did not have the discharge function as I had hoped.

Let me know if you find a charger you're happy with!

Got the Andoer branded "4 WAY DIGITAL BATTERY CHARGER" today. Unusually fast for AliExpress orderst in less than two weeks (seller shipped with postal express it seems). Normal delivery time is about 6 weeks.

Even for a noname product the documentation hits another low as the images on the box and user guide are indeed of the 4-way charger, the text is basically mostly copied from the 2-way charger. It even mentions the button to change charge current (which the 4-way does not have). So totally confusing about the specs of the charger. The charger has a DC port, but there is no DC cable supplied. And USB-C output port.

The charger itself has no markings whatsoever except the "ANDOER" logo. On the bottom we find a fan opening, the fan did operate intermediately for a few minutes once in a while during charging.

So while the confusing manual don't mention the capacity while charging four batteries the outside of the box says it's output current is:

2000 mA x 1
1000 mA x 4

So no real fast charging here unless you opt to use only one charge port. Peformace wise it's the same as the before mentioned Batmax 2-way charger, but with the convenience of charging four batteries at the same time.

2-way VS 4-way charge speed

So I depleted two NP-F 7200 mAh batteries in the Aputure P60c panel and progressed to charge a single battery in both the 2-way buttonless charger from Batmax and the 4-way charger previously mentioned. Batteries was low on charge to begin with and not even, but should not impact result to much. Also I don't thing the fixture was sucking the batteries totally dead as after a brief pause the panel could be turned on again and reported 5-6 min remaining. I did not run until dead again.

Not surprisingly perhaps the 2-way finished first, 30-45 min before the 4-way (probably due to different charge levels). Both chargers took about 7-8 hrs.

I don't see any indication of the 4-way charging a single battery quicker with 2000 mA. Probably 1000 mA regardless of number of batteries in the charger. Giving the manufacturers print on the box some slack the 1x 2000 mA output might be a reference to the USB output and not the charge ports.

So in total the 4-way charger don't provide more than a 2-way charger times two. Also the 4-way charger is a fan based design while the 2-way is not. And the display on the 4-way is much dimmer and more difficult to read due to this reduced level of back light.

I made a "for dummies" video on NP-F's for the Amaran P60 panel.

Basicall to check if you could use a small NP-F500 series battery to power the 80 watt panel.