If you’re anything like me, you tend to prepare and then over prepare for your shoots. Meaning not just 1 spare battery, but likely 3-5, among many….many…other over packed additions. And that’s just for when i’m doing photos! When it comes to shooting video, especially on DSLR/Mirrorless cameras, lets face it, the batteries just don’t last nearly as long as we need them too.

This is why i’m excited to hear about this announcement from Nitecore regarding their new Smart Batteries for Sony Full Frame Mirrorless cameras including the a7 III, a7R III, and a9 systems.

Like most current “Smart” systems, the NFZ100 batteries will come with an accompanying App that’ll let you manage and monitor the batteries health, power levels, voltage, and a bunch of other real-time options and information. Including the ability to discharge up to 70% of the battery to help maximize it’s lifespan if it won’t be used for a long time.

Apparently you can also customize each battery you own with a 3 digit number to identify and ensure you can tell each one apart for the organizational obsessed like me and my label maker. An interesting, and perhaps frustration point for some, is you’ll have the ability to update the firmware for the batteries through the mobile app (available on android and iOS).

Firmware for a battery, weird right? But it makes sense if you really think about it since the cameras and systems will be updated over time so the batteries will have to change with them. Additionally the app and batteries include over-charge, over-discharge, and overcurrent protection, short-circuit protection and more!

Nitecore NFZ100 Technical Details

  • Voltage: 7.2V
  • Capacity: 2,280mAh
  • Energy: 16.4Wh
  • Compatible models: α7 III, α7R III, α9 (ILCE-9)
  • Type: Rechargeable Li-ion battery
  • Weight: 82.5g (2.91oz)
  • Dimensions: 52 x 38.7 x 22.5mm (2.05 x 1.52 x 0.89in)

Currently the batteries don’t seem to be available for purchasing as there’s no pricing information available from our usual sources like Adorama or B&H, but we’ve reached out to Nitecore for more details as well as requesting units to do a full review! In the meantime, for full details you can download and read the NFZ100 manual here, or wait patiently like us to hear more about this exciting product!

*UpdatE – 8/16/2019

It appears the launch date, preorder, and pricing information has gone live this morning! You can preorder the batteries (*expected to ship by 8/30/2019), and the price is a shocking $39.95! This is almost 1/2 the cost of the “official” batteries so now i’m incredibly interested to do some side by side comparisons!