Sony AC-VQ900AM AC/DC Adapter and Battery Charger for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Camera

by Sony

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 4 x 2 x 2 inches ; 12 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000DZKR1E
• Item model number: ACVQ900AM
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 18, 2005

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

The lightweight and portable Sony AC-VQ900AM AC/DC adapter and battery charger is ideal for charging InfoLithium M series batteries at home or on the road.

Product Description

The lightweight and portable Sony AC-VQ900AM AC/DC adapter and battery charger is ideal for charging InfoLithium M series batteries at home or on the road.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Charge your batteries quickly, March 8, 2007

By 

Aussie Abroad (London, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony AC-VQ900AM AC/DC Adapter and Battery Charger for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Camera (Electronics)

This optional charger has the benefit of being able to charge batteries for the Alpha more quickly than the standard charger supplied with the Alpha. It displays the amount of time left to for a regular or full charge. Although it has a charging bay for two batteries, batteries can only be charged sequentially and not simultaneously. One downside is that unit is relatively large, being much larger and heavier than the standard charger.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Almost Essential, March 20, 2010

By 

Tim Naff "Tim" (Huntsville, AL USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sony AC-VQ900AM AC/DC Adapter and Battery Charger for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Camera (Electronics)

As others have stated, the AC-VO900AM will charge batteries about twice as fast as the stock charger; it will hold two batteries and charge them sequentially; and it also serves as a camera power supply. One key benfit is often overlooked: you can leave batteries in it indefinitely. With the stock charger, you are supposed to charge until the light goes off, then charge for an hour more, and then remove the battery without delay so that you don't shorten the battery's life! Could that be any more inconvenient? With the AC-VO900AM, you can just insert two batteries and leave them indefinitely with the charger plugged in. How would you like to put a battery in the stock charger at night and set an alarm to wake yourself up in 5 hours, only to remember that your battery was already half charged when you started??? How would you like sitting and watching your charger to see when the light goes out so you can start a one-hour timer???? I'm sure you don't do that, but if you took Sony literally, that's exactly what you'd do with the stock charger. Also, Sony doesn't explain what they mean by "shorten the battery's life." Does that mean it runs down faster or that it will be ready for the recycle bin sooner?

Another important feature is the power supply to your camera. When you have to clean your sensor, you must have a fully charged battery on hand, or you need a power supply (i.e., an AC adapter). The AC-VO900AM fills the bill. As over priced as the AC-VO900AM seems to be, it isn't that much more than the price of a power supply without the charger.

One reason for the high price of this charger is the elaborate sequence of readouts that it offers. Frankly, I'm not a big fan, because I find it annoyingly complex. We're just trying to charge batteries, for gosh sake! It shouldn't be rocket science! For example, you have to wait a minute before you get access to much information. This may be necessary, but we don't have to like it.

The Infolithium batteries contain an internal chip that attempts to do a better job of predicting when a battery will run down. (This is a problem on Li-ion batteries because they hold near-constant voltage until close to exhaustion.) I've concluded that the much cheaper batteries produced by third parties don't get this chip function right, because they don't work well with either the stock charger or the AC-VO900AM. On one such battery, the AC-VO900AM refuses to display any status info. Neither of my two third-party batteries charges up all the way in either the AC-VO900AM or the stock charger. Neither lasts long at all either. If you rely on third-party batteries, expect problems with this charger.

I gave the AC-VO900AM five stars, because, for me it is essential. I need to be able to leave batteries to charge overnight, and I'm likely to forget them and leave the in the charger indefinitely. With this charger, I'm covered, and life is good. Also, the function as an external power supply gives me peace of mind when I need to clean my sensor.

One final note. I'm not sure what Amazon means when they say this is an AC/DC device. It will not run off of DC input. Sony has a different model that specifically has AC/DC input capabilities. The charger/adapter, of course, converts AC to DC. Like most chargers, it will run off of U.S. and foreign voltages (240V) and frequencies (50Hz) -- all you'll need is a plug converter in other countries. Unfortunately, the AC-VO900AM is big and bulky compared to the stock charger.

Good luck with it!
Tim

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sony AC-VQ900AM Charger, December 23, 2007

By 

P. Henry (Spearfish, SD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sony AC-VQ900AM AC/DC Adapter and Battery Charger for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Camera (Electronics)

This works very well, charging two batteries sequentially, while also serving as an AC Adapter for the Alpha 700 DSLR. It is quite heavy, however, and not terribly portable (e.g., for a camera bag); it is also quite expensive!