Customer Reviews

Sony NPFM500H Li-Ion Rechargeable Battery Pack for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Cameras (Retail Packaging)

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Sony is again the company to look for with great products. I have experience with the Sony DSLR camers and the previous battery, (FM55), which was a great battery to use. I was loving the length of time I got from the battery but this one goes even stronger. This newer battery blows the lid off the amount of pictures. Once I could get around 900 shots now I can get about 1500 shots depending on flash usage and setup. If you need a battery with the stamina to keep pace with your picture taking this is it. It's even backwards compatible with the older Alpha 100 but the 100 battery will not work in the Alpha 700.

Very good battery life. I was able to photograph an entire 6 to 7 hour Wedding without changing the battery once. I bought two of these batteries, but probably only needed to buy one because the life is better than I thought. Oh well, it's better to have too many batteries than too little...Also, this battery definitely lasts longer than the original battery that came with my Sony A-100.

I bought this battery after reading Amazon reviews and also after checking with Sony about the compatibility of this battery for Sony alpha 100. The battery cover also says it is a replacement battery for NP-FM55H. But when I charged and inserted the battery into my Sony DSLRA100 camera, it diplayed "Incompatible product. Use the right model". Do not use this battery for Sony alpha 100 camera.

Sony has really increased the battery life with the newer infolithium batteries they offer. I use them with my A700 and various lenses. I can usually get a good 4 hours of continuous shooting out of them. That's powering the camera, lense motors, auto focus...etc.

I bought this battery based on the description saying it would work for the alpha 100. When I put the battery into the camera, incompatible battery was displayed on the screen. They took it back and gave me a full refund, but I did lose my shipping cost both ways.

I bought this as a backup. Haven't had to use it as the battery supplied with the camera is going strong and is more than enough capacity for the usual family, grandkid pics. If you are planning a vacation or overseas venture I'd definitely recommend having the backup.

I bought the Sony Alpha 300 and got another battery as a backup (so now I have 2). I thought I would be swapping out batteries like crazy (we do with our consumer digital camera) but have been very pleasantly surprised. I've shot over 600 RAW+JPEGs with and without flash this week and the charge is just under 50%. Awesome.

I still recommend getting a second battery because you'll have the extra on-hand when you need it. It's just that you won't need it every other day unless you shoot a few thousand shots a day.

These batteries will perform the same as the one that came with your camera. I've bought several of these and several third-party aftermarket offerings and learned some things the hard way.

I've found the performance of the third-party batteries to be spotty at best. First, you have to charge and discharge many of them several times before they will do anything consistently, and many include instructions to that effect in the fine print. I bought two from the same aftermarket source that behaved totally differently. One settled in and would charge up to around 90 percent, according to my Alpha 550. The other would never reach that level. In addition, the problem battery's characteristics completely confounded my AG-V0900 charger, causing it to generate false messages on the battery's condition and sometimes refuse to charge at all. I've concluded that the cheaper batteries are false economy, and I will stick with the Sony brand Infolithiums in the future. Be aware also that some third-party battery producers mark their batteries with the Infolithium name. Are they the OEM for Sony, or are they violating the trademark? I think they are just one more risky choice. Read the listings and ad copy carefully before you buy.

If you're taking your camera to a remote spot or going on vacation in a foreign country, my advice is to not take any chances. Does it make sense to risk shutting down hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of equipment to save $20 or so? Go with the real deal: pay your money and get the Sony brand. At the time of this review, Amazon's price was as good or better than any other source.

Good shooting,
Tim

I bought this battery based on other reviews. The battery life is phenomenal. I was leary of the less expensive battery (replacement batteries) that were not made by Sony due to the recurring statement 'they do not give very long battery life, buy the Sony'. While it is a little more, I am very pleased I heeded this advice. Getting ready for a trip to WDW and did not want to run out of power. You can't replace memories. Great battery, would purchase again if I thought I would need to.

Ok, I literally took over 1000 pictures. More like 1,300 over a weekend on a trip. I didn't use a flash and used the view finder instead of the lcd. But still, I was amazed to still have 55% battery life left after so many pictures. Amazing..