[tobygunnee]

Hi,
Does anyone know what the realistic recording times are for the Sony NP-FH60, NP-FH70, and NP-FH100 with the LCD viewer on? I know what Sony say, but I'd like to know what people get in the 'real world'
Many thanks, Toby

[felix2]

Hi, with my HC7, I've got the NP-FH60 (supplied) and 2x NP-FH70 (suited me better than 1x NP-FH100).

To be honest, I usually use them in bits (and then swap over while the last one to be emptied charges up again), but I'd say (with a bit of surprise ) that the times Sony reckon are actually pretty close to the mark, and I also find the battery time left indicator onscreen surprisingly reliable.

In the manual, the NP-FH70 claims 165 minutes continuous / 90 minutes "typical" (not very much difference with or without LCD screen). After over a year of quite a bit of use, I'm still getting well over an hour of use (possibly 1.5 hours) from each battery with lots of stopping and starting, zooming, etc, over several short recording sessions over several days.

Or for filming a show / play etc, with continuous recording but some zooming, I'll usually get through a 1 hour - 1 hr 10 minute act before the interval with a fully charged battery and find I've still got over an hour left on the indicator. But instead of risking it, use the other fully charged NP-FH70 for act 2 and end up with over an hour left on that at the end too!

The NP-FH60 suggests 55 minutes with typical recording (100 minutes continuous), and that sounds about right too.

Hope that helps,

Giles.