As a mom of a young son, having a power cable hanging off the counter with my camera attached was just an invitation for trouble. I purchased this item prior to a Disney vacation, along with a 2nd battery, so that I could charge up one battery while still being able to use the camera (given that Sony decided to go with the odd quirk that you can't charge the battery on the camera unless the camera is completely OFF). This charger is small, light, and fast. It fit easily in my camera bag, and let me leave my cables at home. I love that it plugs directly into the outlet with no cable, and that the batteries don't get hot. This may be the best accessory out there. Sony BCTRP Battery Charger for NP-FH Series Batteries
Be careful, the older model has the exact same model number and has a cord. The one where the plug folds in is far more compact. I never charge my battery on the camera anymore - I just charge the spare battery and swap. The plug folds into the charger so it's super compact. I leave the battery in the charger and it protects it from shorting.
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This is a great buy. It plugs directly into the wall outlet and a handy ability to folding the prongs back into the unit. In my opinion, it is smaller and lighter than the pictures suggest. It seems about the weight of a pack of gum. There is a light to indicate when charging is complete. Seems well built.
Last month, I purchased a Sony DCR-SR100 hard disc digital camcorder. After a few weeks of use, I decided on two things:
1) I needed a larger battery to take advantage of the 7 hours of HQ recording the camera is capable of, and
2) I needed an external charger for the batteries so I would not have to plug the camera in, unused, for hours at a time while the battery charged.
I selected the largest available "P" series battery, and purchased both the battery and this charger through Amazon.
The charger is well made, compact, and features a power prong that folds sideways into the body, which is excellent for portability. I found that the charger and a spare battery fit perfectly into the side compartment of the camera bag I purchased with my camcorder.
Being able to charge one battery while using the other in the camera has freed me from the downtime and inconvenience I had experienced prior.
The problem I have with this charger is a poor choice on Sony's part with regards to charge indication. The instruction manual has a chart for each P Series battery, and lists the approximate "normal" charge time and "full" charge time. The difference seems to be that the "normal" charge is mostly -- but not fully -- charged.
The manual states that when you insert a battery and plug the charger in, the indicator light will come on. When "normal" charging is complete, the indicator light goes off. The kicker is that to achieve a "full" charge, the manual says to leave the battery charging for about an hour after the indicator light has turned off. There is no additional visual cue to tell you when or if a "full" charge has been achieved. You essentially have to guess when the battery is fully charged.
I would rather have seen a product with multiple indicator lights, or at least with "flash codes" for the single indicator light so you have a way of distinguishing if the battery is currently charging, and if the charge is "mostly done," or complete and full.
That being said, the unit does get the job done and free you to film while your backup is charging. The battery is usable after the charge light goes off, even if it does not have the maximum life. If you are in the habit of charging your battery overnight, then you can probably be assured that the battery will have a full charge in the morning, even if the charger won't tell you. Other than what some may consider to be a nit-picking gripe, I have no complaints.
If you see this product in your country, check if it is the same model (even if they say BC-TRP). The Argentina version comes with an AC cable instead of foldable plug. If you want to save place in your bag, better get the USA version and an adapter for the plug otherwise you have to carry the cable.
The same happens with model BC-TR1.
This charger will charge batteries for you camera very quickly. It's very small and the wall prongs that you plug into the wall fold into the body for easy storage. it has a small yellow LED the turns off when the battery is fully charged so you can easily tell. much better than using the camera itself to charge the battery, and a whole lot faster. Great buy.
I recently purchased a Sony DVD camcorder through Amazon.com. The only way to charge the battery is through the supplied power cord that hooks up to the camcorder. I find this very inconvenient since the connector on the camcorder is in a very awkward location, you cannot use the camcorder while you are charging a battery, and you have to leave the camcorder out in the open where my young kids might find it and possbibly break it. I started looking into buying an AC charger and found this one. I love it for its small size which takes up less room than the original power cord. Sony should just bundle this charger as a standard item with all their camcorder, especially the high end one. The price on Amazon.com was cheaper than buying it from the big retail chain stores. I paid [...] back in January 2007 and the price has gone up probably because it is so popular. - Battery Charger - Camcorder Battery - Camcorder Accessories - Sony'
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