SmallRig NP-F970 USB-C Rechargeable Camera Battery Review

The NP-F battery type has been an industry standard for years, powering lights, monitors, and a multitude of accessories. While in the past, the standard NP-F battery was essential, there was little more to them than having the ability to supply power to the intended device they were connected to.

The SmallRig NP-F970 USB-C Rechargeable Camera Battery, on the other hand, offers all the power delivery you would expect, plus it adds a few additional features that make it an equally exciting proposition for both filmmakers and photographers looking for an NP-F type battery.

As you’d expect, the battery is fully compatible with external monitors like the ATOMOS Ninja V, video lights, with the correct contact fixing for the NP-F battery type. However, it also features both USB-C and USB-A ports, making it versatile enough to charge smartphones and other USB-powered devices, including their USB Type-C enabled NP-FZ100 for Sony Alpha cameras.

This battery is primarily targeted at professionals, and offers a solution for anyone with extended power needs, particularly useful for those in both photography and video production.

As the SmallRig NP-F970 is designed for maximum compatibility, it follows the exact guidelines for NP-F batteries and, as such, will fit any device fitted with the correct contacts. In this review, I tested it with the ATOMOS Ninja V along with several other monitors and lights to great effect. The size therefore is pretty standard at 69mm x 38mm x 60mm, which balances capacity and portability. When it comes to weight, it tips the scales at 299g, which is light enough to not cause much strain in setups, although it could feel slightly bulky when attached to a smaller compact rig, but then it’s far lighter than the smallest V-Lock.

The build quality of the battery is absolutely superb, and a nice feature for the battery is that it’s available in three different colour options, the black that I’m looking at in this review, a green, and a bright orange. There’s also a four way charger that can be purchased separately, which will be a great asset for many.

The materials used all feel sturdy, with a plastic outer shell that feels durable and should stand up well to frequent use, The sides are also nicely textured, which adds to the quality feel and also enables better purchase when handling the battery in colder weather. While the battery is robust, it isn’t weatherproof.

One of the features that really stands out is the LCD screen, which gives real-time information on charge level and output, This is just a percentage, but handy for knowing where you are with the battery capacity.

The SmallRig NP-F970 has been primarily aimed at professionals, and with most cameras now supporting PD power, this battery can be a great option for boosting the power supply to your camera when shooting video. The battery has a capacity of 10,500mAh, which is considerable compared with the 2400mAh of your average NP-FZ100 for Sony Alpha cameras supplying the equivalent power of four of these batteries.

Obviously, as standard, your Sony A7 IV isn’t directly compatible with the NP-F connector, however, with the USB-C and USB-A ports that are built into the battery, you can utilise the power of PD power, or recharge your SmallRig NP-FZ100 batteries directly.

This not only means you can charge your cameras but also your smartphone and other USB devices. Here again, the fact that the battery supports fast charging is another great feature that means that from fully depleted, it can reach a full charge in just 3.5 hours using the USB-C PD input.

If you’re filming, then this battery coupled with the new NP-F mount from SmallRig will mean that you can film all day without the need to swap batteries, all while keeping a relatively compact form for your filming rig.

While these features are all extremely useful, I have to say that the LCD screen, which displays real-time battery level, is a feature that I really appreciate. A quick glance at the screen and you can tell exactly where you are with power and have a backup ready when needed.

When paired with the ATOMOS Ninja V, the NP-F970 fitted without issue and the ATOMOS Ninja V powered on as expected so all off to a good start. In normal use, the Ninja V typically draws around 10 to 12 watts per hour, which means that with this battery it should run for around 6 hours on a full charge. In reality, when filming, the monitors are switched off from time to time so actually the single battery saw us through a good morning of filming and part of the afternoon without issue. The nice part about using this battery over the ATOMOS version of a similar capacity is the LCD % readout on the back. This just enabled me to get a good idea about the remaining charge so that I could swap out the battery before it ran flat, which would probably have been an inopertune moment.

The NP-F970 is also perfect for recharging SmallRig NP-FZ100 batteries that can be used with most of the latest Sony Alpha range of mirrorless cameras. These after market options that I looked at back in October 2023: are a cheaper option than Sony’s own NP-FZ100’s and offer a 16.4Wh capacity. The quality of that battery aside, with the NP-F970 you can eseentially recharge the NP-FZ100 using the USB Type-C port to full capacity four times. For photographers and videographers, this essentially enables you to cut down on the kit that you’re carrying and enables you to pouch some of the NP-F970 power for other uses.

That ability to utilise the battery to charge others is a great feature and aside from camera batteries, it can also be used to charge smartphones like the iPhone 15 Pro (with its 3,274mAh battery) about three times.

The LCD screen on the NP-F970 may initially seem like a bit of a luxury but actually it proves quite useful in practice. The ability to monitor remaining battery percentage and charging input/output helps you plan when to switch batteries or connect to external power. While not essential for every user, it’s a handy feature, especially for professionals.

The SmallRig NP-F970 USB-C Rechargeable Camera Battery is a great choice for anyone needing a reliable power source for powering monitors, lights, or anything that requires a NP-F battery. The high capacity makes it suitable for all energy-hungry devices like the ATOMOS Ninja V, and the fact that it has that added versatility of being able to recharge camera batteries and smartphones all helps to add to its value.

One of the features that I really like is the LCD screen, which just gives an easy-to-see and accurate way of monitoring the battery capacity, and now that I’ve used it, it’s actually quite frustrating going back to my standard ATOMOS NP-F batteries, they just seem dumb in comparison. I would have liked to have seen some type of weatherproofing, especially living in the UK, however, considering the innovation that has gone into this product, it absolutely stands out as a great option for anyone in need of this battery type.