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A7R 2 Power Supply

Peter_C

New member
I was using the camera for 4K video and thought to power with the Sony power supply via usb cable to avoid changing the battery. To my surprise, the camera shut down with "battery exhausted" message. When I contacted Sony support, I was told the supplied usb / ac charger would not power the camera and I would need the Sony W20 unit with dummy battery. But it seems to me one of the features of the mk2 was being able to power through usb.
 

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Peter_C

New member
I double checked all settings per manual instructions, and did note the usb/ac charge icon was displayed. I now see there's a noted "exception" in the instructions:

"Under certain conditions, power may be supplied from the battery pack supplementarily even if you are using the AC adaptor".
 

Annna T

Active member
I was using the camera for 4K video and thought to power with the Sony power supply via usb cable to avoid changing the battery. To my surprise, the camera shut down with "battery exhausted" message. When I contacted Sony support, I was told the supplied usb / ac charger would not power the camera and I would need the Sony W20 unit with dummy battery. But it seems to me one of the features of the mk2 was being able to power through usb.
I never understood the USB/AC power supplied accessory as allowing the camera to function, but just as another way to load the battery. Now having both that power supply and the external charger, you can load two batteries at the same time.
If you take the battery out of the compartment, I don't think you can power the body on for anything. You need to have something in the battery compartment whether a fake battery or a true one. I will test it now in order to see whether that can may be work for stills, if not for movies.
 
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Knorp

Well-known member
It's kind of a weird construction that may work only fine for stills.
Perhaps video drains more power than the AC adaptor can supply, hence the remark in the manual Peter referred to.
And the battery is not charged while the power (read: camera) is on.
 

Annna T

Active member
It's kind of a weird construction that may work only fine for stills.
Perhaps video drains more power than the AC adaptor can supply, hence the remark in the manual Peter referred to.
And the battery is not charged while the power (read: camera) is on.
What is sure is that if you don't have any battery inside of the compartment, the the supplied USB/AC accessory won't allow the camera to power on. I just tested it.

Next test would be to put on an almost empty battery and see whether the USB/AC power accessory allows you to continue shooting much longer.. But right now all my batteries are fully loaded and this test implies more shooting time, to be sure that the body is able to suck power from that combination.
 
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