Battery charging case is not a new product accessory in the market. There are quite a few manufacturers doing similar battery charging cases for the NP-W126S and NP-W235 battery including many other popular camera battery models and brands.
Unfortunately, none of the manufacturers are familiar to me, but they are probably well-known in their home country, China. This is also why I am glad that Viltrox decided to design their own camera battery case, as I am familiar with the brand and have used several of their lenses, which I believe should have the same level of quality in their accessories.
Before I proceed further, I would like to thank the good people in Viltrox for sending this power bank to me. Having said that, my thoughts and experiences shared in this post remain completely unbiased.
Design and Build Quality
First off, it looks blocky & bulky and it does feel bulky when I holding it on my hand. But that’s totally understandable because it is designed to charge 2 x NP-W235 batteries (the battery isn’t any Smalley either) at any one time.
It is made of plastic, not the best plastic material but not the worse one either. Overall, I feel it’s an average build with decent weight (about 320 grams).
It comes with a protection cover that can magnetically snap close. Surprisingly, it gives out satisfying closing sound when the cover closed.
Capacity and Charging Speed
It is equipped with 5500mAh (40.7 Wh). With the recent airlines power bank ban, it is safe from the regulations limitations from 100 Wh. So you are safe to bring it onboard in your carry-on bag.
It is equipped with a decent 30W PD charging USB-C port and it is capable to full charged the power bank within 80 minutes. The power bank can also charge a mobile phone too. All you need is a cable but I think that it is not the main purpose, rather a good addition function to do so.
Oh yes, it takes about an hour to charge an empty NP-W235 to charge to 100%. Pretty decent in my option. The powerbank has a balance of 62% which, assuming no power loss during charging the battery, is about 3410 mAh juice left. In short, this power bank is capable to charge two full NP-W235 batteries and still have some remains. How great is that!
Who is this for?
I can’t deny this power bank is bulky to carry around and it is not pocketable. But I asked myself is that the purpose of this powerbank? After some thought, it is suitable for camping photographers, travel photographers and event photographers who need to juice up their batteries but there are no charging source available at their disposal.
I know there are camera batteries that come with a USB-C port for direct charging. It is a good alternative battery solution without the need for a charging dock and charging case. I think no harm in having more solutions for us to choose from based on our preferences and using behaviors.
Conclusion
This is a great attempt by Viltrox. This power bank battery charger case is available for Nikon (BT-EL15), Canon (BT-E6) and Sony (BT-FZ100) as well. However, it is priced at 70 USD. Pretty steep in my opinion but I believe the quality from the brand gives me a certain level of assurance. I hope there will be a bigger capacity like 10,000 mAh in the future.
Thank you for reading.
Disclaimer:
1. All the shots taken here are shot by me.
2. Most of the shots are straight out of the camera with some shots edited via In-Camera Raw Processing.
3. The opinions are based on my experience. If there is any mistake, please kindly drop me a message and I will gladly make the amendment.
4. I reserve ownership of these images, if you wish to use my images, please notify me.
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Alwin Kok 