Sony’s official battery for the Sony a6400 is the Sony NP-FW50, one of which is included in the box with the a6400. Other than a micro USB cable to charge the NP-FW50 in-camera, there is no external charger included with the a6400.
Sony A6400 Forum & Facebook Group
If you are looking for further help and advice on the A6400 or would simply like to share your photos and videos, then please head over to our friendly APS-C Forum. If you prefer Facebook then I also run the Sony a6400 Shooters Group.
Here are my recommended battery and external charger options for the Sony a6400.
Batteries
Whether you decide to stick with the original Sony NP-FW50 battery or go with a third-party option, here are my recommended batteries for the Sony a6400.
Original Sony NP-FW50 Battery
The original Sony NP-FW50 battery is certainly more expensive when you compare it to third-party options which offer a very similar battery life. However, over the long-term the original Sony batteries do hold their charge better a lot better than the third-party battery options.
RAVPower NP-FW50 Batteries & Dual Charger
If you are happy to go with a third-party option then RAVPower offer two NP-FW50 batteries together with a dual charger. It’s really great value and a lot cheaper than the official Sony NP-FW50 batteries and charger. I have this charger and batteries myself and have never had any issues.
There is a micro USB cable included but not a USB wall adapter. Which is probably a good thing since we all probably have hundreds of these lying around and there’s one in the box with the a6400 too. Over the long-term these batteries will not hold their charge as well as the original Sony batteries, but you can still normally get a good couple of years out of them before they need replacing.
Price Check & Buyer Reviews for RAVPower NP-FW50
At: Amazon
External Battery Chargers
As you are probably aware the Sony a6400 does not include an external battery charger in the box, the only option you have to charge the battery is in-camera via micro USB. If you would prefer a faster external charger then here are some of the best options.
Sony BC-TRW W Series Battery Charger
If you want to go with the official Sony external charger for the NP-FW50 battery, then the Sony BC-TRW W is one of the options that you have to choose from. It will charge a completely drained NP-FW50 battery in around 220 minutes.
USB Charger
You can charge the a6400 via micro USB and a USB charger whilst you are on the move. You can also use it to extend the battery life of the a6400 for shooting time-lapses. Here are my recomendations for USB Power Banks for the Sony a6400.
Anker PowerCore 20100mAh
Using an external charger is a great way to power the a6400 for extended periods of time, like when video recording or shooting a time-lapse, or to simply charge the NP-FW50 battery in-camera. The Anker PowerCore 20100mAh provides approximately 19-20x the power of a single NP-FW50 battery.
Price Check & Buyer Reviews for Anker PowerCore 20,100mAh
At: Amazon
AC-PW20 Dummy Battery
Even when using a USB power bank to extend the battery life of the a6400, the battery will still drain slowly. If you would like to power the a6400 for even longer periods of time then you can use a dummy battery connected to a USB Power Bank. I’m using the AC-PW20 Dual USB dummy battery with my a6400 and it works fine together with a portable charger like the Anker PowerCore 20100mAh or RAVPower 22000mAh.
Price Check & Buyer Reviews for AC-PW20 Dummy Battery
At: Amazon
Battery Life
For shooting stills battery life will vary considerably depending on how you are shooting. I’ve shot over 2000 images on a single NP-FW50 battery when shooting superbikes using AF-C and burst shooting. However, if I spent hours walking around and using the EVF/LCD to compose shots you may only get a couple of hundred shots from one battery. If it’s extremely cold this can also reduce battery life. Typically if I go out for the day with my a6400 I’ll take at least 4 batteries with me.
If you are shooting 4k video then the battery will last around 1 hour 22 minutes. You’ll find my a6400 battery life test in the following video.
Have I missed any batteries or chargers that you think should be included here? Please let me know in the comments below.
I’m in the process of purchasing the sony a6400 camera .therefore I’m checking things out. I don’t want to leave stranded without a battery.
I purchased the recommended dummy battery to connect to the anker powerbank. When I also connect my tascam dr60 mk2 output into the mic in of the a6400 it creates a horrible feedback interference. It works fine when plugging a mic into the mic input but when paired with the tascam it creates interference not experienced when using the Sony battery or power adapter.
Many thanks for the heads-up on this Shane. Others might find this helpful if they are using a tascam dr60 mk2.
could be a few things causing this. ground earth loop is one. for audio applications i have a domestic power extension cable with the ground wire removed from the plug terminal. but yeah recording audio with cheap kit will cause problems. try using shielded cables or using a ferite ring on an un-shielded cable see if that helps.