How many NP-FZ100 packs you need for a wedding comes down to two things: one body or two, and whether video is part of the job. Short answer first. A single body shooting mostly stills: 4–6 packs. Two bodies: 6–8 packs. Add ceremony and reception video and you want another 2–3 on top, or you move the main camera to a dummy battery and a power bank. The NP-FZ100 is rated at about 2280mAh / 7.2V / roughly 16.4Wh. Sony’s CIPA numbers usually sit in the 500–700 frame range, but a wedding means constant playback, long bursts and live view, so real days tend to land at roughly 60–80% of that. Build the plan around the discounted number and you won’t go flat during the ceremony.
Where a wedding day actually spends power
Wedding power draw is not evenly spread. Knowing where the peaks sit helps more than simply throwing two more packs in the bag. The ceremony and the reception are the hungry parts. Travel gaps cost almost nothing — unless you leave the camera switched on, in which case standby quietly eats a meaningful slice of a pack.
| Part of the day | What you’re doing | Draw | Budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morning prep / pickup | Constant wake-ups, bursts, playback and deleting | Medium | 1–2 packs |
| Ceremony | Bursts for the key moments, some video | High | 1–2 packs |
| Portraits / location | Live-view composition, repeated wake-ups | Medium-high | 1–2 packs |
| Reception | Flash recycling, toasts in bursts | High | 1–2 packs |
| Transfers / gaps | Standby or powered off | Low | Ignore |
How long one NP-FZ100 lasts
The NP-FZ100 covers the A7 III, A7 IV, A7R IV, A7R V, the A9 series, the A1, A6600, A6700, A7C II and the FX3, among others. The same pack behaves differently in different bodies, so the table below gives broad, room-temperature, mixed-use ranges. Use them to plan, not as lab measurements.
| Body | Viewfinder (approx.) | Rear screen (approx.) | Continuous 4K (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A7 III / A7 IV | 500–700 frames | 400–600 frames | 90–130 min |
| A7R IV / A7R V | 450–650 frames | 380–550 frames | 80–120 min |
| A9 / A9 II | 400–600 frames | 350–500 frames | 90–120 min |
| A7C / A7C II / A6700 | 400–600 frames | 350–500 frames | 80–120 min |
| FX3 / ZV-E1 | — | Video-first bodies | Run external power |
One trap worth repeating: the A6400, A6500, A7 II and A7R II run on NP-FW50, not the NP-FZ100. The two are not interchangeable. Confirm the body before you take the booking — the Sony mirrorless battery cross-reference covers this in full.
Battery counts for three setups
Setup 1 — one body, mostly stills: 4–6 packs
A standard day of prep, ceremony, portraits and reception tends to use 3–4 packs. Keep 1–2 as headroom for a schedule that runs long or a guest who asks for extra frames. If you’re also covering the pre-ceremony prep in full, move to the top of the range.
Setup 2 — two bodies, mostly stills: 6–8 packs
Two bodies usually means a wide on one and a long lens on the other, both working. At 3–4 packs each, that’s 6–8 in the bag. Number the packs per body so you can tell afterward which camera is the thirsty one.
Setup 3 — two bodies plus video: 8–10 packs, or external power
Video is where batteries disappear. Recording the full ceremony plus reception segments commonly costs 3–4 packs on one body alone. Rather than stacking packs, put a dummy battery and power bank on the main camera and keep the second body on NP-FZ100 for candids. The wiring is laid out in dummy battery and power adapter options.
When to swap: a rhythm that works
- Swap at one bar. Don’t run a pack to automatic shutdown. By the last bar the voltage has already sagged, and both burst rate and flash recycle slow down.
- Fresh pack before the ceremony, whatever is left. The ceremony happens once. Start it on a full battery.
- Swap at transitions — portraits to reception, or between toast tables. Use the pause; don’t change mid-sequence.
- Charge what comes out. Receptions usually have outlets within reach. Topping up as you shoot means the last pack or two isn’t dead on arrival.
- Don’t mix packs of very different ages in the same body. A heavily worn pack tends to drop out suddenly under load.
Top-ups during the day
A dual-slot charger weighs less than the extra packs it replaces. Plug in during lunch or a transfer and you’ll refill 2–4 packs in a couple of hours. With a USB-powered charger, a large power bank works from the car too — just remember packs warm up while charging, so don’t leave them sealed inside a bag. For body settings that stretch each pack further, see the camera power-saving settings list.
The packing list
- 4–10 NP-FZ100 packs, depending on the setup above
- A number on every pack, so rotation is fair and wear is traceable
- One or two dual-slot chargers, plus cables and plugs
- A hard case or terminal covers, so contacts never meet keys or coins
- 1–2 spares in an inside pocket; in cold weather, body heat is your battery warmer
Plan for enough plus one layer of headroom. Carrying far more than that only adds weight and sorting time. Money is usually better spent on a second charger than on two more packs.
FAQ
Are third-party packs reliable enough for weddings?
A well-made compatible pack is a legitimate alternative; matching the original on capacity and cycle life isn’t a stretch. Run one as a dry rehearsal over a full day’s worth of shooting to check burst and playback behavior, then put it on real jobs. For the big dates, most shooters still keep one genuine Sony pack — $70 and up — as a backstop.
Will two packs cover a wedding?
Usually not. A light, single-body, stills-only schedule might squeak through, but add bursts, playback or video and two packs rarely reach the end of the reception. Start at four.
Do I need more for a winter outdoor wedding?
Yes. Below freezing, capacity drops noticeably, and near -10°C you may see roughly half of room-temperature performance. Carry 1–2 extra, keep spares against your body and rotate them.
The camera says remaining charge can’t be displayed accurately — keep shooting?
Yes. It’s a common message on some Sony bodies with non-genuine packs. Power delivery and shooting are unaffected; only the percentage is approximate. “Cannot recognize this battery” is a different matter and needs troubleshooting.
Our NP-FZ100 compatible battery is rated at 2280mAh / 7.2V / roughly 16.4Wh, at around $17.89 per pack, around $22.93 for one battery plus charger and around $36.74 for two batteries plus charger. Want more capacity? The TNP-FZ100 (2400mAh) runs around $19.66 / $24.70 / $39.92. Studios and wedding teams kitting out six packs or more should go through wholesale inquiry — orders above 100 units are quoted by batch and come out cheaper than piecemeal buying.