In brief: Chinese flashlight and charger manufacturer Nitecore is aiming to challenge the traditional camera battery industry with an interesting innovation. The company's UFZ100 rechargeable li-ion battery is designed for use in some of Sony's most popular digital cameras including the a7 III, the a7R III and the a7R IV. What makes it unique is the fact that it features a built-in USB-C charging port right on the battery, complete with LED charging indicator.
A red light means the battery is below 10 percent, blue is less than half capacity and green means you've got more than 50 percent.
While it's true that most modern digital cameras are capable of charging the battery within them when plugged into a power source, it's also true that many serious photographers go through multiple batteries during a photo shoot. Not having to haul around a proprietary battery charger could lessen your daily loadout and eliminate any concern about losing your charger.
The UFZ100 affords multiple safeguards including overcharge, over-discharge, overvoltage, overcurrent and short-circuit protection. The 2250mAh battery can take approximately 500 photos between charging cycles, and can be fully recharged in about four hours.
Nitecore hasn't yet revealed pricing or availability, so it's unclear what sort of cost savings buyers might be looking at - if any. Regardless, it's a neat idea, even if the era of user-swappable batteries is largely behind us.