Viltrox PD36W NP-F Smart Charger

This is an update to my previous test and review of various NP-F battery chargers dated 11/02/2021, see below.

I continue to use lots of high capacity NP-F batteries to power my Blackmagic Pocket Cinema 4k video cameras on Architectural photography and video shoots, they also power my and Aputure LED video lights. My main charger is still the SWIT S-360F which will charge 2 Duracell 7800mAh batteries in 4hrs 51 mins and continues to give reliable service. I regularly look at NP-F chargers to see if something better than the SWIT comes along and was interested to see the Viltrox PD36W.

Viltrox PD36W, NP-F Battery Charger

I have a couple of Viltox speedboosters and mount adapters and I have always been impressed with their quality and price and so was keen to try their new charger.

I purchased the new Viltrox charger from Amazon in March 2024 for £16.99 including delivery. The charger is very small at only 90mm x 50mm x 22mm and will charge 2 NPF batteries simultaneously. To use the charger you need to connect it to a USB-C charger. No charger or cables are provided.

The literature supplied with the Viltrox charger states that you need to connect a USB-C charger that supplies more than 35w to achieve "Fast" charging. I connected it to a Samsung EP-TA845 45w charger which I already had.  Using this charger it took a disappointing  8hrs 15 mins to charge 2 of my standard Duracell 7800mAh batteries after an hour both were around 8.4v.

Pros

The £16.99 price tag makes it one of the cheaper NP-F battery chargers.

The charger is very small and light making it good for travel use.

The build quality appears good.

The charge time for 2 Duracell 7800mAh batteries is about half of that with the EXpro charger

Cons

You may need to purchase an additional high output USB-C charger, my Samsung EP-TA845 was £34.00.

The charge time is approximately double the SWIT charger.

Summary

For my needs the charge output is not adequate to keep up with my use of camera and lighting batteries. I really want chargers that will deliver 2 batteries in less than 4 hrs 30 mins, to keep pace with my usage, as a result I wouldn't bother to take the Viltrox on a shoot. However it's performance is much better than the EXPro type chargers which would make it a good choice for lighter use, particularly if you already have a high output USB-C charger.