The X-tra is a crowdsourced digital camera battery project that promises users better performance than the conventional ones offered by first party and other third party manufacturers. On top of featuring a larger capacity, it also includes several quality-of-life features that are not commonly found in standard camera batteries in the market.
The major highlight of the X-tra battery is its massive 3,700mAh capacity that holds twice the charge of Canon’s LP-E6, which comes in at 1865mAh. It also includes a slight extension below the base for extra grip and includes an external four-LED battery indicator. Below it is a release button which easily frees the battery from the compartment, allowing for a quick reload when required. Amusingly, its design does resemble a pistol magazine in a way.
What’s even more interesting is that on the battery itself is a USB-C port which enables it to be charged via phone or laptop chargers and even power banks. The same port could also be used to provide power to other external camera accessories such as LED lights, microphones and so on.
Despite the advantages it offers, there are some caveats to be expected. As noted by the company, you are required to remove your camera’ s battery door in order to accommodate the X-tra. Furthermore, unlike traditional battery grips, its slight extension may hinder users from using certain tripods or other accessories that are attached to the bottom of the camera.
As for compatibility, X-tra includes three different designs with each supporting camera bodies from Sony, Canon and Nikon. It is also worth noting that the position of the release button, battery indicator and USB-C port are different in all three designs. The company plans to also include support for the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K in the near future.
The X-tra battery has exceeded its goal of US$10,000 on Kickstarter, with backers pledging over US$58,000 ahead of its 19 December deadline. A single battery and charging case will be rewarded to backers who have pledged a minimum of US$99 (~RM405) during the campaign, and would later retail at US$145 (~RM594) when it fully launches.
As with other crowdfunding campaigns that are widely available, keep in mind that you are backing these projects at your own risk. While a good number of projects have seen success in the end, others tend to end up as vaporware – sometimes little to no compensation returned to its backers.
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