16.1.3 
External USB Battery
External USB BatteryThought this book provided a great amount of information? Wait, there’s more!
In this book I have tried to provide a careful balance of information, knowledge, inspiration, and history. But there is so much to learn about photography that one book cannot possibly convey it all.
To that end I have created a hodgepodge of additional information, in case these might be of interest to you. (There are also other things that have little to do with teaching the photographic arts, but what the heck! I’ll share these with you as well! :-) )
Vertical grips can be a handy thing when you attach heavy lenses to a tiny body to help keep the whole system in balance. Sony doesn't actually make one but some of the Chinese units designed for the Alpha 6000 will fit the A6300 well.
One of the most popular is sold under two brand names, "Neewer" and "Vivitar". Here's one from B&H for about USD $70: http://bhpho.to/1Y05lnj
There is also a wooden "grip" from J.D. Camera Designs whose utility I question but it does look different: http://amzn.to/1ZvUTER
3rd party batteries are usually a guessing game since many are considerably cheaper than Sony's genuine batteries but you don't know whether they're any good or not.
Over the years one 3rd party supplier has proven their worth in this area – they are the Wasabi brand batteries. 1 battery is USD $13.99. http://amzn.to/26qitb9
External USB BatteryThere are a gazillion of these out there, but this one was rated the best by thewirecutter.com and I use this model personally. External USB batteries can power the camera while they're in use, allowing you to shoot video without worry and do some extended intervolometer work. The Anker Astro E5 1600 mAh battery available here: http://amzn.to/1JPliUr .
A newer one with a 2000 mAh capacity is available as well.
Dual Battery charger – USD $38.50: http://amzn.to/1X1YPN0
Oooh! This one's even cheaper! A Neewer for $19.90! http://amzn.to/1Psqp3R
Oooh Oooh! $15 from Opteka! http://amzn.to/1PfqOr6
It's amazing how much more responsive the camera becomes with a fast memory card. Once upon a time I sprung for the Lexar Professional 1000x (150 MB/s) SDXC II 128 GB card. USD $69.95 and I've never regretted spending the money. http://bit.ly/1Vz07RM
Want more choices? Photographer Alik Griffin has compiled the mother of all memory card options for this camera: http://alikgriffin.com/best-sd-memory-card-sony-a6300
There are two primary manufacturers of underwater housings made specifically for this camera, and neither of them is cheap.
The first is the Nauticam NA-6300 (USD $1,650), which was designed to be used with the 16-50 PZ OSS (among other lenses). It has a leak / pressure detector and they even make macro converters for certain Sony lenses. http://bit.ly/1WQOLYF
The second is casually known as "Ikelite's Underwater Housing with TTL Circuitry for the Sony Alpha a6300 Mirrorless Digital Camera ", model #6910.63 for $974.95 available here: http://bhpho.to/1VPnbMw . This unit's claim to fame is their optional electronic flashes which are compatible with the A6300's TTL flash exposure system. An accessory port must be purchased as well to fit the lens you plan to attach.
These products just came out as this version of the book went to "press": The first is from Meikon for $549.99 (http://amzn.to/1TUg2Vx ) and the 2nd is from Voking for an impressive $488: http://amzn.to/1PFqsfi
I'm not a fan of these, as they slow me down. But I also know I'm in the minority with that opinion, and hey, here's a leather case for the camera for less than USD $10! How can you lose? http://ebay.to/1UdRjzs And another no-name case which actually looks nicer for the same price: http://ebay.to/1WndlQn
Or here's another one from Mega Gear for three times that: http://bhpho.to/1XTKXEz
Other options are available from Minico: a half-leather case where the battery can be changed without the case being removed: $28.99 from http://amzn.to/216jy3e . Also a premium full-leather case for $119.99 from Hwota: http://amzn.to/1U6y89h
Finally, the well-known brand Gariz has just released an A6300 half-case in black, brown, and camel brown: http://amzn.to/1TXZyRx
I talked about external mics in the Movie chapter in Section 12.12.
I've highlighted some of the more interesting and useful accessories for your camera. There's a ton more available and you can see a pretty comprehensive list at http://briansmith.com/sony-a6300-a6000-camera-accessories-guide/ .
Hey, let's call a spade a spade. I've written and worked on a lot of other stuff, some of which you might find useful. Everything mentioned in this section is available from www.FriedmanArchives.com/ebooks .
I’ve written a ton of book on other high-end cameras (mostly Sony and Minolta, but there are also books on Canon, Fujifilm, and Olympus sprinkled in there as well). You can see the entire list at www.FriedmanArchives.com/ebooks .
In this downloadable video you can watch me go from “Yuk!” to “OMG!” in about ten minutes (including all the trials of getting the light to look “just right”). All by using just a wireless flash and a $5 piece of cloth!
The 50-minute video is available as a downloadable .mp4 file for USD $9.95. You can see more info and a preview of the talk at http://friedmanarchives.com/wireless_flash.