My flash (580) chews up batteries like crazy. Does it really matter what batteries you use? What would be the best option, price and power wise? I don't think I would be interested in one of the external packs for now. Thanks-
i tend to use nimh 2500mah energizers, like with all nimh batteries, if they are used they last for a while, but if they are left in storage, they just loose their charge.
Make your own battery pack, try to make something like 3 x 5 1.2V AA 2500mAh NiMH (3x5=7.5Ah 6V, you can have even more, like 5x5, this will last way longer than the Quantum QB1+ pack, since it's only 2.5Ah), this gives you at least a thousand flashes.
All you need is some wires, battery holder, and hot glue (for molding the dummy batteries in 580ex).
In my experience with just about any flash I can think of ever using, this will be a problem that will not go away as long as you're intent on using double A batteries. The best solution, IMO, is to get an external power pack. Even the absolute best double A batteries are going to be chewed up and spit out by the 580ex in no time.
I personally prefer Al Jacob's products. Not only is Al a regular on this site and an all-around good guy, but his Black Box and Tuxedo are great products and very reasonably priced.
I have both the Battery 1+ type (dummy battery) and Quantum Turbo type (high voltage) setups.
Personally I prefer the simplicity of the high voltage option that Al does not like. It just plugs into the side of the flash. No cutting the cover, etc.
Plus they can also be used for small monolights, like the JTL or Dynalite UNI 400 JR (with an adapter cable.)
And, yes, I *have* fried a 550EX that way - turning things on in the wrong sequence
If you want to go that route, this battery is a pretty good value:
They use Sealed Lead Acid batteries like Al does. I think they are 12 volt, 2.3 amp. Not sure what size Al uses. If his are 6 volt, divide the amperage by 2 to compare the total capacity between the two and estimate the number of pops.
Plus the SP one has all kind of fancy level indicators!
joekraft wrote:
My flash (580) chews up batteries like crazy. Does it really matter what batteries you use? What would be the best option, price and power wise? I don't think I would be interested in one of the external packs for now. Thanks-
When you say "chews up batteries like crazy" what exactly do you mean? I use 2500mAH NiMH in my 580EX and they last several hundred flashes easily. If I need more or can't pause to change batteries I use the Canon battery pack that takes (8) AA batteries and then I get thousands of flashes from a charge.
Quite frankly, with only the small Canon battery pack you could easily smoke the flash by over heating it.
I looked at the Jacob packs, the writer is an entrepreneur and he knows how to sell you a product-made-by-a-company; hell, he didn't even put the price on the product description page. I see no edge the SLA battery offers over the NiMH AA batteries (I am talking about hooking 5 1.2V 2500mAh in series then do the same but in parallel for 2 packs of 5 AA, you get 5Ah capacity). Yes, SLA is cheap but bulky comparing to NiMH, if you look close to capacity, weight, and price ratio, NiMH wins hands down.
There are two kinds of people, go buy it from someone else or make your own. 25 DURACELL or Energizer 2500/2650mAh costs around $45 (25 AA = 12.5Ah, please, I would love Jacob to tell me the blackbox has a higher capacity and lighter weight than this setup). Then you will need a useless Quantum cable which costs around $7-10 from ebay (including s&h), and finally you need some wire, a charger (usually the kind for RC hobbyist, they are about $25) and hot glue. Problem solved.
As always, just like what Sean Kennedy said, 1) What does it do? 2) How well does it do it comparing to other products at same cost?
mR_CaESaR wrote:
i tend to use nimh 2500mah energizers, like with all nimh batteries, if they are used they last for a while, but if they are left in storage, they just loose their charge.
I second, these work for me and are pretty cheap as well.
My Sunpak 555's hold 6 AA's, I use Duracell Rechargables in them...they usually last an entire wedding from start to finish, several hundred pops. If I get carried away, I have an extra battery holder loaded and ready to go, can change them out in about 60 seconds give or take and I'm off and running.
George
Thanks for the replies folks. I can't do an external pack right now, mostly because my lighting set up is, for now, going to be based pretty exclusively around chasing an 18 month old, and soon a new one, around. So, can't have cables everywhere. I just wanted to know if there were some reasonable solution, say something analagous to the battery pack you pop in the body - for a flash. I'm going to try the bigger capacity rechargeables for now, since we already have the charger, but appreciate the input on making your own. I'll definitiely come back to this when I need an external solution.
400d wrote:
I looked at the Jacob packs, the writer is an entrepreneur and he knows how to sell you a product-made-by-a-company; hell, he didn't even put the price on the product description page.
If I didn't want to believe otherwise, I would almost wonder if this is some kind of veiled dig at Al and his products. And why? Because someone has "looked at" something? Hmm...bizarre, really.
For the record, my experience with Al has proven to me that he is a very straight-forward, straight-talking guy who doesn't play games and, IMO, bends over backwards to help people understand differences in any battery pack. Sure, he'll tell you why he thinks his packs are better, but he will also take time to explain what the other packs will and won't do.
And, also to make sure this is clear, Al clearly has the prices of his gear on the site. He has a product description page and the bottom is an order form. On that order form are the prices. Seems this is a rather common practice...describe the item...then if someone wants to consider buying take them to an order page. Not sure why the person making the post (sorry...we don't know its name) wanted to get all technical about where the prices were. They are on the site and Al is hiding nothing (as it seems the poster is implying).
Does it seem like I'm standing up for Al? It should. He's a great guy and makes great products, and I'm glad to be able to call him a friend. I just find it more than a little disturbing that someone seems to want to go after him in such a veiled manner. You don't have to like or even buy his products. I don't care, and I'm guessing Al doesn't either. But why would someone spout off about them without having first-hand experience?
Oh yea...does anyone who's dealt with Al really believe the assertion made above that he's a "company"? C'mon....he's a two person company...Al and his wife. (I think he even mentions this somewhere on his web site). He makes battery packs and he's proud of those battery packs. Not sure what's wrong with that.
Signed,
A very happy Black Box and Tuxedo user (who's never fried a flash with one!)
I don't know Al. As I mentioned, I actually chose to go a different route than he recommends - with the high voltage units.
But I really appreciate all of the information on his site!
They sound like good people that make good products, at reasonable prices, with great customer service to fill a niche need. What more could you ask for.
Still, I am intereted in the DIY discussion with 400D.
I am thinking about doing a "scalable" Sealed Lead Acid (SLA) solution for my Dynalite UNI JR 400. One where I can swap 12 volt batteries - from a small 2.3 amps "pocket sized" battery, to a 9 amp, to a 16 amp (like the Vagabond or Dynalite XP 1100), or more.
The 2.3 amp gives about 100 pops. The 9 amp gives about 500, the 16 amp about 1,000, etc.
I would use the same high voltage power supply from a 12 volt version of the Turbo. I think using high voltage for DC monolights makes for a much lighter and more streamlined approach than going with all of the weight and hassle of using a large enough inverter.
Sounds like 400D has a similar low voltage scheme using arrays of NiMH batteries.
For the record, I own Al's Black Box and Tuxedo Pack. For me, it was a no brainer. I was sick and tired of trying to keep track of rechargable batteries and fumbling with them at the most critical moment of the photo shoot.
Most of the time I shoot the tuxedo pack for but when I need 1000 shots the black box is always ready to go.
OK, since a lot of you guys are very interested in making the pack now..
I didn't write this, but I saw this some time ago; my pack is almost the same, but I connected the 6 AA batteries holders in parallel, and I used hot glue instead of wood for the dummy batteries.. http://www.burren.cx/photo/flash_power.html
Btw, I am actually in the progress of making a 5.3Ah pack for my 1D.
I'll tell you what *I* did, with more-than-moderate success.
I went to the surplus store (how I love it) and bought 3 x 4AA serial chassis. Two were flat - with 4 batteries lying in a row - and one was a square, with the cells stacked almost like in a flash. I took these chassis and glued them together, back to back with the square one at the top. The three were wired in parallel, and they fit snugly in a Lowepro Rezo 10 bag. I then took a 1/8" mini headphone extension cable, used the female end on the pack and built the wooden-dowel-and-screw fake cells for my flash itself. I dremeled a tiny hole in the battery door where the male end of the mini connector sticks out.
The cell pack can be carried on a belt or put on my bracket - it's not too heavy. In total, it's a 12 cell, 6 volt, 7 amp hour pack - it's great. It will run my Sigma Super DG flash for hundreds of shots with no problems. With a 15 minute 4 cell charger, the whole kit and caboodle recharges in well under an hour.
If anyone's really interested in pics and details, lemme know, I'll put some up.
400D you don't know what you're talking about (re: Al Jacobs products) and shouldn't go offcriticizing something or someone that you have no first hand experience with. If you had had a bad experiece that wasn't resolved than you are entitled to air that. But if you just want to be a know-it-all, don't knock down someone else just to make yourself look better. And if others want to risk their gear on your design that's their choice...
Scott couldn't have said it better, Al supplies a very good product at a more than fair price. As a person who prefers to spend my time behind the camera rather than inventing accessories, I appreciate suppliers such as Al.
I think Al is a stand up guy and have purchased two Black Boxes and could not be happier with his products. I think they are fairly priced , do what he states on his site and last forever. How good is that?
And why? Because someone has "looked at" something? Hmm...bizarre, really.
(I think he even mentions this somewhere on his web site). He makes battery packs and he's proud of those battery packs. Not sure what's wrong with that.