Paul Buff
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I refer you back a couple of pages to this
"Some have suggested we should do a dedicated battery flash unit because it's "more efficient" than DC to AC to Monolight. Sorry to burst any bubbles, but my very scientifically conducted tests indicate 69.7% of the battery's capacity is emitted as flash energy in Vagabond Mini Lithium plus AB1600 (510 640WS pops per charge) , VS 44.4% efficiency for Profoto Acute B2 (160 600WS pops per charge) , VS 43.4% efficiency for Elinchrom Ranger Quadra A @400WS (150 pops per charges).
The new Acute B2 Lithium achieves 200 600WS pops per charge for an efficiency of 55.5%.
Data for Acute and Quadra calculated from published specs.
Battery capacity for the three systems are:
Ranger Quadra A = 38.4 watt hours ($200 Adorama)
Acute B2 = 60 watt hours ($272 B&H)
Acute B2 Lithium = 60 watt hours (?)
Vagabond Mini Lithium - 130 watt hours ($89.95 Direct)
Dissecting this, all battery systems have a lifespan broadly between 200 and 2000 charge/recharge cycles before their capacity is diminished or depleted. We've all seen that, say in a cordless power drill that won't recharge after a year or two of use. Most if us have picked up our power drill for a job, only to find the battery needs to be recharged or replaced.
So even if you only shoot 50 shots or so in a session, you typically want to be able to pick up your camera and, or in this case, your portable power, and use it for another shoot without cussing because your battery is dead and you have to stop and recharge it. An you certainly don't want a 5lb battery in your camera in order to reduce the times you have to stop and recharge, or put in a spare charged battery. And when your camera, or laptop battery has ceased to be rechargeable, we all groan at the cost of of replacing the battery.
What everybody wants is maximum battery capacity and life between charges, minimum battery weight and lowest replacement cost an inconvenience. Then, of course, there's the ever-present situation with SLA batteries where if you drain them and don't immediately recharge them they are toast. (our biggest Vagabond1/2 complaint).
So to answer the question of efficiency, the more efficient a system is, the more freedom you have from all of these issues. What if you have a 300 horsepower car with such poor efficiency that only 100 horsepower gets delivered to the wheels, yet you still have to buy gas for a 300HP car? You get a 10MPG ride that runs like a Yugo!
Without belaboring the issue, I have done tremendous R&D on achieving what was discussed . . . maximum capacity, minimum waste of that capacity (efficiency) maximum number of times the battery can be used without recharging or replacing, and minimum cost when replacements is necessary.
Before the question comes up that Paul C. Buff's batteries are way cheaper than others , therefore they must be inferior . . . the fact is all batteries come from the same typically-Asian manufacturers and are of the same general quality. The price difference is in our direct marketing, high volume, willingness to sell at lower gross profit margin (to maximize sales quantity) and judicious sourcing of vendors to accomplish highest quality and reliability and safety. I have dealt with a dozen battery manufacturers in order to accomplish thus, and have received quotes and samples over a three to one cost range and settled on the vendor that gave me the best of everything,
Lastly, there was a flap a couple of years back about exploding or overheating Lithium batteries - Apple and others got caught up in this. Our battery vendor is a very substantial company with great engineering capabilities that supplies Lithiums to many Fortune 500 companies and has included the very latest chemistry and safety circuitry within the battery pack itself. They are completely protected against over charging, over discharging, short circuits, reverse connections and excess temperature. Then they are encased in a custom molded rigid flame retardant housing with no exposed wires and a direct, non-reversable instant plug-in to the Vagabond Mini Lithium body.
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