DPChallenge: A Digital Photography Contest You are not logged in. (log in or register
 

DPChallenge Forums >> Photography Discussion >> Battery Packs - specifically for flash
Pages:  
Showing posts 1 - 12 of 12, (reverse)
AuthorThread
09/07/2004 12:51:27 PM · #1
Hey all,

Shot a wedding this weekend that took place in a cramped [and VERY dark theatre] which required having 99% of the shots taken with a flash. It was short [I was there for 4 hrs] and went through TWO Quantum battery packs just for my 550EX flash. I had borrowed one, own one..but if the wedding was any longer I'd be hooped considering the amount of shots that goes along with photojournalistic wedding photography!

What do you guys use in those situations? I know Quantum makes better [ie more expensive] packs then what I'm using but I seldom see people with them. Just wondering what the rest of the world carries.
09/07/2004 01:06:56 PM · #2
i use an enormous supply of rechargable batteries. I have wondered about the battery packs. Does it give you more continuous firing?
09/07/2004 01:11:41 PM · #3
Originally posted by grigrigirl:

i use an enormous supply of rechargable batteries. I have wondered about the battery packs. Does it give you more continuous firing?


This is something I also need for my 550ex. I need some sort of external battery pack that gives me super fast recycle times.
09/07/2004 01:34:10 PM · #4
Originally posted by jmsetzler:

Originally posted by grigrigirl:

i use an enormous supply of rechargable batteries. I have wondered about the battery packs. Does it give you more continuous firing?


This is something I also need for my 550ex. I need some sort of external battery pack that gives me super fast recycle times.


I use the Quantum Turbo Battery. Works very well with the Nikon SB25 and SB800. With AA's in the flash unit(s) - the recycle time is under a second for less than full flash and about 1.5 secs for full flash. I believe it will deliver ~200 full flashes on a full charge. (But I've never counted...) You can find them on e-bay, but I'm not sure if that's a good source as they do "wear out" over time. Expensive little buggers though when new.
09/07/2004 01:38:15 PM · #5
The battery packs are 100% amazing..offers continual shooting with basically ZERO recycling time. The best practice is to let the flash rest about 5-10 seconds between shots and not to fire more than 10-20 shots in a sequence. Battery packs are VERY worth it. I paid $200CND for mine used at a reputable camera store and the cord [connects flash to pack] was another $100. You just have to make sure you're turning the pack OFF whenever not in use for even a minute to extend it's life.

*********************************************************************
This wedding was just the most I've ever had to use a flash. I told the couple before hand that the 'mood' they were creating with candles and low lighting wouldn't show up on camera.
I managed to drop all the settings and rest the camera on a railing to get a few non-flash shots that were actually really cool [left the monopod in the car, I didnt' have an assistant nor the room to maneuvre in].
09/07/2004 01:46:05 PM · #6
Originally posted by photom:

Originally posted by jmsetzler:

Originally posted by grigrigirl:

i use an enormous supply of rechargable batteries. I have wondered about the battery packs. Does it give you more continuous firing?


This is something I also need for my 550ex. I need some sort of external battery pack that gives me super fast recycle times.


I use the Quantum Turbo Battery. Works very well with the Nikon SB25 and SB800. With AA's in the flash unit(s) - the recycle time is under a second for less than full flash and about 1.5 secs for full flash. I believe it will deliver ~200 full flashes on a full charge. (But I've never counted...) You can find them on e-bay, but I'm not sure if that's a good source as they do "wear out" over time. Expensive little buggers though when new.


I used to have a Quantum Turbo battery that I used with a big Metz flash (45CT5). One charge would go full power all night with very little delay in recycling. They are relatively expensive and are kinda heavy to lug around all night, but they will do the job.
09/07/2004 01:49:53 PM · #7
Heavy? I've never used a Turbo so I don't know...but...

The QB1+ which I've been using are quite small and light. Just use a half decent shoulder strap so it doesn't slip off your arm.
:-)
Plus, in the photography world where appearances are everything, it just looks more professional. IT's funny, most days I don't even use a flash but still leave it on so the entire thing looks bigger and bulkier, and just generally more expensive - so people leave me alone!
09/07/2004 02:01:47 PM · #8
Originally posted by GoldBerry:

Heavy? I've never used a Turbo so I don't know...but...



It was about 4"x2"x10" and weighed ~3lb or so. It was a sealed lead-acid battery, so yeah, it was relatively heavy and after 8 hours of wedding and reception, I was always glad to put it down. That said, it was indispensible, especially with a flash unit that would drain brand new energizers after about 15-20 flashes.
09/07/2004 02:04:54 PM · #9
I also use a quantum turbo battery pack,
and I ALWAYS bring Energizer E2 Lithium Ion batteries with me just in case. They are light, and last pretty long.
08/14/2006 01:22:54 PM · #10
I picked up one of those quantum turbos on friday and used it at saturdays wedding, oh my gosh, what a difference, know i get every shot with full flash, non of that perfect shot, half flash shot, no flash shot, any more, its awesome, i would recoment it to any wedding photographer,
08/17/2006 05:42:14 PM · #11
Originally posted by GoldBerry:

Hey all,

Shot a wedding this weekend that took place in a cramped [and VERY dark theatre] which required having 99% of the shots taken with a flash. It was short [I was there for 4 hrs] and went through TWO Quantum battery packs just for my 550EX flash. I had borrowed one, own one..but if the wedding was any longer I'd be hooped considering the amount of shots that goes along with photojournalistic wedding photography!

What do you guys use in those situations? I know Quantum makes better [ie more expensive] packs then what I'm using but I seldom see people with them. Just wondering what the rest of the world carries.


Although it would help to know how many shots you took as opposed to how long you were there, you might want to consider looking into the Flash unit itself rather than the batteries...I don't know much about Canons, however I do know that Nikon makes brilliant use of energy, in that most all of the prosumer Nikon products that I've owned over the years are incredible when it comes to battery life.

I guess what I'm saying is that a Quantum battery pack in a Nikon flash is going to perform differently than that same pack in a Canon (or whatever) flash unit.

As I stated earlier, I'm not a Canon person - I'm not putting Canon down, I just don't know enough about them to offer an opinion on your particular flash unit, however, you might want to try looking in that general direction (ie flash unit specs, etc) to see if maybe that flash model is known for sucking up a lot of juice, or something of that nature.

Good luck,
Jason
08/17/2006 06:22:56 PM · #12
Lori

I've been using the Quantum Turbo with my 580ex since May and love it. Would highly recommend one. You still need regular batteries in the flash to make the connections in the computer part of the flash and I change them out after a couple hours. It's not too heavy, I use and old camera strap to carry it around and hardly notice it. If I wear pants I could clip it to a belt but that pulls my pants down on one side and feels awkward to me. I used mine from 1:00 until 11:30 last Saturday and only depleted half the battery.
Pages:  
Current Server Time: 03/28/2024 11:44:43 AM

Please log in or register to post to the forums.


Home - Challenges - Community - League - Photos - Cameras - Lenses - Learn - Prints! - Help - Terms of Use - Privacy - Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2024 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 03/28/2024 11:44:43 AM EDT.