Good Batteries For Flash?

Squidgy Black

My batteries died on me near the end of a shoot today, without any warning, I was using cheap tesco value one's 'cause I only had 2 quid on me before the shoot

Anybody know of any long lasting batteries that won't die after a day or two? Rechargeable one's are horrible in my experience.

Borderfox

Try some of the lithium variety, I use rechargable batteries (uniross/Sanyo Enloops) and I would get through two sets for an entire wedding

DK32

+1 For Sanyo Eneloop's. They are great at holding a charge as well if you don't use flash too often.

swingking

+1 for Sanyo Eneloops.

pixbyjohn

I use rechargables in all my flashes. 7day shop.com 2800 mAh also I use Lidl's 2500 mAh and find them great. I always fully charge them before using them at a function and never have a problem.

mdebets

another vote for Sanyo Eneloops.

kelly1

Do the Sanyo batteries need a special charger?

DK32

You can get the overnight charger as well as 4 batteries as a starter pack from Amazon.

The good thing about these batteries not losing their charge is that you can plan well to avoid having any power issues.

I have 2 x 4 sets charged and ready to use.
1 x 4 set in my flash.
6 in the backup cradle for the battery grip (just in case ) and two in a pencil torch.

Heebie

Rechargeables are epecially "bad" because most flashes aren't designed to use them. Rechargeables have a lower voltage output than a standard cell such as an Alkaline etc.. (1.20 or 1.25 volts, depending on the type, compared with the 1.5v of a standard AA alkaline or a Lithium.)
I usually use Duracell or Energizer lithium cells for my flashes, and lithiums for my light meter. If I did a lot more flash shooting, I'd probably use lithiums in the flash, or get a flash that works for a big, honkin' rechargeable battery that's off-board. (wear it in the pack on your belt type of deal.) as lithiums are expensive!

pixbyjohn

I have used my flashes at many parties taking more than 300 photos on the night without changing batteries, I don't suffer from the fact that rechargables are especially "bad" for the work I expect them to do.

Borderfox

I think the difference lies in the different voltage and with this the possibilty of some variance in the flash output despite ttl.

LeoB

I use 2 sets of 7dayshop 2800 rechargable batteries and have never had a issue with them. Bought a set of batteries recently bp 2700 I think and they are very good.

Tea 1000

Borderfox wrote: »

I think the difference lies in the different voltage and with this the possibilty of some variance in the flash output despite ttl.

But don't all flashes run from capacitors rather than directly from the batteries? That's why they need a charge time, hence it shouldn't matter that the batteries are different voltage, it'll just affect the charge time between flashes, shouldn't it?

farwood

mdebets wrote: »

another vote for Sanyo Eneloops.

same here.... never had problems since we use them!! they're worth evry penny...though they aren't expensive at all!!!

Cheers

Nina

chisel

7 day shop have eneloops and a 1 hour charger on special at the moment.

The batteries will of course make a difference - they are what charges the caps in the flash. So voltage and current delivery make a big difference in recycle speed and uniformity of output.

Do an experiment - set camera on a tripod and fire 3 shots without changing the metering. Then wait for 30secs after the flash goes ready. Fire again and check out the results.

ValueInIreland

Heebie wrote: »

Rechargeables are epecially "bad" because most flashes aren't designed to use them. Rechargeables have a lower voltage output than a standard cell such as an Alkaline etc.. (1.20 or 1.25 volts, depending on the type, compared with the 1.5v of a standard AA alkaline or a Lithium.)
I usually use Duracell or Energizer lithium cells for my flashes, and lithiums for my light meter. If I did a lot more flash shooting, I'd probably use lithiums in the flash, or get a flash that works for a big, honkin' rechargeable battery that's off-board. (wear it in the pack on your belt type of deal.) as lithiums are expensive!

Rechargable batteries perform BETTER in flash guns than Alkalines and in my experience, anything performs better than Duracell.
If you are having difficulty getting Eneloops, then watch out for Hahnel Synergy batteries, they are the same technology (rechargeable, but hold their charge over a long period of time) and 2500mAh. Personally though, my favourites are Ansmann 2850mAh NiMh rechargeables.

Uniross, 3 for 2 on MyMemory.co.uk. Can't go wrong

I've been using them for a while (they had a really good sale on last year somt time) and now I don't really use anything. My flash gun doesn't see too much use, though. 10-20 shots of a friday, but I'd get a few weeks out of the same set of batteries, so they hold their charge, too, it seems.

Squidgy Black

I tried out the few rechargeable's I had lying around my house, a mix of Kodak and Aldi branded one's, and the recharge and start up time on the flash was about 5 times faster than the normal Alkaline's.

Paraone

Google "Syl Arena", in his speedlighters handbook he compares different batteries and highly recommends those ready to go rechargeables. If he is recommending rechargeables over alkalines, that's enough for me.

Cameraman

I use 7dayshop rechargeables all the time - and find they work perfectly.
I rarely need to change a set over the course of a wedding (although I do also have a CP-E4 battery pack). Generally, they work better than non-rechargeables for flashes.

I don't use eneloops, because they generally have a lower capacity and cost more. The only advantage I can see is that they hold their charge longer (which may be a benefit for some people).

What noone has mentioned is that the charger you use is also important to get the best from rechargeables. I use a Maha MH-C800S which helps give the optimum charge and preserves the battery life. The very rapid chargers are generally the worst.

The Snipe

I use http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/9805488/Trail/searchtext%3EBATTERIES.htm and I Personally find them brilliant! I can get about 200 flashes off with no recycling time on my 580EX II, and I can get about 500-600 flashes off in total (However, I normally change batteries after each shoot, or too depending on use, and always keep a spare pack with me; just incase, as I can use them with my Battery Grip too)

dmg1982

I use speedlites a lot... Eneloops have always performed flawlessly, so they get the thumbs-up from me.

ditpaintball

I will throw the Maplin batteries into the ring. I haven't got one with me, but I think they are 2500mhas the ones I have.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/extra-high-capacity-nimh-rechargeable-battery-value-packs-46414

I have the 7day shop ones also, and in my experience they don't perform as well as the maplin ones. I have 7 flashes for my strobist work so I put them through their paces. The quick charger from maplin is excellent also.
http://www.maplin.co.uk/fast-battery-charger-with-lcd-screen-221547

My €0.2

kelly1

ditpaintball wrote: »

My €0.2

20c is too much! :pac:

ditpaintball

kelly1 wrote: »

20c is too much! :pac:

Inflation is a bitch

PrzemoF

GP ReCyko rechargable NiMH 2500mAh + ultrafast 20 minutes Uniross charger powered from 230V and 12V in car

Heebie

Never heard of eneloops before.. they sound fantastic. (I looked them up on Sanyo's site.) Where is this 7-day shop?

sNarah

As far as I know, they're online only.

jaybeeveedub

I'd second the Hahnel batteries...

I have energizer 2500's, gp 2500's olympus 2500's, uniross 2500's and one set of Hahnel that I bought first....

the Hahnel seem to sustain charge much better....

also I'd recommend the Hahnel 15 min charger.... I've done full day weddings using three sets...

anyone here tried replacing the NiMH batteries in their eos 1D series battery ....??

pullandbang

Anyone used these from Argos?

2750 mAh NiMH @ €17.50 - seem like decent value.

pixbyjohn

pullandbang wrote: »

Anyone used these from Argos?

2750 mAh NiMH @ €17.50 - seem like decent value.

very expensive