Originally Posted by WAFKT
That's kind of what I was talking about. I've got a pretty decent Maha battery charger that can do conditioning, slow charging, and slow conditioning (which takes a couple of days if I remember correctly). However, I decided long ago that it simply wasn't worth my time to do that. I slow charge my batteries...and that's all I do to aid in their longevity. When they stop working well, I'll buy some more.
Lots of great info at http://www.batteryuniversity.com.
Amongst other things, they say that discharging to <1.0V clears memory issues, but the batteries should be exercised every 1-2 months, and definitely no less often than 4 months.
I used to charge batteries after a gig, and again before a gig (if I had advance notice of the shoot). Nowadays, with Eneloops, I charge after a gig. My non-Eneloop batteries are now "set aside" for duty in PocketWizards, where I suspect the power demands are much smaller than flash.
We're a Canon/Profoto family: five cameras, sixteen lenses, fifteen Profoto lights, too many modifiers.
NiMh are still prone to memory issues, but not on a single or double abuse basis. It takes them longer to develop the effect but it still happens. To prevent it just discharge them fully atleast every 5-10 cycles (the number I use, others opinions are different im sure). The other option is to go all out custom and use lithium AA rechargable cells (expensive and you have to have a special charger, not to mention potential voltage issues if you dont know what your doing). My general rule of thumb is to always have a set of non rechargable lithiums that I never use unless the rechargables are dead and then replace them after use (and use them in another device around the house that isnt as "critical").
When im shooting a wedding all day I always carry 2 sets of rechargable 2700 NiMH with me, and a set of pre-charged batteries as backup. After a full day of shooting I only tend to change batteries at about 8PM, and if im not shooting the evening session, thats not a problem.
I used Eneloop batteries for wedding so far i'm happy better than my sony.My advice it only last for 200++ continuios flash and it becomes HOT this is the time to remove it and leave it COOL and us Back up.Once it cool it respond normal and after a few shots i will happen again and that the time to recharge it. For me when this happen i will take more than 2 hours to recharge with OEM SANYO charger.
I am using Sanyo 2700 mAh NiMH on my 580 EX II. I also have Eneloop as backup (coz they are 2000 mAh only). The 2700 mAh ones seem to be working great except for the long charging time before each use.
Could anyone please educate me whether or not, performance wise (e.g. power, recycling time, etc), rechargeable NiMH batteries work better/worse than power pack (e.g. Canon CP-E4) in general?
Thanks in advance!
Depending on how well you keep the Sanyos charged, you could be using the batteries backwards: the non-Eneloops might be rated at 2700mAh, but if they haven't been charged in a week or more, they might provide less results to your flashes than the Eneloops would.
Regarding your question about the Canon power pack, CP-E4, you might not realize that it holds 8 AA batteries that you load into it. Your flash won't be any stronger (i.e. it'll still have a guide number of 58m), but it'll recycle faster, about double if CFn12=1, about triple if CFn12=0. I use the CP-E4s whenever I can, for one of two reasons: to visit the flash less often to change batteries, and/or to get faster recharge times.
We're a Canon/Profoto family: five cameras, sixteen lenses, fifteen Profoto lights, too many modifiers.
Thanks peety3.
Every time before use, I fully re-charge all non-Eneloop Sanyo 2700 mAh. I am using the come-with Sanyo's charger so it's very slow. Any good suggestion on charger? Safety (don't wanna cause fire!) and performance are my concern.
Wow, I really didn't know. Good that I ask. So do you still load 8 NiMH batteries?
How about other power packs that are not using AA batteries? Are they good (in terms of power and recycling time)? I know a photog who rented one for a wedding event. His 580 EX II got damaged after 30 minute use of the power pack. He said it might be electric shocked by the pack. Sounds very unsafe.
I've not read this thread in detail but I never, ever charge my Eneloops without flattening them first. To do this I use the excellent Lacrosse battery charger. I can't recommend it more - I won't repeat what I and another guy wrote on the Amazon review though, so take a look.
Wow, I really didn't know. Good that I ask. So do you still load 8 NiMH batteries?
How about other power packs that are not using AA batteries? Are they good (in terms of power and recycling time)? I know a photog who rented one for a wedding event. His 580 EX II got damaged after 30 minute use of the power pack. He said it might be electric shocked by the pack. Sounds very unsafe.
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Yep, 8 Eneloops into the CP-E4, 4 Eneloops into the flash. I've now set that CFn to drive the light from the external batteries only. I feel like the slower recharge keeps me from burning up the flashes too much.
AA-powered flashes are built with an expectation of duty cycle, allowing cooling in between shots. Using a big power pack makes it too easy to exceed the duty cycle. I shot a bicycling event, and the paid event dude was downhill from me a bit. He had the 600/4 on a low tripod, and 70-200/2.8 handheld with flash on a battery pack. He rotates amongst 3-4 flashes all morning to keep from burning them up, and told me that many of his flashes have been Canon-refurbished (repaired?) 3-4 times because he's burned them up. That's more than a clear sign to me that it's time for a battery-powered studio strobe (as Strobist has recently covered).
We're a Canon/Profoto family: five cameras, sixteen lenses, fifteen Profoto lights, too many modifiers.
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