Camera flash battery conundrum.

I'm about to purchase a Nikon SpeedLight SB-800 flash, which is Nikon's most powerful model. I need some good batteries for it, it uses 4 AA's with an optional 5th to reduce recycle time which I won't bother with, since for one it's an odd number of batteries to charge, and I'm not gonna be popping off thousands of flash pictures within seconds to worry about having an ultra low recycle time.

I've been reading about these Sanyo Eneloops, but at 2000mAh will it provide me with the power to get through the day? (not sure) There might be times where I leave the flash unused for 2 or 3 weeks. Which is what brought me to these new low self discharge batteries, over 3 weeks would something like a Sanyo 2700mAh cell still have plenty of juice?

One thing I was thinking is buying a set of super high capacity NiMH and using them primarily and having a backup set of Lithiums in my bag, OR a backup set of Eneloops might be even better.

Hello RTTR,

Welcome to CPF.

I would go with the Eneloop cells and see how they work out. The lower capacity cells hold voltage under load better and you will end up with faster recycle times.

Depending on the current draw of your flash and how many pictures you take, one set could last a whole day.

Tom

I have that flash and eneloops have proven the best, even better than higher capacity batteries. Don't discount the 5th battery if you have to do a wedding or similar, it really helps recycle times

What would you recommend for a charger? I was thinking about just getting the Eneloop charger/4-pack, but I hear lots of good things about the Maha 401FS.

I guess the charger is one of the most important things when it comes to batteries. I haven't bought a new charger in many years, a RadioShack 4 cell charger that came with 1600mAh NiMH's is the newest one I have, and I think it's what killed the batteries.

RTTR said:

I'm about to purchase a Nikon SpeedLight SB-800 flash, which is Nikon's most powerful model. I need some good batteries for it, it uses 4 AA's with an optional 5th to reduce recycle time

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I have this flash. I've shot close to 200 exposures with Powerex 2300s and the cells did not even burp. I measured the recharge after the 200 shots and it was only about 1000mah. I think the Eneloops would be an excellent choice for your application. As for the 5th cell, it will give you more capacity but not a faster recycle time. I don't remember why but , I seem to remember that 5 cells actually slows down the recycle slightly. In any event you have an excellent, speedy, high power and power stingy strobe. That is the strobe you are about to purchase.

The Maha's are great, I actually use a Jaycar model which is available in Australia but Maha is worldwide. Most of those packaged 4 packs are garbage, I didn't even bother to look at the pack as they are usually built down to a price, but really I didn't even do more than glance. Someone elese may be able to recommend the best Maha or try doing a search on Maha and eneloop.

I've got a friend with the sb800, we tested the eneloops against some kodak 2500mah cells for cycle time. (he was complaining he thought the eneloops were slower than what he was used to) They were equivalent, pretty much exactly the same.

We also tested the cycle time of 4 cells vs 5. Using 5 cells it was definitely faster. I can't remember the numbers off the top of my head, but I think adding the 5th cell shorted the cycle time by 1-1.5 sec.

Hi N162E, I respectfully disagree on the 5th cell, I remember when the flash first came out and a bunch of tests were done with 4 or 5 cells. From memory the only time when the 5 cells was slower was when a dead 5 cell was put in. Otherwise faster. Happy to be corrected and those reviews may have been excited about a new product, but seems to make sense.

Is it neccessary to buy such a high end charger like the Maha 9000 and La Crosse 900?

I use both SB800 and SB600, for a whole day event in iTTL mode, I used to use about 2 sets of 2500mah Sanyo or Energizers, but now using eneloops, and still using 2 sets. It's been extremely rare that I've used a 3rd set. I actually like the SB600 for the quicker recycling.

Hello RTTR,

You can charge Eneloop cells on any NiMh charger.

The BC-900 and C9000 are affordable charger/analyzers. If you have a problem with your cells, you need an analyzer to figure out what the problem is. On the other hand, when performance drops, you can simply replace the cells with new ones.

Tom

Heck said:

I use both SB800 and SB600, for a whole day event in iTTL mode, I used to use about 2 sets of 2500mah Sanyo or Energizers, but now using eneloops, and still using 2 sets. It's been extremely rare that I've used a 3rd set. I actually like the SB600 for the quicker recycling.

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Wow, you must take a lot of shots in your event to use up so many batteries. For my cousin's wedding, I used the Canon 580ex using 2500mah powerex cells. Took 800 shots, flash on for nearly all of them in E-TTL II mode with a stofen diffuser(cuts flash power by 2.5), pointed up 45 degrees, and outdoors (no ceiling to help with bounce thus requiring more output). Most of the shots are after dark as well, fixed aperture at 5.6 and kept it at ISO400 once it got dark.

At the end of the day the batteries were still acting like new, charging the flash easily. I think there was lots of power left because when I put it back in the charger, it didn't take close to the entire cycle to finish charging the cells back up.

At the same time, I had to dump both my 2GB CF cards to a hyperdrive, and then proceed to fill them both up again along with my 1GB CF before the night was over. My Rebel XT was running dual batteries inside the grip, otherwise I thought that would run out of power more likely than the flash.

Is there anywhere to buy the La Crosse BC-900 without all the extras (included batteries and cases)

RTTR said:

Is there anywhere to buy the La Crosse BC-900 without all the extras (included batteries and cases)

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Never seen it without the packaging extras ... you could potentially email LaCrosse and see if they have info on that or even ask them if they know who sells refurbed units ... you may get the charger alone in that way.

You are aware that its only 40 clem+free shipping at Am@zon? Right.

Regards.
I don't work for them.

Newuser01 said:

You are aware that its only 40 clem+free shipping at Am@zon? Right.

Regards.
I don't work for them.

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That's a pretty good deal, and I might find some use for those cheap batteries it comes with.

bcwang: I guess I should mention that as soon as I can perceive a slow down in recycle time, I consider it out of power, but I know it can still go for awhile. That being said, yeah I take a lot more than 800 pictures usually in all day wedding event. Sometimes I'm up to that number by midday, I guess that's why I can't last on one set.

if you want a ultra low recycle time....wait for it...dont snigger...get some NiCd's..come on pick your self of the floor.while they dont have the capacity of NiMh,know Nimh will ever mach the current draw of NiCd's.

petersmith6 said:

if you want a ultra low recycle time....wait for it...dont snigger...get some NiCd's..come on pick your self of the floor.while they dont have the capacity of NiMh,know Nimh will ever mach the current draw of NiCd's.

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Funny you mention that, because I was just reading up on the subject yesterday, I just had a hard time finding a source to buy good Ni-Cds