Which batteries for flashgun/LED ring flash

snips86x

snips86x

snips86x

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I'm looking to buy these for my flash gun and my LED Macro ring, but I'm not sure if it would be more beneficial to get some 2300NiMH instead. I'm looking for some decent batteries with a charger and will be getting an additional 4 batteries with it.

The flashgun I have at the moment is a cheap speelite one, but I will be upgrading to an Canon Speedlite 480/520 eventually.

What would you recommend?
 
Get a 'proper' Intelligent charger e.g. AccuPower IQ328 or BL-700.

Eneloops are great but for the same money get two or more lots of Vapextech pre-charged batteries. Easily exceeds 2400+ mah capacity with proper conditioning, mine push past their 2500mah rating :)
 
The discharge rate of the Eneloops is what sells them on the most part and the 1900mAh versions are good for 500+ recharges. You've got 75% power left after 3 years on them just sitting in a bag unused so considering not everyone uses a speedlite all the time, it's likely to be sitting in a bag for weeks/months before it gets used again you can be sure that you will have a flashgun juiced up ready without fail.
 
Sh4rkie said:
Get a 'proper' Intelligent charger e.g. AccuPower IQ328 or BL-700.

Eneloops are great but for the same money get two or more lots of Vapextech pre-charged batteries. Easily exceeds 2400+ mah capacity with proper conditioning, mine push past their 2500mah rating :)
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These?
 
I've never found higher milliamp rating to have any real world advantage in a flash, it's a bit of a gimmick imo, the important number is the voltage which is 1.2v on your avg rechargable AA, shame the nice 1.5v rechargable's are £50 odd a set :(

I'd look at a few reviews for the Eneloop's, they're tried and tested the world over and one of the best flash rechargable's you can buy :)
 
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snips86x said:
These?
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These:
http://www.vapextech.co.uk/acatalog/High_Power_Consumer_Batteries.html

AA 8 x NiMh+ Rechargeable Batteries NEW Technology = £11.25 inc delivery

Use them in my speedlites and the AAA's in my triggers, no complaints at all and over the years have outlasted several other brands :)

An old review of them and technology has moved on a little:
http://e-group.uk.net/forum/showthread.php?t=12087

Be sure to get a good charger as i noted above though. That will extend the life of your batteries, make sure things are evenly charged (the down fall of batteries) and check for bad cells.
 
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Nope, not a chance.

The IQ328 or BL-700 are in a different league, head to the rainforest for some full reviews. The two main reasons for me are the ability to choose a charge & discharge rate so the batteries last longer and you can properly condition them. And the big one, it shows you the actual capacity of each battery so you can identify bad batteries, batteries below or above their spec. This means you can better match up cells in devices. I've had batteries with one showing 500mah and another one 1ah, that's bad when running in devices.

.edit.
Also the ability to use the charge for an automatic conditioning cycle. It discharges and charges a battery, then does it again, if the battery has gain some capacity it does it again and again and again until there is no more capacity to be gained. That used with manual conditioning e.g. real world use, left to idle, more use etc. means your cells will last longer and you'll get the most from them.
 
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That does sound good! I'll keep my eye on them, will try and pick em up when I get paid.

Thanks for the help, that will really make a difference when I get my new flash & LED ring flash.
 
As an example, i put four different batteries on discharge and charge today:

Vapextech 2500 (from 2013) - 2.52Ah
Vapextech 2100 (from 2009) - 2.27Ah
7Dayshp 2100 (from 2010) - 1994mAh
Duracell 2450 (from 2011) *not LSD type* - 2.5Ah

12ld.jpg


h52c.jpg


*Red specks are red glitter not sensor problems!
 
PU7E said:
I've never found higher milliamp rating to have any real world advantage in a flash, it's a bit of a gimmick imo, the important number is the voltage which is 1.2v on your avg rechargable AA, shame the nice 1.5v rechargable's are £50 odd a set :(

I'd look at a few reviews for the Eneloop's, they're tried and tested the world over and one of the best flash rechargable's you can buy :)
Click to expand...

You must be joking, the mAh rating is a direct measurement of battery capacity.

You can buy 3.6v AA sized lithium batteries for a couple of quid, no idea where you are getting £50 from. Could end up destroying the flash though if it's not designed for it.
 
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Energize said:
You must be joking, the mAh rating is a direct measurement of battery capacity.

You can buy 3.6v AA sized lithium batteries for a couple of quid, no idea where you are getting £50 from. Could end up destroying the flash though if it's not designed for it.
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Tbf he probably means the discharge curve characteristics of a battery which is a better indicator of performance vs the overall capacity. The Eneloops are at the top of the food chain in that respect.
 
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