what is YOUR set-up - batteries and flash

confucious

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Hi there - wondering if someone with flash strobes can help me here.

I have two Nikons (sb-24 and sb-25) and am now looking into battery options.
What set-up do you have (how many batteries and chargers etc. ) and what would you change about it if you could? Does it allow you to shoot like you want to?

THanks for any and all input.
 
I use Energizer NiMH rechargables...2800 mAh I think. I use a charger from LaCrosse Technologies (bought from Thomas Distributing). There charger has several settings; different charging rates, cycling and reviving of old batteries.

So far, so good.

I wouldn't mind having some of those new Eneloop batteries. They work like regular NiMH batteries but they don't loose their charge when not being used.

My charger only hold 4 batteries, so I guess it might be good to have another one or a bigger one, in case I needed to charge up all of them in a short period of time, without having to be around to change them.
 
Energizer 2500 & charger. The charger is the 15 minute model and it came with 4 Energizer 2200 mAh. I got the 2500's in an 8 pack. BTW, they are used in a Nikon SB-25.
 
I'm a Canon shooter but I drilled my 550EX, tapped the power leads to the AA battery compartment and ran it to a battery pack with rechargable D'sized cells. Same cycle time but lasts a whole lot longer.
 
I have an SB600 & an SB800. I bought an 8 pack of Impact 2900mAh NiMH. I already had an 8 pack of Energizer 2500mAh. The only thing I would change is my charger, possibly. It is a trickle charger and it does take a while for a full charge, but I haven't been to the point of running out of charge either. *knocks on wood*
 
12 eFilm 2800 mAh rechargables for one old SB80 DX (and occaionally a SB22 I use in an umbrella.

Trickle charger.

AND ... a handful of plain old Energizers, just for safety's sake.

Frankly, I don't use flash that much, so it's not such a big deal. If it were, I'd definitely be using something stronger and longer lasting than a bunch of rechargable AAs.
 
There charger has several settings; different charging rates, cycling and reviving of old batteries.
What the heck? You can do that? Are you saying that once you wear out a rechargeable battery until it can no longer hold a charge - you can "revive" it?

Please tell me that I'm understanding you and that you can indeed do this.
 
Dubious, I don't know if this really pertains to your question but, I got a Nikon D1 to use for digital and it came with what I think is the original battery. It was supposedly dead and I refreshed it twice and it holds a charge good enough to be used as a backup.
 
No, I got the impression that there was some special process that actually repairs old batteries once they've been used for years on end. So... is there such a process?
 
Absolutely, you can give new life to old 'worn out' rechargeable batteries. My charger can be set to test a batteries actual capacity (you would be surprised to see how even 'new' batteries don't store energy up to their rated mAh). So when you see that it's not taking a full charge, you can set it to revive. Basically it puts the batteries through several full cycles of charge and discharge.

Actually, I know a guy who has a better charger that is supposed to do it even better...something about a slow, forced overcharge to bring the capacity back up to where it should be. He says that he has revived 10 year old batteries that were though to be long dead.

THIS is the one he has.
 
If I was presented with the challenge of reviving 4 old battieries by paying $60 for a charger or using a $20 charger and it came with 4 2800's... I would do the cheaper thing. In the short and long term it comes out cheaper. By the time the battery reviver pays for itself, I've gone through MANY years of no hassle battery usage.

If each set lasted me 2 years (which is reasonable), I could replace it every 2 years for a total of 6 years and have new full performing units versus older revived units (that never quite revive to "as new" performance anyways), before JUST the charger paid for itself. By then the battery reviver would likely not be operating at full effeciency at that point and due for a replacement too... as well as all the batteries.

Not very confident about the economics of a battery reviver at their current prices. For 20-30 bucks, I would own one of them, but right now, I can go "cheap" and still get 200 flashes out of my SB-800 with the 5th battery holder in place and they last me long enough so that the battery reviver is not saving me anything over regularly charged good quality batteries.

Right now, I have 2 aftermarket and 1 original batteries for my D200, and 5 sets (20 battteries) of rechargeable batteries and 3 4-battery double A Energizer (el cheapo) rechargers and thats enough to get me through an entire weekend of at least 1000-1500 pictures without needing to even see a recharger.
 
Personally, I wanted a charger that could test batteries, cycle the charge and charge slowly. From what I can tell, batteries last longer (and in better shape) when you charge them slowly and when you fully drain them before charging them. My old charger would only tell me when it was 'done'...but nothing else. I really like being able to tell how much charge a battery has. That alone is worth the extra $30.

When I charge them, I set it to discharge first then recharge slowly (unless I need them right away). Doing this should make them last longer than two years

Also, batteries are some of the worst things for landfills and they are not easily recycled. I use rechargeables partly because it keeps alkaline batteries from being used and thrown away...so if I can keep my rechargeables longer...I think it's worth it.
 
I got myself a sony charger (with LCD display) that comes with 4 NiMH rechargables battery from amazon and ordered some extra Sanyo NiMH rechargables. There's a function to drain batteries before recharging, which i haven't try yet since all my batteries are still new.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002IOIMQ
 
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Well, that made MY mind up...

I just ordered 2 La Crosse BC-900 chargers, each with 8 Eneloop AA 2000 mAh batteries. On sale at Thomas Distributing for $57 per. 16 batteries, 2 deep-cycle chargers, and pretty low price. It's all good. I will not miss my always-dead Energizer batteries...those will power Thomas the Tank Engine, Lite-Bright, and My Little Pony...
 

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