What AA batteries do you use for your flash?

hirejn · Nov 24, 2013

Powerex. If you shoot a full charge once or twice a week, they'll last at least a year before needing replacement, as opposed to regular AAs which when depleted must be replaced immediately. They say thousands of charges, but I don't find that to be the case. Still, for my use, the Powerex represent big cost savings compared to regular AAs. I'm a working shooter so I need it. If you're a light hobbyist, maybe you won't need it. There's no one subjective solution that's best for everyone.

Powerex packs much more of a punch than a regular AA. When you combine 4 in the flash with 6 in a dedicated battery pack, you have 10 batteries at 2700mAh each that enable you to take flash use to a new level and dramatically cut recycle time. Again, not everyone needs this level of performance, but I wouldn't shoot a wedding without it. At about the time a regular AA would be getting tired, Powerex would just be warming up. I carry regular AAs just for emergencies and PocketWizards. Powerex has been so consistent, powerful, durable and dependable I have never even considered another battery. I use the Maha 8-cell charger which has various charging modes.

hamlet · Nov 24, 2013

manaheim said:
hamlet said:

I don't see the hubbub? Just take a dozen batteries with you and just worry about getting your lighting right.

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irony!

This is a case where gear matters a lot.

Standard alkaline batteries have a MAJOR performance dropoff after a relatively small number of pictures, so you watch as your flash takes CRAZY long to recharge. Many people therefore choose lithiums because they perform REALLY well up until nearly the last shots- but they heat up BAD.

Of course, batteries are also expensive AND you're hucking bad stuff into the environment, so many people choose rechargables.

Finally, you get people like me who go the big ass rechargeable external pack route because all the other options have you constantly flipping batteries and I just won't do it. I get like 1000 shots out of my external battery before I need to recharge.

I don't even know what that means? Why would you need to flip your batteries? Actually scratch that, have discovered that it doesn't work just like my remote.