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Nikon sb 800 Battery question (External rechargeable)
I have been using a Nikon D70s with the SB800 for over a year and love
the results, but would like advice from other users on an external long life battery forhte SB800 strobe. I have been using the 5 battery option and have been pleased with shooting in RAW mode and inother modes as well but am dissapointed in the life of the batteries when you're shooting inside or at night and need to find a good but not pricey solution to my situation. I woudl like to be able to shoot 400-500 shots in one battery life and then have the opportunity to swap batteries with a fresh one while charging the depleted battery. If anyone has any thougths on this I would appreciate them as I love the camera and strobe, just not he life of the 5 aa cell batteries. Thanks!! jim |
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Nikon sb 800 Battery question (External rechargeable)
"jim" wrote in message ps.com... I have been using a Nikon D70s with the SB800 for over a year and love the results, but would like advice from other users on an external long life battery forhte SB800 strobe. I have been using the 5 battery option and have been pleased with shooting in RAW mode and inother modes as well but am dissapointed in the life of the batteries when you're shooting inside or at night and need to find a good but not pricey solution to my situation. I woudl like to be able to shoot 400-500 shots in one battery life and then have the opportunity to swap batteries with a fresh one while charging the depleted battery. If anyone has any thougths on this I would appreciate them as I love the camera and strobe, just not he life of the 5 aa cell batteries. Thanks!! jim Try this guy. I haven't tried one but he comes highly recomended. http://www.aljacobs.com/THE%20BLACK%20BOX.htm |
#3
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Nikon sb 800 Battery question (External rechargeable)
"jim" writes:
I woudl like to be able to shoot 400-500 shots in one battery life and then have the opportunity to swap batteries with a fresh one while charging the depleted battery. Quantum (www.qtm.com) is the classic for this but there may be comparable batteries out there now. Be careful not to overheat the unit. Note that if you're using five NiMH cells you really should get quite a lot of flashes. |
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Nikon sb 800 Battery question (External rechargeable)
jim wrote:
I woudl like to be able to shoot 400-500 shots in one battery life and then have the opportunity to swap batteries with a fresh one while charging the depleted battery. FYI, I find the Duracell Ultra AA's (Costco sells them) last an amazingly long time. They still cycle within 5 seconds after about 100 full-power flashes (manual mode). If the SB-800 had an audio chirp when the flash was charged I'd probably run them even longer, but nowhere near 500 shots. FWIW, something I do to speed-up battery swaps - tape the 4-pack of batteries loosely at one end, in the proper orientation so they drop into the camera as a single unit. Pull the tape off as it's sliding in, if necessary. For packs, you'll find 2 styles - one is a fake battery pack attached to a power cord. I know several event shooters that like these because they're smaller, lighter, and cheaper than the next style. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...u=43311&is=REG http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...=316569&is=REG The other style connects to the front power jack on the SB-800, but curiously this solution also requires good batteries to be installed in the SB-800 battery holder. IIRC, this style has a much faster cycle time if that's a concern for you. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...=268860&is=REG http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...=149467&is=REG FYI, I've read that packs which charge the flash too rapidly can cause premature death of the strobe and/or you need to provide cool-down time between bursts. Cheers, Richard |
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Nikon sb 800 Battery question (External rechargeable)
"Richard H." wrote:
For packs, you'll find 2 styles - one is a fake battery pack attached to a power cord. I'm not sure what you meant to say there. Neither of the two units listed below is "fake" in any way. I know several event shooters that like these because they're smaller, lighter, and cheaper than the next style. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...u=43311&is=REG http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...=316569&is=REG The Quantum 1+ Battery pack uses a 6 volt 2500 mAH Sealed Lead Acid battery. (Compare the 2500 mAH rating with whatever batteries are currently being used to get an idea of how this unit will perform.) The other style connects to the front power jack on the SB-800, but curiously this solution also requires good batteries to be installed in the SB-800 battery holder. IIRC, this style has a much faster cycle time if that's a concern for you. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...=149467&is=REG The Turbo unit uses an 8 volt 3200 mAH Sealed Lead Acid battery. However it bypasses the power conversion circuit in the flash, and has its own circuit to generate high voltage. (I haven't used one but...) That should mean a more husky power supply that can tolerate a higher duty cycle. FYI, I've read that packs which charge the flash too rapidly can cause premature death of the strobe and/or you need to provide cool-down time between bursts. That might well be a problem. I use a couple of Quantum 1+ units, but my use is probably not typical or indicative. I've never come close to over heating one or to even running the battery down in one session. I rarely use flash... My reason for having them is because AA cells are expensive here because of the weight. If I put in a fresh set every time I want to use flash, just to make sure they are ready, it would run through enough batteries to pay for a Quantum 1+ off eBay in short order... To be honest, these beasties are somewhat of a pain most of the time! But in the winter I can use one outdoors with the battery in my pocket, so that is a plus. Otherwise, I hang it off tripods or whatever. -- Floyd L. Davidson http://www.apaflo.com/floyd_davidson Ukpeagvik (Barrow, Alaska) |
#6
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Nikon sb 800 Battery question (External rechargeable)
Floyd L. Davidson wrote:
For packs, you'll find 2 styles - one is a fake battery pack attached to a power cord. I'm not sure what you meant to say there. Neither of the two units listed below is "fake" in any way. :-) It made more sense when writing it... The first (smaller) unit uses a set of "fake batteries" on a power cord to make the connection to the SB800. (i.e., they insert in the battery cavity of the SB800; the other end of the cord goes to the power pack.) As opposed to the latter style that uses the power jack on the front. Cheers, Richard |
#7
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Nikon sb 800 Battery question (External rechargeable)
"Richard H." wrote:
Floyd L. Davidson wrote: For packs, you'll find 2 styles - one is a fake battery pack attached to a power cord. I'm not sure what you meant to say there. Neither of the two units listed below is "fake" in any way. :-) It made more sense when writing it... Oh, it does... now that I understand what you wanted to say! It just didn't click in at the time, for me. The first (smaller) unit uses a set of "fake batteries" on a power cord to make the connection to the SB800. (i.e., they insert in the battery cavity of the SB800; the other end of the cord goes to the power pack.) As opposed to the latter style that uses the power jack on the front. Cheers, Richard -- Floyd L. Davidson http://www.apaflo.com/floyd_davidson Ukpeagvik (Barrow, Alaska) |
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