Godox Propac

Anyone any experience of these external power packs for speedlites???
Godox propac PB820..just an alternative to Quantums.

http://www.dougjackson​photography.com …s/godox-propac-review.htm

I have thought about buying some of these in the past but at $112 a pop I can buy 3 of the "knock off" CP-E4's for the same money. My understanding is that these use 8 AA Ni-MH batteries but of which manufacturer I am not sure. When these units drain down you need to recharge them unlike the CP-E4 (or equivelent packs) which you just replace the batteries and you're good to go again. They look good and come with both an AC and DC chargers as well as a nice little detachable cord to attach to the flash and I am sure when you add all this up it may be worth the $112 they're asking for one. For about the same money though, you can buy a "knock off" CP-E4, 16 2000mah Enelope AA batteries and a Titanium 16 bay smart charger.

Seriously don't like those friction-fit DIN plugs (be slightly different if they were angled plugs, where the pull from the cable wasn't in line with the plug). Obviously this plug choice is for compatibility with Quantum leads (which if I remember do have a locking mechanism) but it looks to me like a design flaw. Also not keen on the fixed NiMH system; once it's flat you lose the whole pack for a while instead of merely changing 'batteries' as in the CP-E4 or the Pixel TD-381 (my current preference). Good plus point is that, at a price, you can get a cable to fit flash units other than camera makers - things like the Metz range which are apparently not very popular outside Europe.

Somewhere down the line, those fixed accumulators are going to need replacing and that is not a couple of £5 sets of AAs but quite a bit more pricey - even DIY, if that's part of your skill-set. I understand that they use a daisy-chain of 8 accumulators in series to hike the voltage to 9.6v. These are 2000mAh capacity - not especially high for standard chemistry NiMH but adequate. Slightly behind the times with the power supply - 2500mAh LSD cells would be much more appealing. As I said, I looked when they first came out a while back and decided there were too many disadvantages.

The lime-green option is especially attractive though, it'd match 1970s day-glo socks wunnerflea - perhaps not the pink ones though.

I've got and have used a Propac 960 on my 600EXRT's for over a year now and it's an amazing bit of kit! I know you're talking about the PB820, but the 960 is FAR better (locking DIN plugs, dual output, more power) and only costs a few quid more. I've shot four weddings in a row before losing just one out of five lights on the power meter on top and it just seems to go on forever. Highly recommended!

I recently purchased two PB960s, hoping to re-purpose one for another project.

Damn! but my 580EXII can now do a full burst of flashes (16 - 50D). Now I have reason for concern about over-heating the flash, rather than the alkalines.

The 960's locking DIN plugs, although not as rock-solid as an XLR, are sturdy enough to serve.

One thing I've noted. If left connected to the head unit the battery-pack will discharge over time. It doesn't really turn off.

The other handy thing is that the charging socket on the side can be used to power external equipment, such as my F&V F1 monitor (http://www.fvlighting.​com/f1-7-lcd-monitor-hdmi.html - I have the SDI version), which has been bloody handy at times. All in all, I'm impressed.