Rechargeable batteries for flash?

Been using the Powerex 2700mAh for last couple years and still going strong. Typically $25 for 8 at newegg.com but I bought on sale for $20.

someone0 wrote in post #17494814
I agree with all the other. NiMH at this point is much better than alkaline for the flash. Most people will either end up with Eneloop or PowerEX. Two things to notice here.
1. There are two version for both brand, one is design for long shelf life, this would come with around 2000mAH. The other is around 2500+ mAH. That said what long shelf life mean is that it would lose 10% of the capacity if left unuse for a year. Most older NiMH that aren't design with the newer tech will drop all the juice in just a few weeks. But even the newer Eneloop and PowerEX with higher rated capacity would still holding juice very well, it may drop like 5-10% after a month and that is acceptable and ideal for photographers. Which bring me to the 2nd issue, which brand?
2. I would stick with either Eneloop or PowerEX. Most people would still say Eneloop, but there is a good reason to pick one over another. While both are very solid choices, and I mean it. They are not like junkie brand that don't hold the charge after a few charges. The different between the two is how they output the power to flash capacitor. In general you will see that PowerEX would have higher mAH, this roughly translate into more number of pops per charged set. The other different is that while Eneloop has lower rated millIAmpHour, it output at higher voltage. What this translate to is that Eneloop can recycle after each pop faster. We are talking about fraction of a second here. So if you shoot with manual flash with a lot of full power, then Eneloop is probably better, while if you use the flash mainly as fill flash that power mostly at 1/8, 1/16 or even less power(which if you shoot e-TTL as fill flash, that will generally be the case) then PowerEX may be more ideal.

I was surprised at how quickly standard NiMH batteries (e.g. MAHA PowerEX) lose their charge. Wikipedia states: The self-discharge is 5–20% on the first day and stabilizes around 0.5–4% per day at room temperature.
I really think that you need to use them the same day that you remove them from the charger. When I needed a lot of batteries and only had one or two 4-battery chargers, I would start charging 1-2 weeks before I needed the batteries so I would have them all done by the day I needed them. By then, many of the batteries had already lost a significant portion of their charge. What I really needed was to use one of those 16 bank chargers, for example, or use the low self discharge (LSD) batteries instead.

Maybe you have the older version of PowerEX, the 2700mAH is not a standard discharge NiMH. According to the manufacturer page, it say "up to 1% a day". Personally I never have it discharge that quick. As I tried to explain earlier, both PowerEX 2700mAH and Eneloop XX 2500mAH are engineered similar to the LSD one. If you look at the wiki page, then you can see that the LSD NiMH have some sort of separators inside the AA. Well, these 2700mAH and 2500mAH do also, just not as much. Meaning you get more juice than normal LSD, and it still retain power very well, just not as well as the fully LSD one.
Just a side note, this thread have been here for a while.
Side note, check out this forum. http://forums.whirlpoo​l.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=1729150 somebody actually test these batteries in term of photography usage(flash). And check out page 5. http://forums.whirlpoo​l.net.au …replies.cfm?t=1​729150&p=5 for the discharge rate after 31 days. I think it will surprise many people.

someone0 wrote in post #17495038
Maybe you have the older version of PowerEX, the 2700mAH is not a standard discharge NiMH. According to the manufacturer page, it say "up to 1% a day". Personally I never have it discharge that quick. As I tried to explain earlier, both PowerEX 2700mAH and Eneloop XX 2500mAH are engineered similar to the LSD one. If you look at the wiki page, then you can see that the LSD NiMH have some sort of separators inside the AA. Well, these 2700mAH and 2500mAH do also, just not as much. Meaning you get more juice than normal LSD, and it still retain power very well, just not as well as the fully LSD one.
Just a side note, this thread have been here for a while.
Side note, check out this forum. http://forums.whirlpoo​l.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=1729150 somebody actually test these batteries in term of photography usage(flash). And check out page 5. http://forums.whirlpoo​l.net.au …replies.cfm?t=1​729150&p=5 for the discharge rate after 31 days. I think it will surprise many people.

The wiki article was referring to NiMH in general, not the PowerEX specifically, but did have multiple references for the statement. I didn't read the entire thread at whirlpool.net, but I think it pre-dated the Eneloop Pro's. It would have been nice to have those in the mix.

Lets not forget the classic test done right here at POTN: https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=677074

My problem is that I only use the batteries sporadically. Because the standard NiMH batteries lose their charge faster, I seem to get more of these batteries entering a zero charge, high resistance state and can no longer be recharged. If I was methodical and recharged all my batteries at least every quarter, it could probably be prevented. Although the whirlpool.net thread shows that they don't lose much of their charge in the first 30 days when new, I'm not sure that the same holds true after the batteries have been used for a year or two. I have enough batteries right now, but I plan to try the AmazonBasic High Capacity batteries (Eneloop Pro's rebadged?) the next time I need batteries, and perhaps make these my batteries of choice if they work out. They seem like they would do well in the price performance category. Not saying that a brand new set of PowerEx wouldn't have a greater capacity, but that over the long run I seem to get longer use out of the LSD batteries.

That make sense if you only use them a few times a year. I don't go shoot every weekend either, but I charge them up at least once a quarter. I got 16 of those PowerEX 2700 for about 2 years now. And they are still kicking. Yes they would lose some charge now if I pickup over a week, but still as strong as Eneloop, as I have 2 set of those as well. I figure if I charge them the night before I have to use them then it wouldn't be much of a problem. Maybe in a year time, I would look for deals and start replacing them. That said, considering they are specifically branded as LSD, they are working very well. Back then the LSD one would be price double or triple the PowerEX. Now a day if I need to buy any it would be LSD.

Duraloops here. Current ones are Eneloop XXs I think.

I'm about to buy some Amazon Basics for my flashes but don't know which ones to get... the 2000mAh or the 2400mAh. The cycle life apparently is very different between the two.

These are the ones I get.

http://www.amazon.com …oh_aui_detailpa​ge_o03_s00

Don't get the black ones.

vertigo235 wrote in post #17590478
These are the ones I get.

http://www.amazon.com …oh_aui_detailpa​ge_o03_s00

Don't get the black ones.

What is wrong with the black ones?

King22 wrote in post #17590512
What is wrong with the black ones?

See page 1, post #5. White comes from Japan and black from China. No evidence seems to have been presented to back up the Chinese made product being inferior.

The Hi-Capacity version, the black ones, are made in Japan
*Correct link*
http://www.amazon.com …&keywords=Amazo​nBasics+aa

Daniel.E wrote in post #17590540
The Hi-Capacity version, the black ones, are made in Japan http://www.amazon.com …02_t_img_lh?ie=​UTF8&psc=1

Why are you comparing AAA batteries to the AA? I don't think there is any photography gears I own use AAA, I think other are the same.

My mistake, I just grabbed the first one that appeared without looking. Here's the correct one http://www.amazon.com …&keywords=Amazo​nBasics+aa

My triggers use AAA.

I have around 3 dozen Eneloop AA, 1 dozen Eneloop AAA and 1 dozen Amazon Basics black AA (didn't know there was a difference at the time between black and white). All work fantastic and hold a charge for weeks. I do have a 16-bay charger and will top them all off the day before an event.

I have 16 bank charger also and 2 other 4 bank chargers. That read each cell charge seperately. Still, considering the price of amazon basic, why not wait for sale and get the Eneloop for just a few dollars more per 4 or 8 cells?