Speedlite 430ex II reduced recycling rate

Hey all,

Of course, I bought this little dude for flashes, but after plenty of uses, the recycling started to slow down by a lot and I usually cool it down for minutes/hours. I've also heard about this happening as well to everybody else's and that it's common. Since it's common to some, I bet there are some ways to "improve the damage". Any tips tricks to help me out here?

Replace the batteries?

You mean you are heating it up to the point that the internal overheat protection kicks in? It's just doing what it's supposed to do. You are at the recycle limit of that flash.

AntonLargiader wrote in post #13608919
You mean you are heating it up to the point that the internal overheat protection kicks in? It's just doing what it's supposed to do. You are at the recycle limit of that flash.

Also it depends on how often you are using it and what power, you can only expect it to shoot full power for so long before it hits the overheat protection. What kind of batteries are you using also? Just be mind full of how quick you're shooting and you might not hit that limit.

smithmaestro wrote in post #13608086
Hey all,

Of course, I bought this little dude for flashes, but after plenty of uses, the recycling started to slow down by a lot and I usually cool it down for minutes/hours. I've also heard about this happening as well to everybody else's and that it's common. Since it's common to some, I bet there are some ways to "improve the damage". Any tips tricks to help me out here?

http://www.qtm.com/ind​ex.php?Itemid=197

But if you can't go for that then get a bunch of quality batteries and a good charger.

No matter what batteries you're using, reduced recycle time is just inevitable and natural. Some batteries are better than others, however. One of the worst is alkaline so I'd recommend using these only as an emergency backup. One of the best, on the other hand, is Powerex 2700, in terms of fast recycle time AND for the longest duration. Eneloop is great, too, in this regard, except it can't keep up with Powerex 2700 for the long duration. But, no matter what brand battery, you'll have to change them out at some point to maintain the recycle time that's acceptable to you. You can also help the matter by using higher ISO as well as avoiding full power output.

SYS wrote in post #13615275
No matter what batteries you're using, reduced recycle time is just inevitable and natural. Some batteries are better than others, however. One of the worst is alkaline so I'd recommend using these only as an emergency backup. One of the best, on the other hand, is Powerex 2700, in terms of fast recycle time AND for the longest duration. Eneloop is great, too, in this regard, except it can't keep up with Powerex 2700 for the long duration. But, no matter what brand battery, you'll have to change them out at some point to maintain the recycle time that's acceptable to you. You can also help the matter by using higher ISO as well as avoiding full power output.

+1111