Do you guys recommend battery packs for speedlites?

I can fault them for buying new AAs for every shoot because of it. Wasting money, throwing away batteries (improperly, I'm sure)..

Mistabernie wrote in post #15138266
I can fault them for buying new AAs for every shoot because of it. Wasting money, throwing away batteries (improperly, I'm sure)..

Well it's their money to waste and you're not REALLY sure they're throwing away the batteries improperly...you're just assuming and judging based in that.

I love external battery packs. Quicker flash recycle time at longer duration and without having to worry about changing out batteries in the middle of an important shoot. Definitely worth it. It's also small enough that you can just tuck it inside your pocket so great for portability. I also got an external battery pack designed for my TASCAM audio recorder, but that's another matter...

By the way, AA battery technology is still evolving (eneloop and Powerex being excellent examples) and will be well into the future, so calling it an "old" technology simply isn't true.

Look into a Jacob's black box. A much better option than staying tied to all those aa batteries.

cdifoto wrote in post #15138340
Well it's their money to waste and you're not REALLY sure they're throwing away the batteries improperly...you're just assuming and judging based in that.

That's fair, but let's face it, the likelihood is that the old batteries are being thrown away. I have yet to personally meet anyone else that disposes of depleted batteries correctly. And, in fairness, alkaline batteries technically can be thrown away in household trash.. doesn't really mean that you should though.

The few times I use a flash I use two in an apollo softbox.

I've been thinking about getting two of those packs, ripping them apart and sticking them in a box with a 6v SLA battery. I don't see why it would not work. I've used an SLA battery with my Vivitar 283 for years in place of the 4 AA batteries.

5W0L3 wrote in post #15138163
haha i'l admit that I laughed at breaking nails while taking out batteries from the charger.

well, that **** happens and make me kinda trauma taking out the hot batteries
from powerex charger, especially if you have lots of AA to recharge within 3 days,
to take out the first one and you don't have space in between,
if one already out then you can easily grab it from the side (still hot),
the first one really freak me out everytime doing that

I already sold those powerex charger after not being used for several years

whortleberry,
have you heard a battery pack that are using Lithium ?
it's lighter

Turbo probably using SLA, but Turbo 2x2 are using 4/5 sub C nimh,
I don't know with Turbo 3, what's inside Turbo 3

SYS wrote in post #15138370
By the way, AA battery technology is still evolving (eneloop and Powerex being excellent examples) and will be well into the future, so calling it an "old" technology simply isn't true.

AA considered as old tech,
many uses of Lithium generation nowadays, why do they did not using AA anymore ?
it's because AA is not reliable power anymore, besides, I don't like eneloop,
2700mAh powerex definitely better than eneloop,
I know eneloop could last longer in storage, but with small 2000mAh and drain too fast,
I prefer 2700mAh compare to eneloop

I'm finding battery packs are kind of a trade-off. Yes, you get faster recycling, but you also run into overheat problems.

tongki wrote in post #15138699
whortleberry,
have you heard a battery pack that are using Lithium ?
it's lighter

Turbo probably using SLA, but Turbo 2x2 are using 4/5 sub C nimh,
I don't know with Turbo 3, what's inside Turbo 3

AA considered as old tech,
many uses of Lithium generation nowadays, why do they did not using AA anymore ?
it's because AA is not reliable power anymore, besides, I don't like eneloop,
2700mAh powerex definitely better than eneloop,
I know eneloop could last longer in storage, but with small 2000mAh and drain too fast,
I prefer 2700mAh compare to eneloop

Yea, and many who use lithiums in their flashes come back here to report the fried flashes... The most recent one was just a day or two ago...

rklepper wrote in post #15138431
Look into a Jacob's black box. A much better option than staying tied to all those aa batteries.

Jacob's Black box = US$231 plus import duty plus 20%VAT (yes, they can impose the VAT or sales tax on the import duty as well as the shipping cost as well as the unit original cost). Weight 2½lbs. Supply your own (fairly pricey) cables for conversion! Somewhat outside OPs implied requirement of 'less expensive than the Canon CP-E4'.

Tied to AA batteries? Think of it as rationalisation or consolidation into just one battery size.

Tonki: There are far too many reports of fires caused by Lithium batteries - viz. the iPhone fire on the Australian commuter flight a few months ago, Dell recall of overheating batteries, Dubai freight aircraft crash 18 months ago attributed to the lithium battery cargo. One result has been restrictions on lithiums in check-in luggage (more accessible in carry-on, should problems arise), another being the requirement in certain areas for all loose batteries to have fitted covers (OK if installed - as in cameras), another factor is that when rechargeables come off the charger they are usually over-voltage and this can (and, reportedly, already has) lead to equipment receiving an over-voltage supply and frying. Ongoing research at Cambridge University suggests that dendrite build-up on carbon anodes in lithium batteries can cause short circuits/overheating and is often caused by rapid charging. As this is something photographers seem keen to do (the rapid charge, I mean - not the short circuit bit :rolleyes, I shall be avoiding them for the time being. There are multiple (unsubstantiated) reports here and elsewhere of photographers frying their equipment by using lithium cells inappropriately. Just because a cell will fit in the compartment doesn't automatically make it suitable!

Quantum (specifically) require a more-than-common level of skill to replace their accumulators - for many it would have to be a specialist repairer, in due course. The current Powersonic are not of as high standard as the (more expensive, increasingly hard-to-find) Sonnenschein SLA cells. 4/5 sub-C cells, classed as 'industrial' rather than consumer, are rather more difficult to find unless you know where to look. They also suffer from the same ageing characteristics of more readily available sizes of standard non-LSD NiMH cells. Finally, the average Quantum is markedly higher cost than the CP-E4 cited by OP - by a factor of 3 or more.

OP's original question concerned the viability of flash packs and the implication that he would be happy to at least consider cheaper options. There is no doubt that there are alternatives to those he mentioned, but I felt that they generally ruled themselves out on price.

Chris: It's not the battery pack which causes overheat problems, it's the finger on the shutter release. All the battery pack does is to provide the facility for indiscriminate machine-gun photography - it doesn't compel this style of shooting.

Mistabernie wrote in post #15138266
I can fault them for buying new AAs for every shoot because of it. Wasting money, throwing away batteries (improperly, I'm sure)..

I would much rather chuck a dozen or so inexpensive ($.29) AA cells than take the chance of having a piece of equipment fail due to a power down, to me the cost of the cells are such a small part of a production budget it is almost un-measureable.

Wayne

But none-the-less a much better option.

Whortleberry wrote in post #15139603
Jacob's Black box = US$231 plus import duty plus 20%VAT (yes, they can impose the VAT or sales tax on the import duty as well as the shipping cost as well as the unit original cost). Weight 2½lbs. Supply your own (fairly pricey) cables for conversion! Somewhat outside OPs implied requirement of 'less expensive than the Canon CP-E4'.

Tied to AA batteries? Think of it as rationalisation or consolidation into just one battery size.

Tonki: There are far too many reports of fires caused by Lithium batteries - viz. the iPhone fire on the Australian commuter flight a few months ago, Dell recall of overheating batteries, Dubai freight aircraft crash 18 months ago attributed to the lithium battery cargo. One result has been restrictions on lithiums in check-in luggage (more accessible in carry-on, should problems arise), another being the requirement in certain areas for all loose batteries to have fitted covers (OK if installed - as in cameras), another factor is that when rechargeables come off the charger they are usually over-voltage and this can (and, reportedly, already has) lead to equipment receiving an over-voltage supply and frying. Ongoing research at Cambridge University suggests that dendrite build-up on carbon anodes in lithium batteries can cause short circuits/overheating and is often caused by rapid charging. As this is something photographers seem keen to do (the rapid charge, I mean - not the short circuit bit :rolleyes, I shall be avoiding them for the time being. There are multiple (unsubstantiated) reports here and elsewhere of photographers frying their equipment by using lithium cells inappropriately. Just because a cell will fit in the compartment doesn't automatically make it suitable!

Quantum (specifically) require a more-than-common level of skill to replace their accumulators - for many it would have to be a specialist repairer, in due course. The current Powersonic are not of as high standard as the (more expensive, increasingly hard-to-find) Sonnenschein SLA cells. 4/5 sub-C cells, classed as 'industrial' rather than consumer, are rather more difficult to find unless you know where to look. They also suffer from the same ageing characteristics of more readily available sizes of standard non-LSD NiMH cells. Finally, the average Quantum is markedly higher cost than the CP-E4 cited by OP - by a factor of 3 or more.

OP's original question concerned the viability of flash packs and the implication that he would be happy to at least consider cheaper options. There is no doubt that there are alternatives to those he mentioned, but I felt that they generally ruled themselves out on price.

Chris: It's not the battery pack which causes overheat problems, it's the finger on the shutter release. All the battery pack does is to provide the facility for indiscriminate machine-gun photography - it doesn't compel this style of shooting.

Whortleberry wrote in post #15139603
Chris: It's not the battery pack which causes overheat problems, it's the finger on the shutter release. All the battery pack does is to provide the facility for indiscriminate machine-gun photography - it doesn't compel this style of shooting.

If I'm shootong a child, senior, family, engaged couple, or bride and groom and I see genuine interaction, genuine emotion displayed, that shutter is going to get used. I would not call that "indiscriminate".

My statement was made solely to point out that a battery pack is not the cure to all woes with speedlights.

chris_holtmeier wrote in post #15140012
If I'm shootong a child, senior, family, engaged couple, or bride and groom and I see genuine interaction, genuine emotion displayed, that shutter is going to get used. I would not call that "indiscriminate".

My statement was made solely to point out that a battery pack is not the cure to all woes with speedlights.

Why? So you can have 30 copies of the same image?

Even when I see genuine interaction, I'm good with 2 or 3. So are they.