A New Bare Bulb Flash Arrives

I have godox neewer and cheetahstand labeled packs and they all no issues of never running out of power

I have 1 Cheetah and 1 Flashpoint (Adorama), after reading about the batteries I opened both up and the cheetah is still 3/4 but the flashpoint is dead. Will recharge and test extensively, looks like I may get to find out how Adorama handles their warranty?

Nismode wrote in post #17054184
Thanks for all your opinions. I feel like I would need something bigger than 12" possibly. I've heard some stuff about the foldable BD, is that any good/bigger?

Are you referring to the Godox AD-S7 folding octabox? Have 2 of those and they are great. I use in the field with one aimed chest high and one aimed lower and get full body coverage when needed. They come with a grid, diffuser, deflector and bag, and closed are the size of a small fold up umbrella, so very easy to carry in the field.

Never seen at Cheetahstand, I bought mine off HK ebay for $35 and more recent $42 each. Seems they were out of stock for a while and now the price is up a bit.

Edit: just measured the AD-S7 octabox. While they may be labeled at 18", the actually reflector part is 16" wide by 9" deep. Very close to my old 16" Cheetah metal BD and a lot easier to travel with, not just because of foldability, but they slip right on to the light without any extra brackets.

Re the battery question, my CL360 battery and 2 MH4500 batteries seem to always be at full charge. Getting 800 plus photos before they start to deplete, but then I shoot mostly 1/2 power or less.

I have a Calumet branded battery pack. I used it with the 360 last month for an all day fashion shoot outdoors. I fully charged it the night before and barely got through the day with roughly 450 pops ranging 1/4 to full power. Not bad, but I expected more based on the info in this forum. It did seem the charge level indicator wasn't reliable. I could swear it was at three lights for the longest time, then quickly died so I had to tell everyone during the last model & outfit that I was out of power. I got what I needed, but that was cutting it close. I ordered a spare battery for next time, but haven't had an opportunity to cycle through again. It would be nice if there was something like the LaCrosse or Powerex chargers used for AA batteries that could check and recondition the battery pack. Or does that not work with lithium types?

its a lipo 3s 11.1v battery inside you would need a special charger and it you have to install a balance plug.

Recycle does not work for lithium batteries. After a few initial charges the battery is best and then it get weaker but very slightly just like battery of a phone.

If you want be sure get extra spare.

abbadon31 wrote in post #17055808
its a lipo 3s 11.1v battery inside you would need a special charger and it you have to install a balance plug.

Are you really sure it is a lipo?!? Seems strange to me if you look that the led on the charger is lit when connected to the batterypack while not connected to the mains.

Missing a diode to block reverse current. Or is it using same connector for charging and for powering the lights?

@Scott: read more about these type of batteries and when the voltage is 11.1 then it must be a LiPo.
@pwm2: it uses the same wires for charging and connecting to the connectors on top.

My understanding of LiPo was that the charging leads and the power delivery leads were separated but that is always not necessary.

mmmfotografie wrote in post #17055822
Are you really sure it is a lipo?!? Seems strange to me if you look that the led on the charger is lit when connected to the batterypack while not connected to the mains.

I too doubt it is Lithium Polymer. They are very volatile due to their more unstable chemistry. I have those for my RC Aircraft due to their high power to weight ratio and they all have balance plugs installed and come with warnings about fire risk due to improper charging. They are all charged on special balancing chargers. No wall wart chargers like these batteries have.

mmmfotografie wrote in post #17055956
@Scott: read more about these type of batteries and when the voltage is 11.1 then it must be a LiPo.
@pwm2: it uses the same wires for charging and connecting to the connectors on top.

My understanding of LiPo was that the charging leads and the power delivery leads were separated but that is always not necessary.

Wow..learn something new every day. I stand corrected.

LiPo is just a subclassification of LiIon batteries - and allows thinner, lighter batteries with less need of thick shell around it. The alternatives would mainly be lead-acid, NiMH or the older NiCd.

Question: Can you use the ad360 strobe while the battery is plugged into the charging adapter? Ergo: making the strobe setup less reliant on draining the lithium battery?

c2thew wrote in post #17057972
Question: Can you use the ad360 strobe while the battery is plugged into the charging adapter? Ergo: making the strobe setup less reliant on draining the lithium battery?

You most likely won't drain the battery unless you tend to shoot 5000 or more pics at a time. I can shoot three weddings, averaging over 1200 pics per wedding, on one charge.

jcolman wrote in post #17058010
I can shoot three weddings, averaging over 1200 pics per wedding, on one charge.

Could you even imagine this 5 years ago?