Is there an AC/DC for flash?

My flash has an external power input. This seems to be designed to work with DC power packs that would recharge faster and last longer than just batteries. But when I'm using it in a more controlled environment I'd like to be able to just plug it in to an AC outlet.

Is this possible? I tried searching but didn't know what it'd be called to search for.

Innovatronix makes one. There is a thread here where someone got one or more of them.
Seems to like them. Not sure how price effective they are compared to just using battery pack.

travisvwright wrote in post #16375617
My flash has an external power input. This seems to be designed to work with DC power packs that would recharge faster and last longer than just batteries. But when I'm using it in a more controlled environment I'd like to be able to just plug it in to an AC outlet.

Is this possible? I tried searching but didn't know what it'd be called to search for.

http://www.innovatroni​x.com …/item/35-tronix-speedfire

http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=XqbDDUFWwMs

.

A word of caution is in order.

Use of the high voltage external power jack will recycle a Canon flash in about a second after a full power pop. The instruction manuals of the flash units warn to let the unit rest for 10 minutes after 20 consecutive shots. They do have thermal protection that will shut them down if you overdo it, if you really want to trust it.

Studio strobes have fans to keep them cool. Flash units don't. Just because your flash unit recycles like a studio strobe doesn't mean you can use it that way.

Curtis offers good suggestion about taking care with number of pops.
The heat build up is significant with full power pops. As power is reduced there is less heat. So, even though the AC adapter makes it seem like low ISO and lots of flash is OK. It will mean not too many shots before having to rest the speedlites.

Thanks for the info. And I hadn't even thought of the overheating aspect.

dmward wrote in post #16376404
Not sure how price effective they are compared to just using battery pack.

i was interested until i saw they were 135 bucks.

it would be one thing if i could get away with only using a wall plug, but since i need extra battery power as well...

i've never used a flash so much that it overheats, is it the upper/strobe part or the lower part that generates the most heat?

Its both but mainly the capacitor heat that is destructive.

With a Lithium Ion battery pack, the weak point are the 4 AA cells that have to be in the battery for the circuitry to work.

FLASH HAVOC has some information on the site about a new speedlite from Godox that has a Lithium Ion battery. Its fast recycle and long life combined. Manual with remote power control. Nice combination for off camera speedliting.

@dmward, I use that Godox battery pack with my 600EX-RT units, and it's fabulous. So fabulous that you will definitely overheat your flash before you come close to wearing out the battery, as @Curtis N points out.

But even if it won't allow you to use your flash 1,000 times in an hour, it will dramatically cut down your recycle time, which can make all the difference at an event.

With respect to the Canon 580 EX II Canon states

I also believe the external power socket is protected against high voltage, 380 as I recall.

The thermal protection is a pain when it hits, but is definitely required to protect your equipment.

And it is because of this protection that I have upgraded my event kit from 600EX-RTs to Einstein E640s. I haven't put the Einsteins to a stress test yet, but when I do, I'll try to remember to report my findings here.

My biggest complaint is the way a 600EX-RT recycling slows when the internal AA cells get weak.
Replace those and everything is peachy keen again. Happened to ma again tonight during Mother Son dance. One 600 on a stand was slow recycling. Put new eneloops into the flash and away we went. The flash on camera and the other one on a stand were hot to go, but Canon won't let the system fire until the last unit checks in as recharged. Grrrr.

dmward wrote in post #16382172
My biggest complaint is the way a 600EX-RT recycling slows when the internal AA cells get weak.
Replace those and everything is peachy keen again. Happened to ma again tonight during Mother Son dance. One 600 on a stand was slow recycling. Put new eneloops into the flash and away we went. The flash on camera and the other one on a stand were hot to go, but Canon won't let the system fire until the last unit checks in as recharged. Grrrr.

I can fully appreciate the need for manufacturers to Idiot-proof their equipment, there are a lot of idiots out there!

When the user is NOT an idiot, it's hugely frustrating to have to ferret out workrounds to permit use of the equipment in a timely manner. Better, surely, to hide deep in the bowels of the OS (so that only the cognescenti find it), some means of also turning off these 'features' which drive us to distraction? Cloud cuckoo land, perhaps?

Phil,
What's really perplexing about this "feature" is that Bob Davis (Canon Seeker of light) complained to them about it when he was beta testing the 600EX-RTs and they still have done nothing about it.

Another opportunity for YongNou to differentiate the YN-600EX-RT, unless of course Canon has buried the capability so deep inside the firmware that it can't be changed without breaking a lot of other stuff. (Which may be why Canon couldn't change it as well.)

hes gone wrote in post #16377744
=he's gone;16377744]i've never used a flash so much that it overheats, is it the upper/strobe part or the lower part that generates the most heat?

A POTN member posted that he fried THREE Canon 580EX flash units, before he read the user manual warning about overheating his flash units!

and then Canon came out with the 580EXII, which had the thermal protection feature to protect itself from overzealous photographers.