Rechargable batteries for Strobes?

I'm not sure about USA, but in Australia the eneloops are from china and no different from any other rechargeable. The eneloop pro are made in Japan and good quality though (made by fujitsu). A budget alternative is the Ikea Ladda batteries - they come out of the same japanese factory. Not sure if they're available in the USA. I also read that amazon's rechargables are also from said factory - but do your research

CyberDyneSystems wrote in post #18243782
In addition to the reasons already posted that rechargeable out perform Alkaline, another aspect is the performance curve.

When you install a set of Alkalines right out of the package, they may indeed put out more than 1.5 volts. However, the power begins to drop off almost immediately with use. As the charge drains the voltage drops, precipitously.

With NIMH that drop is far less of cliff,. and remains a flat voltage for some time and then voltage only really drops at the end of it's charge.

So not only do you get more than double the power/life of the battery, that power is at a good higher voltage for the entire life, and with less resistance for faster recycles.

This is the key difference between NiMH and alkalines, at least as I always understood it.

I used to do a lot of shooting for my job that was at temperatures just above freezing and with the flash often at or near full power. That would tear through alkalines in no time, NiMH would continue to perform for much, much longer.

I am reminded of an electrical engineering "lab" class many years ago probably involving NiCads vs. alkalines. The purpose of the class was to do current vs. time plots but while doing that an individual asked almost exactly the question posed here concerning recycle time. The instructor took an alkaline and simply shorted the terminals - no big deal. The battery could have been dead for all we knew. He then shorted a NiCad and the result was a huge spark. He then posed the question, which do you think has the shorter recycle time?

I don't recommend you test this unless you wear a decent set of protective gloves and good eye protection. A risk of a fire hazard is actually possible with shorted terminals, hence the reason why rechargeable batteries can only be carried on a plane (carry-on only) with the terminals covered or installed in a device in the normal manner.

ChibiM wrote in post #18243908
Im very much interested in some new tests and im curious what batteries you are going to test SYS.

While I won't get to posting the results for another two weeks or so, I can tell you these are the batteries I'm testing:

Amazon Basics 2400 mAh
Duracell 2450 mAh
EBL 2800 mAh
Eneloop White 1900 mAh
Eneloop Blue 1900 mAh
Eneloop Pro 2450 mAh
Powerex Imedion 2400 mAh
Powerex Precharged 2600 mAh
Powerex 2700 mAh
Powerex 2700 mAh Pro

CyberDyneSystems wrote in post #18243782
In addition to the reasons already posted that rechargeable out perform Alkaline, another aspect is the performance curve...

I was going to point out that it was recommended to me to get rechargeables with a higher mAh rating. The graph above is a great illustration of why. I use 2700 mAh batteries with a Maha 8 cell charger and I am very happy with them.

It seems to me that I recall the higher amp NiMH batteries are not rated for as many discharge/recharge cycles as the standard ones are. My thinking is that this is due to having a thinner cell plate material and thus more prone to deterioration and pinholes forming from the discharge/recharge cycles. Of course, I may have NiMH chemistry *all* wrong. The higher amp batteries may not need recharging as often as the standard ones, but there discharge/charge duty cycle will be less. Where the balance between the two is is unknown to me.

I've used the standard Eneloops and have had very good performance from them. Seems, though, the original "white" ones may have held up better than the later blue/pale-blue ones do.

If you're needing fast flash recycle times then the higher amp batteries would probably be best, for regular shooting the standard ones seem good.

But this is all from my personal experience and nothing scientific about my musings...

Ed

Reason for edit: Added the bold-faced not, which I meant to have there to start with.<sigh>

SYS wrote in post #18244128
While I won't get to posting the results for another two weeks or so, I can tell you these are the batteries I'm testing:

Amazon Basics 2400 mAh
Duracell 2450 mAh
EBL 2800 mAh
Eneloop White 1900 mAh
Eneloop Blue 1900 mAh
Eneloop Pro 2450 mAh
Powerex Imedion 2400 mAh
Powerex Precharged 2600 mAh
Powerex 2700 mAh
Powerex 2700 mAh Pro

Nice list. I'm curious how the whites and blues compare. All of mine have come from Costco (whites and blues). Will be looking forward to your results.

Ed

Intheswamp wrote in post #18244190
Nice list. I'm curious how the whites and blues compare. All of mine have come from Costco (whites and blues). Will be looking forward to your results.

Ed

Performance wise (# of flash pops), they're very similar. But I've always had a personal preference for the original white. Shelf-life wise, I can only say from my own personal experience (not test based) that the original white has been a bit more reliable, but that could just be perceptual. I really don't care for the extra thickness of the blue, so I've always been biased against it. Unless there's a huge discounted sale on the blue eneloop, I'd always go with the original white.

Please dont forget to write down the exact codes from the eneloops (and other batteries) because their are different "generations" of eneloops.
Looking forward to it.

Intheswamp wrote in post #18244187
It seems to me that I recall the higher amp NiMH batteries are rated for as many discharge/recharge cycles as the standard ones are. ....
Ed

Did you intend to type "aren't" ?

My own limited personal results would back up the idea that higher rating = fewer recharges/overall life. The Eneloop recharge ratings are significantly lower for the higher MHA "RPO" cells, for the same reason.

I have a small supply of Energizer NiMH from before I went Eneloop/Amazon basics. The ones rated 2300 which I bought longer ago are still taking a charge fine,. many of the ones rated 2500/2700 are mostly not taking a charge any more, even though they are newer.

CyberDyneSystems wrote in post #18244333
Did you intend to type "aren't" ?

My own limited personal results would back up the idea that higher rating = fewer recharges/overall life. The Eneloop recharge ratings are significantly lower for the higher MHA "RPO" cells, for the same reason.

I have a small supply of Energizer NiMH from before I went Eneloop/Amazon basics. The ones rated 2300 which I bought longer ago are still taking a charge fine,. many of the ones rated 2500/2700 are mostly not taking a charge any more, even though they are newer.

You're right...small glitch in the gray matter. I will correct my post so as not to further confuse anyone. Thanks for the head'sup.

Ed

SYS wrote in post #18244219
Performance wise (# of flash pops), they're very similar. But I've always had a personal preference for the original white. Shelf-life wise, I can only say from my own personal experience (not test based) that the original white has been a bit more reliable, but that could just be perceptual. I really don't care for the extra thickness of the blue, so I've always been biased against it. Unless there's a huge discounted sale on the blue eneloop, I'd always go with the original white.

Yes, I lean more towards the white ones in regards to my perception of their possible superior service.

Anyone using the Eneloop Pro ? http://www.amazon.com …/ref=wl_it_dp_o​_pC_nS_ttl

invi2003 wrote in post #18249251
Anyone using the Eneloop Pro ? http://www.amazon.com …/ref=wl_it_dp_o​_pC_nS_ttl

I haven't used it on a regular basis, only tested it. Based on my tests, it's not something I'd get all excited about. Unless you're going to shoot regularly in -4f temperature, I'd just stick to either the original white Eneloops or Powerex "Precharged" that offers more mAh, the same 85% of charge after one year of storage (LSD), AND cheaper price.

For the price of a pack of 4 Eneloop Pro ($16.96), you could practically get twice as many original white Eneloops while you'd save $4 if you go with Powerex "Precharged."

invi2003 wrote in post #18249251
Anyone using the Eneloop Pro ? http://www.amazon.com …/ref=wl_it_dp_o​_pC_nS_ttl

Pros are all I use. I like them. I don't expect them to last 10 years. If they do, I'd likely misplace half of them by then anyway. The extra juice is nice though.