Best AA Rechargeables for 430ex?

need some backup batteries, wondering which AA's you guys use. thanks.

Energizer 2500mAh rechargables. Green + silver can't miss them. Sure they're a bit more but the non-name brand stuff is junk. I use the energizers and sometimes I'll charge them, put them in my flashes, shoot, leave them in the flashes for a week and they're still good to go for another session.

Best AA Rechargeables for 430ex?

i posted this question in the equipment forum too, but thought you guys would have some good input too. need some backup batteries for the 430ex, wondering which ones you guys use.

perfect, thanks.

PowerEx 2700 mAH rechargeables from Thomas Distributing. They seem to outlast everything else I've tried.

http://www.thomasdistr​ibuting.com …echargeable_bat​teries.php

I've had extremely good luck with the Energizer 2500 mAH. You can get 4 of them and the charger for $20 and some change at most local places such as a Target or Walmart.

Energizer/PowerEx/Powe​r 2000 - all i've tried work fine.

I use both power 2000 and Sanyo. Both are 2700mAh.

Mario. wrote in post #2993175
I've had extremely good luck with the Energizer 2500 mAH.

Ditto.

Tish wrote in post #2993148
PowerEx 2700 mAH rechargeables from Thomas Distributing. They seem to outlast everything else I've tried.

http://www.thomasdistr​ibuting.com …echargeable_bat​teries.php

Ditto for my 420EX. The key to good rechargeable batteries are not so much the batteries themselves though, BUT a "good" charger that is able to "rejuvenate" your batteries once in a while. I had dozens of batteries that did not seem to perform well, ie. I had the "impression" (so that's nothing scientific) that I didn't get as many flash shots like I did at the beginning.

I just bought the PowerEx MH-C9000 (http://thomasdistribut​ing.com …c9000-battery-charger.php) and couldn't be happier! There's a wealth of options on that charger which I don't use , but I know now that my batteries performed poorly because they did not charge up to their designated levels. Many of my older 2500 mAh only charged up to 2200 or 2300 mAh! But now they are back in the game with 2500+ mAh after a good 2 days of reconditioning.

Read more about NiMH batteries here: http://rechargeablebat​teryinfo.com/cat_index​_21.php

I used a decent and much cheaper MAHA MH-C401FS charger all those years, but that's of course no match for the high-end MH-C9000 (with its large fancy LCD readout display), which is now my "stay-home" and "Jack-of-all-trade" charger. The 401FS has become my travel companion and came with a convenient cigarette lighter plug. So both chargers have their use.

Another observation: Battery charges seem to drain quite fast with conventional NiMH. In my case, 2 weeks after recharging I only have 80% of the charge (tested with an el cheapo tester). Therefore, if you know you have an event, start to recharge them a few days before your big day and keep them in the charger (which hopefully supports "trickle charging") and take them out when you really need them.

I'm currently trying out the new AccuLoop batteries (similar to Sanyo's ENELOOP), which supposedly hold their charges much longer, but I can't report anything special, yet, because I haven't used them as much. It seems that the recycling time of my 2700 mAh batteries are noticeably shorter than my 2100 mAh AccuLoops (makes sense, though)...

MAHA chargers have a great reputation. Don't use a fast charger without good reason, get a decent slower charger. Also read http://www.batteryuniv​ersity.com

I don't use AA's unless I have to. I use a quantum turbo battery, it lasts all day and has a faster recycle time.

I use a Canon CP-E3 to power my flash, with 8 generic AA NiMH cells in it, it's really helpful. I might upgrade to a quantum or similar one day, but right now I see no need.

tim wrote in post #2993932
I use a Canon CP-E3 to power my flash, with 8 generic AA NiMH cells in it, it's really helpful. I might upgrade to a quantum or similar one day, but right now I see no need.

This is going to be a vague-ish question - how many flash fires do you get with this kind of setup? (Specify what your average power was from -3 to +3, just a ballpark is perfect).

The last wedding I did I went through two sets of rechargables on my guess would be 400-500 shots with an average of +0 to +1 on the power side with a 580EX.

thanks everyone, very helpful.