How many flashes from 550EX on a set of batteries?

It seems to me that I have to put a new set of batteries in my 550EX almost every time I take it out to use it. I have two 550s and I'm thinking of buying stock in Duracell Corp.

I might fire 10 flashes at full power, bouncing alot, put it away and the next time I use it the recycle times are slow. I use the power saver mode & rarely use the modeling light.

Are these flashes eating batteries on you guys too?

The manual says 100-700 flashes with AA alkaline batteries. I probably get 10% of that.

Several possibilities come to mind.

(1) It is possible for a flash unit to have some abnormal internal defect, and this might cause leakage or high load. If it drains batteries even when it is switched off, then that is leakage. If it drains batteries too fast when operated, then that is high load.

(2) It is possible that you got stuck with a bad lot of batteries, but we don't know what kind you use. For that matter, some battery types will give you slow performance in a 550EX.

(3) It is possible that you are using this in cold weather, and that tends to sap battery strength for some battery types.

If all else fails, then get one of the Canon accessory battery packs that plugs into the side.

---Bob Gross---

my 550ex eats alkaline batteries also, although not as bad. about 25-30 shots and recycle time starts getting really long. if i let the batteries rest for half an hour i can get maybe 10 more. i understand NiMH rechargeables behave much better, but i haven't bit the bullet and ordered any yet.

Other possibilities come to mind:

(4) The motor inside the 550EX runs the flash zoom in and out according to the camera lens zooming in and out. That consumes a little battery power also, and that wouldn't show up in the 100-700 flash spec.

(5) The red autofocus aid light is blinking repeatedly. That probably does not consume a lot of power, but maybe it does if you let it go forever.

---Bob Gross---

I have the same problem I would be lucky to get 120 shots off using flash before the batteries need replacing. I'm going to get re-chargable ones as it's costing me a fortune.

I use the Canon transistor pack

It's old, but it holds 6 "C" batteries. Combined with the
4 "AA" batts in my 550, I can shoot more than 300 shots,
some at a high output. I've used this combo for 3 years
and it's nice. It REALLY speeds up the recycle time, can
shoot rapid sometimes depending on the flash output....

Rod

My experience with my two 550EX

with standard alkaline batteries. I get about 100 flashes and then I have to pull them out to cool off, then I get 80 flashes, cool off, then about 40 flashes and then they are deader then a door nail. They take about 5 seconds for first charge then about 1 second for about 65 shots, then they slow down, until I get annoyed and pull them out to cool down. I usually switch out sets.

With Oxy-Akaline batteries (Everready and Kodak make these kind, but I have only used the Kodak digital Max version). I get about 400-500 flashes with very fast recharge times after they warm up. On the flip side they are very slow to start (about 10 seconds on first charge, then 5, then 3 second, then 1 second, then really fast)

Note in both cases this assumes a range of about 10 meters in auto mode.

When I only take a few pictures at a time (like 10-20) either set of batteries will only give me about 60-100 shots at reasonable recycle times before being dead. The Oxy-Akalines are really tricky though, because you need to give them a full change to warm up first (about 5 shots) to see if they are really dead.

So batteries make a huge difference. I am planning on getting some recyclable batteries soon and will be curious to see how those do.

Temperatures between tropical and cold (but not frozen wasteland)

As to recycle times, remember that if you are out there at 30 meters it will now and take much longer to recharge, if at 2 meters, it will recharge frequently before you can hit the shutter again. Long recycles will of course kill the batteries faster.

Just my experience,

I've also noticed the 550 is a battery hog. I switched to NiMH rechargeables and also had very varying performance: the initial set I bought didn't even last all the way through a gig (around 90 flashes, I guess). I recently bought some Panasonic 2400 NiMH jobbies and they last much longer (at least 130) and seem to recharge more quickly.

Weird, innit? I'd assumed that within each technology (NiMH, Nicad etc), all the batteries would have roughly the same performance. Not so!

I had the same going thru batteries so I strated purchasing rechargables. I have 4 sets now & I also purchased a 3 hour charger, it's keeping me going. Do research on the battieries just don't buy anything.

This all depends on how you are using the flash. If you are just using it for a little fill flash, you'll get a lot of shots. If you are using a lot of full-power pops, you won't get many.

I usually get by for a wedding with 2 sets of batteries. I'm using a lot of low-power fill flash shots most of the time and will get 200 or 250 shots before the recycle times just get annoyingly slow. I change the batteries when the recycle times slow down noticeably. If I'm shooting in a situation where I'm using full power or close to it, I might only get 75 shots or so before it slows down and I yank them and put fresh ones in. I don't really like external battery packs. I find them cumbersome to use...just a personal preference thing. I usually carry 4 dozen spare batteries. I buy them (Duracell) in 48-packs at Costco.

I have been using a Quantum Turbo battery pack that powered an old Sunpack flash from the film days. It recycles the 550EX as fast as my Metz 60CT4 and I can shot a whole wedding on one charge.
I dont know what the current price of the Quantum is but they used to be reasonably priced. I think they make a great alternative to buying heaps of AA's or rechargables.

Alkalines, in particular, have a high internal resistance, that as one poster found out, goes up with battery temperature. The cell voltage gradually declines over the life ot the cell, too, causing a slowly increasing cycle time, as well.

NiMH's, on the other hand, have a pretty low internal resistance, have a pretty flat voltage discharge curve, the capacities are getter better, and the charge cycle times have been getting shorter.

There are now 15-minute chargers (Radio shack has some private-label branded, but they are available elsewhere), but the batteries packed with them are only 1850 mah. You can get 2100 mah as spares, though, but at least at Radio Shack, I thought the spare batteries were pricey. Also, the 15-minute chargers I've seen come in either a 2-cell switcher-supply type (lightweight) or a 4-cell, heavy transformer wall-wart type. I'd really like to see a 4-cell 15-minute charger that doesn't weigh a ton. My bag is heavy enough as it is.

Energizer also has some 30-minute cells, and I believe that replacement cells are now 2400 mah, in 4-packs for USD$15, which seems a good deal. The downside is that I've only found the chargers with lower-capacity cells included (about 1800 mah, I believe) for USD$45. I don't recall whether they were 2- or 4-cell chargers, but my impression is they were bulky and probably weighed a lot, too.

At the moment, I have some surplus (USD$1 a piece) 1200 mah NiMh cells, and a 3-5 hour charger, from a another project. The low capacity cells don't really seem to be worth the trouble, so I'm still stuffing alkalines into my 550EX.

Still looking...

If you think NiMH has a flat voltage discharge curve, look at a lithium primary battery's curve.

---Bob Gross---

Just to let everyone know. The oxy-akalines are not the same as akaline batteries, they work a lot differently. After the first time I got a lot of shots out of a set, I checked them out since I was curious why if they had the same power rating they worked better. They are designed specifically for high-discharge, high use rates of digital devices such as cameras and flashes.
It was very cool. The Technical paper can be found on Kodak's site (or at least it was the last time I looked.

Thanks. Lots of great info. !!

Maybe I'll use candles.