External Battery Pack For 580EX MkII

Can anyone supply me the connections and details of the external battery pack for the 580EX MkII please. Is the plug something easily obtainable?

I intend to put together an external supply unit to speed up the recycle times a bit - it seems so slow unless the AA cells are freshly charged.

Many thanks

Check out the OPs link to a system and my response in this post...

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=522428

what you need is some 2700+mAh NiMh rechargable batteries. for an 8 hour wedding shoot, I use 1 set (with another set as backup). Over 1600+ shots.

Ray.Petri wrote in post #5752232
Can anyone supply me the connections and details of the external battery pack for the 580EX MkII please. Is the plug something easily obtainable?

I intend to put together an external supply unit to speed up the recycle times a bit - it seems so slow unless the AA cells are freshly charged.

Many thanks

Am I correct in assuming that what you are asking for is a pinout diagram or description of the high voltage port on the 580EX so that you can make your own external power pack?

i want to know as well so i can make my own hi voltage battery packs.

turbodude wrote in post #5753329
i want to know as well so i can make my own hi voltage battery packs.

I thought about that too. but the cost of the HV converter and cable probably will cost more than $150.

Hi PacAce - you are correct - I am not sure the external connection is high voltage - I am assuming it is for a low volt, high capacity battery supply input.

Regards

Ray

Further to clarify my earlier post - It is the connections and plug type for the accessory battery pack CP-E4 that I need. I was thinking of using a small sealed lead acid battery to see if it improved charge times and lasted longer - or - 2 sets of 4 AAs.

Ray.Petri wrote in post #5757335
Further to clarify my earlier post - It is the connections and plug type for the accessory battery pack CP-E4 that I need. I was thinking of using a small sealed lead acid battery to see if it improved charge times and lasted longer - or - 2 sets of 4 AAs.

The post i made with the link that will eventually get you to Al Jacobs... http://www.aljacobs.co​m/THE%20BLACK%20BOX.ht​m
will show you that this is exactly what Al has developped. His system does not speed cycle times, it just maintains cycle times like a fresh set of AAs will give you for a LOT of shots.

Dermit - Thanks - that's what I wanted to do - maintain the charge speed and refresh rate of a fresh set of batteries. But I need the connection pin-outs and a connector plug so that I can do it myself.

Ray.Petri wrote in post #5758985
Dermit - Thanks - that's what I wanted to do - maintain the charge speed and refresh rate of a fresh set of batteries. But I need the connection pin-outs and a connector plug so that I can do it myself.

Ah, can't help you with the pinouts but i can tell you that Al has you use Quantum cables to attach your flash to his batteries if that helps at all. The quantum cables fit into the battery compartment of the flash, then the other end is a DIN connector to the battery.

Here is a link to his cable section on his web site:

http://www.aljacobs.co​m/Batterycables.htm

The port on the side of the 580 is a high voltage port, if you want to use a SLA battery you need a fake battery to get power in via the standard place AA batteries go.

You don't want to mess with high voltages yourself unless you're fairly expert, you could electrocute yourself or bust your flash. For the $150 a Canon CP-E4 costs i'd strongly suggest getting one of those. They work great, I have the almost identical CP-E3, recharge time with 8 AA NiMH cells drops from about 7s to about 2.5s.

Ray, I can't help you with the 580EX request, but below is a link to my battery pack project.

The post i made with the link that will eventually get you to Al Jacobs... http://www.aljacobs.co​m/THE%20BLACK%20BOX.ht​m
will show you that this is exactly what Al has developped. His system does not speed cycle times, it just maintains cycle times like a fresh set of AAs will give you for a LOT of shots.

I have built a couple of these battery packs for my 540EZ's. Recycle time is about 3 seconds. I was hoping for something faster, but it was not to be.

Here's my project.

MT Stringer wrote in post #5767733
Ray, I can't help you with the 580EX request, but below is a link to my battery pack project.

I have built a couple of these battery packs for my 540EZ's. Recycle time is about 3 seconds. I was hoping for something faster, but it was not to be.

Here's my project.

How does it compare to using canon's external battery pack ?

Kevin034 wrote in post #5753179
what you need is some 2700+mAh NiMh rechargable batteries. for an 8 hour wedding shoot, I use 1 set (with another set as backup). Over 1600+ shots.

I use the duracell 2650 and they go and go. I have never measure them into how many flashes I get. The recycle time is pretty good.