Quick question about batteries & 580exII

I was shooting with mine for the first time Friday night at a ball game, using ETTL and Manual(camera body). I used some (older, from my old P&S) NiMH batteries that were freshly charged.

The recycle time seemed very slow (but I'm a newbie to flash so that may be normal). Could some of that be that the batteries are no longer at max capacity? Should I try new batteries or would I be wasting ten bucks on them?

I, like many others on POTN, am using Sanyo Eneloop NiMH batteries in my 580EX II. I would definitely recommend you pick up some of these even if you have other NiMH's. Eneloop are a newer technology referred to as low self discharge. This means that you can charge them days, weeks, even months before you use them and they will still be charged and ready to go when you are. As far as recycle times, I think mine are usually around one second or so with Eneloops. Usually, by the time I pull the camera away from my face and look at my flash, the "ready" light is already on and ready to go again. A good smart charger is also recommended to keep your batteries' performance up to their full potential. Maha makes some good AA/AAA chargers in the range of $30 or so.

If you are outside at night using your flash, it will come closer to fully discharging the capacitor and take more energy to recharge. In other words, it will be slower recharging the closer you are to full discharge. And yes, the batteries do wear out eventually. Recharge time will slow down, but it won't go on all night. Fairly quickly they won't have enough energy to charge the flash.

Thanks!

So these are the ones?
http://www.amazon.com …ics&qid=1225133​405&sr=8-5


edit: went ahead and bought them. Thanks!

love the enloops. they are the best.

ashleynaugust wrote in post #6570529
So these are the ones?
http://www.amazon.com …ics&qid=1225133​405&sr=8-5


edit: went ahead and bought them. Thanks!

You won't regret this purchase. Notice they come pre-charged so as soon as you get them you can pop them in your flash and start shooting.

Remember the 580EX is specified to recharge in 6 seconds with alkaline batteries, or 3 seconds in rapid mode - see B&H for those specs. NiMH cells will give you about the same recharge times. This is a full charge, in practice most people rarely use near a full charge.

If you need faster recharge times a Canon CP-E4 battery pack cuts charge time by 2/3.

Enloops are great for people who use their flash rarely. For people who need the highest capacity go with PowerEx NiMH cells, and a good Maha charger. In practice there's probably not a huge difference in capacity or recharge time.

NiMH cells do have a memory. If you only partially discharge them then charge them again capacity will slowly reduce. My Power-2000 cells are rated at 2700mah, but according to my charger were holding less than 1000mah. This can be reversed using a charger like the Maha C-9000, using breakin mode. The capacity went from < 1000mah to 2500mah after running a breakin cycle.