6,560 FLASH POPS LATER: The Results of "AA" Rechargeable Battery Tests

Good description of the MAHA C9000 charger on B&H:
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …Charger_Analyze​r_for.html

For your interest, here are my observations using 48 Powerex low discharge Imedion 2400s with Powerex MAHA C9000 charger. While the batteries came pre-charged, they were initially put through the Break In mode. After a year of light use they were put through the Refresh and Analyze mode. Now, after the second year of light use, all were still fully functional and the Refresh and Analyze readings were:

2300-2349 2 units
2250-2299 7
2200-2249 12
2150-2199 24

The 3 not measured were in use and not available for the test.

As I carry three flashes and plenty of spare batteries to the few events I do, I'm satisfied with the condition of batteries at 2150 and above. I plan to Refresh and Analyze all in 6 months and put any that fall below 2150 through the Break-In mode, discarding those that won't reach 2200.

Comments are welcomed. Thanks.

How does the LA CROSSE BC-700 charger compare to the Powerex MH-C9000 for charging Powerex AA 2700 batteries?
Thanks

kuau wrote in post #15928095
How does the LA CROSSE BC-700 charger compare to the Powerex MH-C9000 for charging Powerex AA 2700 batteries?
Thanks

Here's a good comparative review. Although the reviewer compared between La Crosse BC-900 and the MH-C9000, the findings still apply all the same for the BC-700:

http://www.amazon.com/​review/R2HVC0OSW2R8SM

there are alot more newer models of eneelops available, any chance of tested those new ones?

hwoarang5 wrote in post #16171962
there are alot more newer models of eneelops available, any chance of tested those new ones?

Since Candlepowerforums.com has a ton of coverage on these newer models, it's not worth duplicating the test here. I can tell you, though, that I'm not impressed with the newer eneloops at all. I still like and prefer the original.

The battery technology is improving at slower than a crawling pace. It's been many years since the original eneloop was announced and wowed a lot of folks, but Sanyo still can't produce a higher mAh eneloops at the same self-discharge rate of the original. Until they can do so, the following statement still holds: higher the mAh, faster the self-discharge rate, eneloop or non-eneloop brand batteries.

For me, eneloops are over-hyped. They're good depending on the application, but they're not the answer for ALL battery applications for photography. Do any serious photographer go to shoot an event, say a wedding, with a set of eneloops with a capacity left over from a previous shoot? Or do they stock their gear with a freshly charged set of batteries? I for one do not take any chance with a half-depleted set of eneloops for my job, professional or not. You could have dozens of freshly charged eneloops all ready to go, but you'd still have to recharge them at some point, so why not go with the most powerful batteries for the job, instead?

When I'm out shooting, I always go to the best performing batteries that were freshly recharged recently, that is, the ones with the fastest recycling time and with the most number of pops. I love Powerex 2700 for the qualifications and use these over eneloops since low self-discharge rate is irrelevant. I do use eneloops, however, for those applications that low self-discharge does become highly relevant, such as radios, remotes and as emergency backup, etc.

I use PowerEx 2700 in my flashes as well, they and my Eneloops are all charged a few days before an event. I have eneloops in my 8AA battery packs. If I need a flash when the batteries haven't been charged for a while I do put the eneloops in them.

The thing about the 'ordinary' Eneloop is that it's the nearest thing to an alkaline in terms of power-always-being-available-fussfree that we yet have in rechargeables. Charge doesn't leak away as it does in non-LSD cells, 1-3 years to discharge instead of maybe 30 days for a non-LSD type.

The Eneloop XX is a compromise. It offers lowER self discharge than normal NiMH batteries. It pays for this with lowER capacity than normal NiMH batteries. In effect, it's neither one thing nor the other - the compromise mentioned. Exactly as per design specification.

There is little doubt that for rechargeables in constant use, the non-LSD type offers capacity benefits. But with that proviso - in constant use. Leave them for a couple of weeks or so and they're generally barely worth the effort of carrying on a job. Iindeed there's scope for us misguidedly thinking "Oh, I have spares in my bag" when in fact they are may be quite depleted and potentially not fit to use. With a sustained regime of use / charge / condition on occasion, I would say that non-LSDs are without equal.

On the other hand, for the occasional user an LSD battery like the 'ordinary' Eneloop does at least offer the fall-back position that there will be something usable maybe a month or two after last use or whenever. It all depends very much, not on the characteristics of the battery itself but the usage. My personal strategy now that I don't need stuff every single day is to have Eneloops in the flash units themselves but non-LSDs in the external power packs. That way, I can grab a camera bag with the odd flash or two inside and dash off the odd pic or two without further preparation. For a bigger demand, the non-LSDs for the power packs are charged and/or conditioned prior to going out to the job. The power drain on the Eneloops inside the flash is restricted to driving the flash functions while power for the actual flash discharge comes from the freshly charged power-pack cells. Best of both worlds?

While I'd agree that Eneloops may seem over-hyped, they do serve the 'fit and forget' category for which they were designed extremely well. As such, and assuming lack of a considered approach and careful control of rechargeable usage, I'd contend that they are the best single option. Those who are prepared to institute a stricter regime of battery usage are probably better served by a mixture of cells, possibly even all non-LSDs - but they already know this and already do this anyway. I think that this is the reason for the blanket recommendation of Eneloops, those who don't know better won't be failed by choosing only Eneloops, those who do know will already have made their own informed decision on what to use and when.

hmmm well problem is malaysia, and especially my place, eneloops are cheap and easily available, either that or GP batteries haha... powerex are close to non existence, and eneloops after sales service are easier here, just send in swap a new pairs without wait... much more convenience , i shoot weddings too, so far none has fail me, and i only has 20 pieces.. more than enough for my speedlight and shooting style...

The bottom line is whatever works under each individual's circumstances and shooting needs... When I stated that eneloop is "over-hyped," I was referring to this blind adulation by many users that it's the answer to ALL battery needs, NOT that it's lesser of a battery. It's only "lesser" in its capacity compared to higher mAh rechargeable batteries, such as Powerex 2700. But then higher mAh rechargeables are rather poor with their self-discharge rate. It's a tradeoff, so understanding in what circumstances to take advantage of their strengths is the key. For most folks for most circumstances, eneloops are sufficient, especially when used with external battery packs. I'm one of those who likes to charge all my batteries to full capacity right before shooting an intensive event, so I always go with Powerex 2700's while I use eneloops for lighter shooting needs and all circumstances where I need alkaline-like low self-discharge performance.

SYS wrote in post #16172339
Since Candlepowerforums.com has a ton of coverage on these newer models, it's not worth duplicating the test here. I can tell you, though, that I'm not impressed with the newer eneloops at all. I still like and prefer the original.

The battery technology is improving at slower than a crawling pace. It's been many years since the original eneloop was announced and wowed a lot of folks, but Sanyo still can't produce a higher mAh eneloops at the same self-discharge rate of the original. Until they can do so, the following statement still holds: higher the mAh, faster the self-discharge rate, eneloop or non-eneloop brand batteries.

For me, eneloops are over-hyped. They're good depending on the application, but they're not the answer for ALL battery applications for photography. Do any serious photographer go to shoot an event, say a wedding, with a set of eneloops with a capacity left over from a previous shoot? Or do they stock their gear with a freshly charged set of batteries? I for one do not take any chance with a half-depleted set of eneloops for my job, professional or not. You could have dozens of freshly charged eneloops all ready to go, but you'd still have to recharge them at some point, so why not go with the most powerful batteries for the job, instead?

When I'm out shooting, I always go to the best performing batteries that were freshly recharged recently, that is, the ones with the fastest recycling time and with the most number of pops. I love Powerex 2700 for the qualifications and use these over eneloops since low self-discharge rate is irrelevant. I do use eneloops, however, for those applications that low self-discharge does become highly relevant, such as radios, remotes and as emergency backup, etc.

I like that you've basically summarized the thread into one post.

I haven't seen this thread in quite a while. Such a surprise to see that it's still active
Like meeting an old friend after a long absence. Sys's great work continues to keep on ticking...............

tim wrote in post #14072937
Invest in a Maha C-9000 charger and run the break-in cycle over each new cell you buy, even pre-charged long life ones. It gets the cell ready for use, and reports its capacity.

The only downside is it takes 2-3 days to to the break-in, so plan ahead.

Exactly. I do this to all newly purchase batteries. I first check their existing state and then do the break in and have found that I get 5-15% more capacity. I then group the similar batteries together and always charge them together. I use mine mainly in HSS with the flash extender, but also dabble in portraits.

Are these the Powerex 2700 batteries that are being referred to in this thread. I think I will give them a go since I do put batteries through the ringer using them in HSS mode. Based on the info in this thread, it seems I would benefit with my style of shooting by using the enelopes in the flash to power it only and Powerex in the battery pack to pop the flash as HSS can kill batteries pretty quickly

Thanks...Al

I wonder if there has been any new battery tech that trumps the recommendations here.

Read post #381.