calling wedding photographers : do you run an external battery for your 580?

Hey Guys~ i'm sure you get this ALL the time so excuse the following sentence.

I am getting into weddings. hey wow! right? haha. I primarily do automotive work and do a decent job at off camera flash, but feel like I need to expand my creativity and love getting PAID to shoot, so I am trying to transistion into a 2nd shooter position.

I will be assisting a wedding photographer and Hope to become the second shooter for next season, but I'm NOT shooting a 5dmk2...ie...i can't roam around in iso 6400 land so I'm relying on my trusty 580ex to light up most shots. I shoot a 1dmk2n (which isn't BAD at iso 1600 or 3200...but a flash definitely helps). 70-200 f2.8 IS, 17-40, 50 1.8 and 100 2.8 are my go-to's.

Anyway, im curious what's everyone's take on the 580ex external battery packs. I was planning on picking up the pixel unit for $50 and have heard excellent things, but we all know real world scenarios and what's advertised are two different things. I was curious if it got in anyone's way and was more of a pain that it was worth. Just looking for some real world experience, and since I tend to rely on flash more than sans I figure it would cut down on time changing out batteries / missing a shot / etc.

Thanks for any input guys!

I shoot with 580's also and don't feel the need for a battery pak. It's main benefit is recycling time and unless you are a rapid fire in a reception kind of shooter, imo it isn't necessary. I light my receptions with secondary lighting so my flashes aren't really working that hard. I can shut off the secondary unit at my camera,if I want to do some off camera flash. If it was just the 580's supplying light to a dark room, I might consider it. I always have fresh the batteries at the beginning of the reception and about 2/3 of the way through, replace them.
When I was shooting 2 1/4 film with the "Metz Potato mashers", I carried a shoulder pak. By the end of the night they got HEAVY!!!

I dont, but i know people who do. I was shooting a ravea few nights ago, put my flash at 1/8th power, and shot over 1500 shots with pretty rapid succession and didnt have a problem once. These were just using duracell rechargeable batteries.

I do and it works well enough for me. I also run it with one dummy battery in the flash to save on some wear and tear as well. But my main use for it is when I run off camera flash with a light stand so that I have those quick recycle times if I need them which was my whole reasoning behind the purchase.

I don't like the extra weight and tether. I prefer to just bring plenty of eneloops and change as often as I need to.

I like the Canon packs, they're lightweight and work well, and for weddings I prefer genuine products mostly for reliability. I use a couple of CP-E4 packs with Powerex cells and a Maha charger.

I don't like the solutions that require a dummy battery.

thanks guys--- i use energizer and duracell nimh's and have the powerex charger (zomg love it). i gues i could bring it and set it up and always have some fresh ones ready to rock -- didn't think about that.

new to this wedding stuff, hopefully if you guys ever get into automotive work you'd ask me some questions too, haha.

I thought about setting up flashes all around and triggering them wirelessly but i'd be afraid to catch some of them in the shots ya know?

If you think you need to charge batteries at a wedding just buy more batteries. They cost basically nothing in the context of professional equipment.

Have you read my wedding FAQ?

tim wrote in post #10284523
I like the Canon packs, they're lightweight and work well, and for weddings I prefer genuine products mostly for reliability. I use a couple of CP-E4 packs with Powerex cells and a Maha charger.

I've used the CP-E4's as well, and they are great for a quick recycle time, but the cord can be a bit annoying. Sometimes I'll ditch them after once the reception is under way.

timnosenzo wrote in post #10285475
I've used the CP-E4's as well, and they are great for a quick recycle time, but the cord can be a bit annoying. Sometimes I'll ditch them after once the reception is under way.

I only tend to use them outside on sunny days, because otherwise I don't really need much flash power. I use them to power my speedlites on light stands at the reception, though lately i've really been liking the ABs for receptions.

I use the CP-E4 as well. Definitely helps with recycle time. I also hook it up to the flash for any off camera work.

Don't you know human body is a battery of sort? I'd just stick my finger in the external socket and my 580 could run all day. It might hurt after a while though, so you might want to invest in a CP-E# or other battery pack.

i have the quantum turbo sc that go with 580exII and love them a lot.

I use the tuxedeo from Al Jacobs / http://www.aljacobs.co​m …_tuxedo_battery​_pack.html

tim wrote in post #10285612
I only tend to use them outside on sunny days, because otherwise I don't really need much flash power. I use them to power my speedlites on light stands at the reception, though lately i've really been liking the ABs for receptions.

Jumping off topic of sorts, but what ab do you use Tim? Do you use battery pack?

I'm thinking aeboit getting 2 ab800 and a battery pack for receptions.