how many battery packs?

I'm just starting to look at strobes but I am also interested in taking them on location. I'm not asking about specific products here, unless that information is necessary, but more in general. Is a seperate battery pack necessary for each strobe? In otherwords, if I'm going to use two strobes on location, do I need two battery packs? 3 strobes, 3 battery packs? Or can one battery pack power multiple strobes?

Which strobe and which battery pack?

OK, was hoping to avoid listing specifics because some have brand loyalty.

One I have been looking at just because of the price are the Alien Bee's and Vagabond. If I do go with the Bee's, I'm probably looking at the AB800 and not the 1600. But I'm open to other ideas too, not just the Bee's.

With bees you can connect multiple lights to same pack. As you connect more of course number of shots will go lower and recycle time will go higher. I like my vagabond II except it is heavy but then I use it as my sand bag.

c-pac wrote in post #11274900
OK, was hoping to avoid listing specifics because some have brand loyalty.

One I have been looking at just because of the price are the Alien Bee's and Vagabond. If I do go with the Bee's, I'm probably looking at the AB800 and not the 1600. But I'm open to other ideas too, not just the Bee's.

I have the Elinchrom D-lite 4 IT and the Innovatronix Explorer XT SE 350W Power Supply with bag. No problems with it so far and it came with a car adaptor to charge the power supply.

OK, so as I assumed, you get fewer shots per charge (obviously since you're using more juice) and recycle time is shortened. I don't see that as a big deal, really, unless the number of shots and recycle time is reduced SO much that a second pack becomes necessary.

c-pac wrote in post #11275261
OK, so as I assumed, you get fewer shots per charge (obviously since you're using more juice) and recycle time is shortened. I don't see that as a big deal, really, unless the number of shots and recycle time is reduced SO much that a second pack becomes necessary.

Look at AB's website and he has all the info about recycle times and number of shots. I never had any issue but I am just hobbyist.

Assuming we're limiting this discussion to the use of monolights (not bi-voltage) and inverter-type batteries then it all depends on how powerful your strobes are, the output of those strobes when in use, and over what period of time and number of pops you need for one shoot.

I use Elinchrom 600RX's and a 300RX with an Innovatronix Explorer XT SE and an XT.

Depending on the time of day, concept of the shoot and whether I'm using 1 or 2 strobes, that will determine whether I use 1 or 2 batteries. Typically, if I'm using 2 strobes I have a dedicated battery for each one. This gives me the ability to fire at full power, get the fastest recycle times, and the longest battery life. There are days when I'm shooting in 2 or 3 locations over 5 or 6 hours and it's just not convenient to charge a battery, so I need to know I have the juice to make it through the day.

If I power both strobes from a single battery and I'm up around full power then battery life really takes a hit and recycle times are slow.

On the other hand, if I'm shooting late in the afternoon or early evening and I don't need to battle or combat the Sun at all then life is simple and I can power 2 strobes off 1 battery and performance is excellent.

You have to look at the big picture and think about all the variables that make a system workable and affordable, or not.

As an example, yesterday I was shooting with 2 600RX's at full power, in bright Sun, underexposing the ambient light, shooting in 3 locations, and needing almost 600 full power pops plus the pops for metering and white balance.

That's a lot to ask of a portable battery and one wouldn't do it for me.

Hi Robert,
Thanks for that explanation. That makes perfect sense. I haven't narrowed down which lights/batteries but here's a typical use for me - taking photos of wife, son, etc. and could be at different points of the day, or I do at times have paid clients (one a week or so, but only lasts about an hour). So, overall I'm not looking at a lot of use for paid gigs, mostly just for family stuff.

@bobbyz - I was just using the AB as an example. But, I will look to see what it states. I wasn't sure if it explained that if you add a second or third light, here's the output you could expect.

I guess I could buy the lights and one battery to see how that works for me before adding another battery. I'm honestly hoping to avoid multiple batteries - they're expensive!

c-pac wrote in post #11278702
Hi Robert,
Thanks for that explanation. That makes perfect sense. I haven't narrowed down which lights/batteries but here's a typical use for me - taking photos of wife, son, etc. and could be at different points of the day, or I do at times have paid clients (one a week or so, but only lasts about an hour). So, overall I'm not looking at a lot of use for paid gigs, mostly just for family stuff.

@bobbyz - I was just using the AB as an example. But, I will look to see what it states. I wasn't sure if it explained that if you add a second or third light, here's the output you could expect.

I guess I could buy the lights and one battery to see how that works for me before adding another battery. I'm honestly hoping to avoid multiple batteries - they're expensive!

For what you're describing you shouldn't have any problem at all with either a Vagabond II or the Innovatronix XT. Both will give you lots of power with the capability to use 3 or 4 strobes if necessary.

Thanks Robert, good to know. I honestly hope I get to the point where I need to spend the money on extra batteries - means I have lots of clients and need the power! Until then, I'll just keep on shootin.