which batteries for 580EXII

petrolhead

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Getting fed up with rechargable batteries

Bought some from Jessops 2700AH, useless, by the time I am ready to use them they are flat

Bought some 7 Day shop ones 2800mAh, again the same, just dont keep there charge

After talking to a pal of mine he suggest going to CPC and buying 500 2600mAh (non rechargeable) for £50. He also said that there are special non rechargeable batteries designed for flash use

Any thoughts or suggestions
 
have a look for vapex batterys on ebay, they do there own versions of the eneloop ones. They dont discharge as fast as normal rechargeables and they are a good price too.
 
Uniross and encore 2500 rechargeables here, never had a problem :)
 
I've used the 7day 2800's and not had a real problem with discharging even after a fair time of non use. But I do charge them up before a shoot, however.
 
eneloops are pretty good value at 7dayshop right now, about £7 for 4.
Only 2000 mAh but designed to keep the charge for a long time. So for something used intermittently they're ideal.
 
have a look for vapex batterys on ebay, they do there own versions of the eneloop ones. They dont discharge as fast as normal rechargeables and they are a good price too.
Had a look at the Amazon web site and there some fab reviews about the Eneloop batteries

Out of interest, will my current charger charge them or will I need a specific one
 
eneloops are pretty good value at 7dayshop right now, about £7 for 4.
Only 2000 mAh but designed to keep the charge for a long time. So for something used intermittently they're ideal.
£5.77 for 4 at Amazon

Will it be a problem as they are only 2000mAh?
 
£5.77 for 4 at Amazon

Will it be a problem as they are only 2000mAh?

That's a good price! The 7dayshop one includes postage though. I'm not sure about Amazon?

Obviously 2000 mAh hasn't got as much capacity as (say) 2700 mAh batteries. So (if you're using them in a flashgun) they won't give as many flashes. On the other hand, the advantage with the eneloops is that if you leave them in the flashgun for a few months they'll still have quite a lot of charge left in them. I suppose it's all a compromise, but they work for me.

cheers
Bill
 
For reliability, Duracell M3's
 
Intereting thread, I have the same flash, but hadb't given it too much thought until now. I've been happy using Ikea batteries, mainly due to the price. But These rechargable ones seem the way to and I shall be ordering some now!
 
I use Lithium batteries in flash guns,they last for ages and they're light
 
I use Duracell Rechargeable NiMH and they seem fine :) got 4 sets off amazon think they are £6.20 at the mo for 4 :) seem to last a while but keep a few spare sets just in case.
 
Wouldn't touch disposables tbh, too expensive and wasteful.

I use Ansmann MaxE AAs in my 580 and 430, and have been very impressed.. they hold their charge well and last for ages.

Like the Eneloops they're designed to have low self discharge characteristics..
 
Irrespective of the wastefulness of disposables, NiMH are definitely the way to go because they offer their power much quicker, allowing a faster recycle of the flash.

As already mentioned in this thread, manufacturers seem to be referring to "New Technology" NiMH which self-discharge a lot slower but the highest capacity currently seems to be about 2000mAh compared to almost 3000mAh of the older NiMH.
 
what charger are people using with eneloops?? is there a fast one available?

cheers

drew
 
I use Maplin rechargables with my 550EX and they are great, no issues with them at all. Hold charge well.
 
The Uniross Hybrios should be good - they are designed NOT to lose charge in the same way other rechargeables do.
 
I use an external battery pack that lasts all day and I just plug it in and charge it up :)

I bought a Quantum second hand and I know Canon do one too. If you are considering shelling out that amount it may be worth investigating. The recharge time using an external pack is shorter too but those using the MK1 beware! The MKII has a protection circuit that the MKI does not have so I need to make sure it does not overheat. TBH I don't hammer it that hard for that long to cause a problem.

Hope that helps someone, somewhere. :)
 
I use the standard Uniross 2700 Rechargable batteries (Silver/Black ones) and I also use the friendlier ones, which are also 2700 but are Green/Blue... I use them in a pack, lasts me quite a while but im just a second shooter for now so I dont hammer the flash too hard.
 
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