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Rechargeable batteries — AA's and a bit more


marlin

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Dear All,

 

We frequently get asked about batteries, especially the AA batteries. If you have taken one of our RTI Trainings, you've seen the bank of batteries that we travel with. Here's a break down of the batteries that we use, where we get them and what we typically purpose them for. The below information relates to our capture gear: Canon Speedlite 580 EX-II, Canon Battery Pack CP-E4, Pocket Wizard TT5 & TT1.

 

(***this text is taken from an email via Carla Schroer while previously consulting with a client — thank you Carla) 

 

Rechargeable batteries.

The flash unit (Canon 580EX-II) takes 4 AAs and the Canon CP-E4 (battery pack) takes 8 and there are 2 AA in the Pocket Wizard TT5 unit.  So you need a lot of rechargeables and a good charger.  By good charger I mean one that detects when the batteries are charged and also can switch to a trickle charge.  THe good ones also have better testers and have a rapid charge function when you need it, though you get a lot better battery life if you do the slower charge as your regular routine.

 

We have used both the low discharge rechargeables, and the old school ones.  The older style ones, have more capacity than the low discharge units, so for flash photography we use them.  We purchase batteries from Thomas Distributing which has a wide variety of choices.  We recommend getting batteries with a 2500 or higher mAh.  The low discharge ones only go up to 2000.  We had a preference for a Kodak battery designed for electronics, but it is now a discontinued item.

 

We have used the Maha 2700ssuccessfully.  We like the Maha chargers as well. These are multi-voltage so you can use it in Europe - you just need a plug adapter.  I recommend you have 40 batteries. That will provide 3 full sets for the flash unit and the battery pack, and 2 sets for the Pocket Wizard TT5 (it doesn't go through them as fast)  You could get away with 28, or 30.  Up to you how many you want to buy and carry.

 

The Pocket Wizard TT1 trigger uses CR 2450 lithium disk batteries.  They are not rechargeable.  You can get them in bulk at Amazon.  If you go to best buy or walmart and buy individually they are really expensive. ($5 - $10 each)  They aren't heavy, so take a good supply along.  How long they last partly depends on you remembering to turn your triggers off when you aren't using them (a mistake we all make at times)

 

dead battery = show stopper

 

Thanks for buying rechargeable batteries. Do you duty to the earth, reuse, recycle and recharge. And when they do go dead, be sure to do your civic duty and recycle them properly. Thank you!

 

thanks for reading.

Marlin.

battery-bank.jpg

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