Nikon sb 800 Battery question (External rechargeable)

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jim - 21 Dec 2006 12:00 GMT

I have been using a Nikon D70s with the SB800 for over a year and love
the results, but would like advice from other users on an external long
life battery forhte SB800 strobe.

I have been using the 5 battery option and have been pleased with
shooting in RAW mode and inother modes as well but am dissapointed in
the life of the batteries when you're shooting inside or at night and
need to find a good but not pricey solution to my situation.

I woudl like to be able to shoot 400-500 shots in one battery life and
then have the opportunity to swap batteries with a fresh one while
charging the depleted battery.

If anyone has any thougths on this I would appreciate them as I love
the camera and strobe, just not he life of the 5 aa cell batteries.

Thanks!!

jim

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Mike - 22 Dec 2006 01:58 GMT

>I have been using a Nikon D70s with the SB800 for over a year and love
> the results, but would like advice from other users on an external long
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
>
> jim

Try this guy. I haven't tried one but he comes highly recomended.

http://www.aljacobs.com/THE%20BLACK%20BOX.htm

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Paul Rubin - 22 Dec 2006 04:30 GMT

> I woudl like to be able to shoot 400-500 shots in one battery life and
> then have the opportunity to swap batteries with a fresh one while
> charging the depleted battery.

Quantum (www.qtm.com) is the classic for this but there may be
comparable batteries out there now. Be careful not to overheat the
unit. Note that if you're using five NiMH cells you really should get
quite a lot of flashes.

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Richard H. - 29 Jan 2007 06:36 GMT

> I woudl like to be able to shoot 400-500 shots in one battery life and
> then have the opportunity to swap batteries with a fresh one while
> charging the depleted battery.

FYI, I find the Duracell Ultra AA's (Costco sells them) last an
amazingly long time. They still cycle within 5 seconds after about 100
full-power flashes (manual mode). If the SB-800 had an audio chirp when
the flash was charged I'd probably run them even longer, but nowhere
near 500 shots.

FWIW, something I do to speed-up battery swaps - tape the 4-pack of
batteries loosely at one end, in the proper orientation so they drop
into the camera as a single unit. Pull the tape off as it's sliding in,
if necessary.

For packs, you'll find 2 styles - one is a fake battery pack attached to
a power cord. I know several event shooters that like these because
they're smaller, lighter, and cheaper than the next style.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=Search&A=details&Q=&sku=43311&
is=REG
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=Search&A=details&Q=&sku=316569
&is=REG

The other style connects to the front power jack on the SB-800, but
curiously this solution also requires good batteries to be installed in
the SB-800 battery holder. IIRC, this style has a much faster cycle
time if that's a concern for you.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=Search&A=details&Q=&sku=268860
&is=REG
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=Search&A=details&Q=&sku=149467
&is=REG

FYI, I've read that packs which charge the flash too rapidly can cause
premature death of the strobe and/or you need to provide cool-down time
between bursts.

Cheers,
Richard

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Floyd L. Davidson - 29 Jan 2007 07:29 GMT

>For packs, you'll find 2 styles - one is a fake battery pack
>attached to a power cord.

I'm not sure what you meant to say there. Neither of the two
units listed below is "fake" in any way.

>I know several event shooters that
>like these because they're smaller, lighter, and cheaper than
>the next style.
>http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=Search&A=details&Q=&sku=43311&
is=REG
>http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=Search&A=details&Q=&sku=316569
&is=REG

The Quantum 1+ Battery pack uses a 6 volt 2500 mAH Sealed Lead
Acid battery. (Compare the 2500 mAH rating with whatever
batteries are currently being used to get an idea of how this
unit will perform.)

>The other style connects to the front power jack on the SB-800,
>but curiously this solution also requires good batteries to be
>installed in the SB-800 battery holder. IIRC, this style has a
>much faster cycle time if that's a concern for you.
>http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=Search&A=details&Q=&sku=268860
&is=REGhttp://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=Search&A=details&Q=&sku
=149467&is=REG

The Turbo unit uses an 8 volt 3200 mAH Sealed Lead Acid battery.
However it bypasses the power conversion circuit in the flash,
and has its own circuit to generate high voltage. (I haven't
used one but...) That should mean a more husky power supply
that can tolerate a higher duty cycle.

>FYI, I've read that packs which charge the flash too rapidly can
>cause premature death of the strobe and/or you need to provide
>cool-down time between bursts.

That might well be a problem.

I use a couple of Quantum 1+ units, but my use is probably not
typical or indicative. I've never come close to over heating
one or to even running the battery down in one session. I
rarely use flash... My reason for having them is because AA
cells are expensive here because of the weight. If I put in a
fresh set every time I want to use flash, just to make sure they
are ready, it would run through enough batteries to pay for a
Quantum 1+ off eBay in short order...

To be honest, these beasties are somewhat of a pain most of the
time! But in the winter I can use one outdoors with the battery
in my pocket, so that is a plus. Otherwise, I hang it off
tripods or whatever.

Signature

Floyd L. Davidson <http://www.apaflo.com/floyd_davidson>
Ukpeagvik (Barrow, Alaska) floyd@apaflo.com

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Richard H. - 29 Jan 2007 14:47 GMT

>>For packs, you'll find 2 styles - one is a fake battery pack
>>attached to a power cord.
> I'm not sure what you meant to say there. Neither of the two
> units listed below is "fake" in any way.

:-) It made more sense when writing it...

The first (smaller) unit uses a set of "fake batteries" on a power cord
to make the connection to the SB800. (i.e., they insert in the battery
cavity of the SB800; the other end of the cord goes to the power pack.)
As opposed to the latter style that uses the power jack on the front.

Cheers,
Richard

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Floyd L. Davidson - 31 Jan 2007 04:47 GMT

>>>For packs, you'll find 2 styles - one is a fake battery pack
>>>attached to a power cord.
>> I'm not sure what you meant to say there. Neither of the two
>> units listed below is "fake" in any way.
>
>:-) It made more sense when writing it...

Oh, it does... now that I understand what you wanted to say!

It just didn't click in at the time, for me.

>The first (smaller) unit uses a set of "fake batteries" on a
>power cord to make the connection to the SB800. (i.e., they
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>Cheers,
>Richard

Signature

Floyd L. Davidson <http://www.apaflo.com/floyd_davidson>
Ukpeagvik (Barrow, Alaska) floyd@apaflo.com

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