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FL-36....ugh :(

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I just shot a wedding with the FL-50 and 36

Eneloops ROCK!!!

seriously, they seems to be the ONLY way to go. If not that, then CRV3's. Ni-Mh's with high ratings work very good for the first 20 or so shots. Then their recharge time start to stretch out.

Lithium AA's? better than plain akalines, but i still wouldn't waste money on non-rechargeable batters.
 
... the Metz Mecablitz 48 AF-1 O runs on four batteries, is fully Oly compatible, has the power that is almost the same as the FL-50 (GN 48 vs 50), has all the features of the Oly flashes, BUT the price is almost identical to that of the FL-36.

For indoor photography or outdoor fill flashes I'm considering this a very important part of my gear.

Indoors I shoot bounced on the ceiling, A-priority mode, f:7.1, ISO320 and it works like a charm with my E-330. If necessary I use the built in flash as fill flash.

Regards, Jigal.
--
The universe is a figment of its own imagination.
 
I was pretty much satisfied with my FL36 except the recycle time. I now also have the FL-50 with a Quantum PowerPack. Now were talking. You want fast recycle time and power, then the FL-50 with a PowerPack is the place to go. If you just want to take some occasional pictures, then the FL-36 will do the job. For sure, the 4 batteries in the FL-50 does recycle much faster.
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Chris
(2X) Olympus E-300
14-45mm f.3.5-5.6
40-150mm f3.5-4.5
14-54mm f2.8-3.5
50-200mm f2.8 3.5
Olympus FL-36
Quantum QB1
 
Do NOT work in the FL-36. There's a scientific reason why and I'm not sure what it is but they lose power very, very fast.

Non-rechargeable CRV-3s, however, work very well and you may be surprised at how long they last.
Bought in bulk, you can get them for ~$7.00 each.

--
Troll Whisperer
Bill Turner
Recent Images:
Please do not edit my images without asking permission.
Thanks.
http://www.pbase.com/wmdt131

 
Thanks Adam
Bookmarking this to add to your other flash assistance in the past.

Bob
 
Eneloops or Imedions are worth the investment.
 
yep - spot on as usual

36 isn't an event flash at all, unless you are looking for just the odd bit of fill

it's a great hobby flash as it's extremely accurate and good controls

anytime you are waiting that long and that many times you have to start feeling sorry for any flash unit!

--
  • enjoy your camera equipment -
 
Well thanks for all the responses. I guess I didn't realize how much of a difference it would make to have better batteries. I think I'll look into that more before returning the flash. That being said I'm also going to look at the Metz as well as that sounds like a good option as well.
 
Do some research on RC Plane sites. I flew rc for a while and those guys obsess more on battery maintenance than photogs do on lenses! Some of their battery chanrger/dischargers are great at maintaining max capacity for rechargeables.
 
No text
 
Agreed you charger should tell you if you have a bad cell, charge 1 at a time and 2,3,4 and it could also have a car adapter. I looked at ansman for 54 bucks and ended up with an energizer that charges in 15 mins with a cooling fan and has all the features above for 17 bucks, and I really like it.
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And now for something totally different
Tim
 
I don't know if this is dangerous, but I "overcharge" or "supercharge" my batteries. I simply unplug, then plug them back into the charger a couple more times after getting a full charge. I make sure I'm home and awake when I do this :). When I finally unplug them, they feel hot. Seems to really help with the recharge times.

There's much better advice though in this thread that I'm looking forward to try!
 
They are very light, re-charge the FL-36 quickly and last a long time.

I have both the FL-50 and the FL-36 and find that using AA lithiums makes the FL-36 a neat little flash -- the perfect companion to a 410/420. The FL-50 is just too big for the 410!

The lightness of the AA Lithium's are wonderful and are a must with the E-410 to keep the package as light as possible.
--
Jay S.
 
With my F36(R) I got more than 200 flashes with a new pair of

Panasonic NiMH 2600 mHh

batteries. I was shooting a birthday party with dancing, etc. Recharge time was OK. The next day I was doing nature photos using the "macro" mode, on a new charge. Of course your mileage will vary depending on f-stop aperture, where you bounce the flash to, etc.
 
djmacedonas said:
I don't know if this is dangerous, but I "overcharge" or
"supercharge" my batteries. I simply unplug, then plug them back into
the charger a couple more times after getting a full charge.
Click to expand...
I don't think you are 'overcharging' the batteries, rather you are overcoming the inadequacies of your current charger ;-)

Most intelligent chargers these days tend to prematurely end the charge time so your batteries are never truly full if you take them out when it says they are ready. So you plugging them back in again is just making up for this. You're probably cooking them a little bit, but then I've seen some studies that indicate fast hard charging does shorten the life of the batteries, but it also gives them better performance during their life! live fast die young I say!!

Better chargers (I think maha springs to mind) fast charge to something like 80-90% if max capacity, then they switch to a trickle charge to get the whole 100%. If I can, I always leave my AAs in the charger overnight even if its a fast charger and the thing says its done.
 
Also forgot to mention that you can use your camera flash with the FL-36 but cannot with the FL-50 when it's on the hotshoe. You would need to buy a hotshoe cable in order to use the buit-in flash.
--
Chris
(2X) Olympus E-300
14-45mm f.3.5-5.6
40-150mm f3.5-4.5
14-54mm f2.8-3.5
50-200mm f2.8 3.5
Olympus FL-36
Quantum QB1
 
If you read the manual it should tell you the type of batteries to use.

try Panasonic rechargeable AA - Ni-MH, 1600mAh

Works great..

--
jd
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Then it works fine. I've found the flash exposures to be far more consistent on auto anyway, so you don't seem to lose anything by doing this (except all the extra bulk and weight of other pro grade flashes!).

Oh yeah, and as others have said, don't do full vertical bounce either - just angle it up so you've got a bit of direct as well. This looks better to me than full bounced anyway.
 
Rhino95 said:
Bought the FL-36 today just in time for a low lit anniversary party.
THIS THING EATS BATTERIES LIKE CRAZY! Is it normal to go through 8
Energizer batteries in two hours?

And the RECHARGE TAKES FOREVER! It's a little frustrating taking a
photo of a group, then having to wait and wait and wait for that
little light to come on to take the second. I don't know how many
times tonight I apologized for the wait. It's going to be returned
tomorrow. I'll just save for the FL-50 as I heard the recharge is
MUCH quicker.

Good results, but still!
Click to expand...
More powerful flash that uses four batteries instead of two is the answer. I recently used my E510 outfit and FL50 to shoot a wedding, and with a power-eating Lumisphere dome attached. Recycle times were still around or less than 2 seconds and one set of four Powerex-brand 2700 mah rechargeables lasted well into the reception. They were actually still working with no sign of pooping out when I changed to the next set...I just changed figuring they were probably about to go at any time and I had a short time off.
 
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