Yehuda Katz
Forum Pro
Is there any advantage in using in the flash 4*1.5V alkalines over 4*1.2 NiMH's?
Thank you,
Yehuda
Thank you,
Yehuda
-
Welcome to the new forums! Please read this first. For known issues we are working to resolve, click here.
Flash batteries: NiMH vs Alkalines
- Thread starter Yehuda Katz
- Start date
SFzip
Active member
No advantage. Alkalines can't beat Nickel-Metal Hydrides in recycle time. I pack Duracells for backup but always have ample NiMH lined up.
Harrythephot
Leading Member
Hybrid batteries compare, as I have a few sets of Energizers, that have been rubbish from new (also a few good ones) that I will replace with the new types if peoples experience is good.
Barrie Davis
Forum Pro
My experience is VERY good. They are the same leap forward over ordinary NiMH, as ordinary NiMH were over Ni-cads. Even at ostensibly lower mAH capacities, they keep going longer than (higher rated) NiMH, particularly in flashes, it seems. Add in the superb ability to retain charge...
.... and you are talking about the only penlight (AA) cells worth buying at present.
They also make those adaptor cases allowing AAs to stand in for larger cells, [C cells and D cells] a more practical proposition.
Final point: All NiMH batteries are MUCH better served by a sophisticated charger, one that deals with each cell individually, and has discharge and conditioning facilities. No kidding, makes a big difference!
--
Regards,
Baz
I am 'Looking for Henry Lee ' (could be Lea, or even Leigh) and despite going 'Hey round the corner', and looking 'behind the bush', I have not yet found him. If he survives, Henry is in his mid-60s, British, and quite the intellectual.
What is it all about? Well, something relating to a conversation we had in the pub 35 years ago has come to spectacular fruition, and I'd like him to know how right he was.
If you know somebody who could be this man, please put him in touch with me. Thank you.
Yehuda Katz
Forum Pro
Yehuda Katz
Forum Pro
Yehuda
Bronze Age Man
Forum Enthusiast
I use POWERLINE 4globe by Ansmann, they are German designed & made in China.
It has a metal case so it won't crack & comes with interchangable plugs for all around the globe & works off 12V as well.
--
Appreciative student of the late Joan Wakelin. 39 years later still enjoying it!
It has a metal case so it won't crack & comes with interchangable plugs for all around the globe & works off 12V as well.
--
Appreciative student of the late Joan Wakelin. 39 years later still enjoying it!
Barrie Davis
Forum Pro
Choose one from Ansmann or Maha... and don't be wary of buying more channels than you think you will need. When you discover how convenient hybrid NiMH type AAs are, you will find yourself buying additional sets for other tasks around the home.
--
Regards,
Baz
I am 'Looking for Henry Lee ' (could be Lea, or even Leigh) and despite going 'Hey round the corner', and looking 'behind the bush', I have not yet found him. If he survives, Henry is in his mid-60s, British, and quite the intellectual.
What is it all about? Well, something relating to a conversation we had in the pub 35 years ago has come to spectacular fruition, and I'd like him to know how right he was.
If you know somebody who could be this man, please put him in touch with me. Thank you.
Quantum Help
Senior Member
Alkalines do not generate as much heat as the NiMH or Lithium cells. In a typical shoe mount speedlight, this can cause overheating with NiMH or Lithium cells. The extra heat generated by them cannot escape from inside the flash and it can cause damage. Did you ever have to change cells after doing some rapid shooting and notice the the cells are screaming hot as you place them into your palm?
They do give faster recycle, but at the price of a lot more internal heat.
Nikon SB900's have the thermometer icon (Thermal Protection function) that will shut the flash down if it gets too hot. Canon on page 7 of the 580EX-II tells you not to shoot too rapidly, else it will slow you down on recycle until you stop shooting for 15 minutes. On page 8 they tell you that you should not use rechargeables and explain why.
They do give faster recycle, but at the price of a lot more internal heat.
Nikon SB900's have the thermometer icon (Thermal Protection function) that will shut the flash down if it gets too hot. Canon on page 7 of the 580EX-II tells you not to shoot too rapidly, else it will slow you down on recycle until you stop shooting for 15 minutes. On page 8 they tell you that you should not use rechargeables and explain why.
Joseph S Wisniewski
Forum Pro
Alkalines don't generate as much heat as primary lithium cells, but they generate considerably more than NiMH. They have much higher internal resistances, 200mOhm is typical, as opposed to 80mOhm for a conventional NiMH, and under 40mOhm for an eneloop type "hybrid" NiMH (hard to measure, with equipment on hand).
Hybrids are the ones to use if you want cool running cells and flashes.
--
Rahon Klavanian 1912-2008.
Armenian genocide survivor, amazing cook, scrabble master, and loving grandmother. You will be missed.
Ciao! Joseph
http://www.swissarmyfork.com
Yehuda Katz
Forum Pro
Yehuda Katz
Forum Pro
Yehuda Katz
Forum Pro
calson
Forum Pro
Many strobes are designed to function with a minimum voltage level. 1.5 volt alkaline batteries, or 6 volts with 4 AA's in a flash head, when discharged may start providing only 1.2 volts and the flash electronics start to behave erratically and even flash error codes.
With NiMh now prevalent the strobes are designed to handle lower voltage levels but if you have one battery that is failing it will take the overall voltage down when the capacitors are being recharged and result in both very long recycle times and electronics not operating properly.
Standard battery testers that display the voltage of a battery are not sufficient. A pulse load tester is needed to accurately measure the charge state of a NiMh battery. You can buy one from http://www.thomasdistributing.com for less than $30. I have had batteries that caused problems but showed as fully charged on the Maha and with voltage meters but showed only 40% charge with the pulse load tester.
With NiMh now prevalent the strobes are designed to handle lower voltage levels but if you have one battery that is failing it will take the overall voltage down when the capacitors are being recharged and result in both very long recycle times and electronics not operating properly.
Standard battery testers that display the voltage of a battery are not sufficient. A pulse load tester is needed to accurately measure the charge state of a NiMh battery. You can buy one from http://www.thomasdistributing.com for less than $30. I have had batteries that caused problems but showed as fully charged on the Maha and with voltage meters but showed only 40% charge with the pulse load tester.
Ray Thompson
Senior Member
Voltage is not the real problem, it is the current supplied to the voltage inverters. Akalines current capability is much less than NIMH and under heavy current draw, even with fresh cells, the voltage from each cell will drop to about 1 volt because of internal resistance within the alkaline cell. Consequently the current delivered will also drop significantly below what a NIMH can provide. NIMH has much less internal resistance.
Alkaline cells in a flash are a last resort, an emergency backup to your backups. The recycle times are poor and will keep getting longer as the batteries discharge. The power delivered is a gradual, almost linear, decrease as the cells discharge. NIMH are almost flat until they reach the end of their power capabilities.
NIMH over alkaline is no contest. NIMH wins hands down in every category.
--
RayT
Alkaline cells in a flash are a last resort, an emergency backup to your backups. The recycle times are poor and will keep getting longer as the batteries discharge. The power delivered is a gradual, almost linear, decrease as the cells discharge. NIMH are almost flat until they reach the end of their power capabilities.
NIMH over alkaline is no contest. NIMH wins hands down in every category.
--
RayT
Jon Stern
Senior Member
I'm finding that the new NiZn cells are giving me crazy recycle times. In fact they're so fast you have to be careful to avoid over-heating:
http://strobist.blogspot.com/2010/01/new-nizn-batteries-offer-lightning-fast.html
It's a pity they need a special charger too, but that's kind of inevitable with a new chemistry.
http://strobist.blogspot.com/2010/01/new-nizn-batteries-offer-lightning-fast.html
It's a pity they need a special charger too, but that's kind of inevitable with a new chemistry.
D
Darrell Spreen
Guest
NiMH batteries deliver higher current than Alkalines as the voltage droops, so it is possible that circuits can be damaged that way in addition to the heat.
I have found that flash instructions are very specific about whether alkalines or NiMH should be used and, of course, most flash units will accept both. I do have one flash that recommends agains NiMH and that flash will not even function with NiMH batteries. I presume it's a voltage issue, but I recommend you follow the instruction book.
--
Darrell
I have found that flash instructions are very specific about whether alkalines or NiMH should be used and, of course, most flash units will accept both. I do have one flash that recommends agains NiMH and that flash will not even function with NiMH batteries. I presume it's a voltage issue, but I recommend you follow the instruction book.
--
Darrell
tyoung
Veteran Member
These do look very promising. Apparently there's a second generation in the works due to be released sometime next year that is supposed to help provide a longer duty cycle as well as increasing the number of charge/discharge cycles over their lifetime. Hopefully there will be a wider choice of chargers available by then too.
Personally, I'm trying to hold out for now, being pretty happy with the performance I've been getting with the LSD NiMh batteries overall but with more and more good reports coming in, I'll probably break down sooner than planned.
http://www.en-genius.net/site/zones/greenpowerZONE/product_reviews/grnpowp_060109
--
'Here, look at the monkey. Look at the silly monkey!'
Tom Young
http://www.pbase.com/tyoung/
Robert D. McGee1
Senior Member
I am not a pro but a "serious amateur" (I am published but do not rely on photography for my income). I use a LOT of flash (I have a Canon 40D and a 7D and use a pair of 550EX's). As a lot of amateurs have discovered, when I have not used my flash for a couple of weeks, the batteries are half discharged before I even fire a shot (Alkline as well as NMhD rechargeables) will have discharge just sitting on the shelf in as little as a couple of weeks.
Lithium batteries are an excellent choice. They have terrific shelf life and great power output. However, they are expensive and one time use.
Eneloops have solved the problem for me. They have terrific shelf life are rechargeable (500-1000 times) and are not terribly expensive. In fact, when you factor in the life expectancy the cost becomes almost NO factor. Eneloops shelf life is something like 80% left after six months. That's good enough for me.
FWIW
--
Dale53
http://www.pbase.com/dale53
Lithium batteries are an excellent choice. They have terrific shelf life and great power output. However, they are expensive and one time use.
Eneloops have solved the problem for me. They have terrific shelf life are rechargeable (500-1000 times) and are not terribly expensive. In fact, when you factor in the life expectancy the cost becomes almost NO factor. Eneloops shelf life is something like 80% left after six months. That's good enough for me.
FWIW
--
Dale53
http://www.pbase.com/dale53
Yehuda Katz
Forum Pro
Similar threads
Keyboard shortcuts
- f
- Forum