count_chocula

Thanks all for the continued discussion, and especially to Harris for the awesome breakdown of his setup. My original question centered around the need to have an extended rechargeable battery pack for use in the field. I have 622s now, but am still open to changing equipment. I have no problem switching to some speedlights if they're a bit easier to deal with, and if extendable battery packs are available for use in the field. The discussion above doesn't address the possibility of the extendable packs for speedlights or otherwise. Any thoughts on that? Thanks in advance.

Great info - thanks Gary. Makes complete sense. I've actually just 3D-printed an insert for the battery pack, which accomplishes the same thing as the doweling (just because i have a printer readily available). I've also emailed quantum's UK rep to see if they have those cables... but damn they're expensive! What rating fuse do you use? Must be something like 20A or so, given the potentially high currents involved? Does anyone have an AD26 adapter? Wondering what voltage it outputs to which pins... Thanks all...

Thanks for the replies, folks. I'm an electrical engineer by training, but have zero experience with flash circuitry. I'm well aware of the dangers of large caps, and was thinking (furthermore) that the charging circuitry may have such caps of its own... so adding more may not accomplish anything. I'm not sure. The reason for so many flashes is that my application is for photogrammetry. I have an automated turntable setup, and would like to take pictures as fast as possible (up to 1 pic/sec) to speed up processing times. I plan on taking around 600 photos of each subject, and plan on shooting multiple subjects per day. 2-3k flashes is pretty reasonable for my application, but maybe not so reasonable for the flashes. The whole 510v battery thing is a bit of a mystery to me. 4 C cells in series = 6V, yet both the 510v and the C cell compartment plug into the same 8-pin square plug. Perhaps some of those pins are used for the 6V circuitry, and the others for the high voltage circuitry... Would be cool to figure out how to DIY one's own high-voltage input. Looks doable (though not in my current timeframe - maybe a project for later): DC-DC converter, 12V to 400V? Is this possible? Regardless, as you say, the fast charging may not be the limiting factor. I'll keep an eye on the heat, etc. But what I really need, first, are either some of those 8-pin connectors, or a dowling setup. @paul ron , might you have any pics you wouldn't mind sharing? Thanks, Allie

Thanks all. I'm running with a Yongnuo 622Y + TX i-TTL setup. They have PC sync ports... will report back!

These are amazing recommendations, and with special props to @Andrew Garrard for an insanely wonderful breakdown. I'm running with the Nikon 85mm f/1.8 for now. The Sigma ART would be wonderful, but I can't fit it in the budget at the moment... it's on the wish list though. Thanks all. I'm sure this thread will be useful to others looking for something similar in the future.

Thanks Wilmarco. I’m sure they work well, but they’re pricey. Hoping there’s a good but more economical solution out there...

Hi all, I'm looking for a fixed focal length lens - something around 80mm or so - for my D810. I have around £500 to spend, and would like to get something as sharp as that budget allows. It's for a photogrammetry project. I already have a sigma ART 24mm, but need a longer focal length to complement it. I'm on a tight timeline, so probably need something I can grab off amazon here in the UK or similar... Thanks much in advance. Allie

thanks... yeah, EZ Green Screen worked for me before... might go back to it...

Hi all, Looking for recommendations to remote trigger 2 Sunpak auto 622 pro flashes from a nikon d810. Would a Yongnuo trigger of some sort work? I have the PC syncro cords... Thanks, Allie

That square cable connector, as far as I can tell, is the only power input to the flash. Both the C cell battery pack and the AC adapter plug into it... The dowel solution is just a way to access that port when you don't have a cable connector to work with... please correct me if i'm wrong... [uSER=2403817]@rodeo_joe|1[/uSER] , do you know how the 510V battery actually works? Is it actually a 510 volt battery? Interested to find out... maybe it's charging a capacitor quickly or something? I was thinking about putting a big capacitor in parallel with a 6V battery to potentially allow for faster charging...

Thanks all. Yes, voltage converters are readily available. What I don't see are power cables that plug into the 622 that must look something like the square end of this: Quantum Instruments CS6 Cable for Sunpak 622 CS6 B&H Photo Video The other option is to go rodeo_joe's route and use some C-size dowels... I'd prefer a cable interface, but if not possible, good to have the other option. I wonder if the flash has circuitry inside the handle between the C-cells and the plug that might alter recycle times? Or, perhaps it's just a straight electrical connection? Thanks, Allie

Thanks Paul, I think i saw some of your posts in the past. I'm not able to find any AC adapters here in the UK or Europe, unfortunately. But I may give the motorcycle battery trick a try...

Thanks rodeo... i'm not super tied to the 622's in theory, but time is short for me, so if i'm going to switch, i'll have to do it quick. I'm just looking for a flash that will work for me in the field. I'm not a photographer, so am not familiar with the various options... Accessories for the sunpak's do seem to be hard to come by. If there were a setup that was more easily accessorized, worked well enough, and didn't break the bank much more than the 622's, i'm game...

Cool idea Wilmarco... unfortunately, a number of my sites will be a couple hours hike in. The AC adapter could work in the sites that do have good access, and for those I'll look for the adapter... though I'm not finding any available in the UK/Europe. Wondering if anyone might have thoughts of where to find them? Also, how many cycles do you get out of a set of C cells? And, what is your recycle time on those? re: the manual, i see a few options... i don't imagine the 510V cells are readily available? thanks...

Hi all, I picked up a couple sunpak 622 pro's, and need to outfit them with batteries. I'll be off in the field, so need something to power around 2-3k flashes per day, before heading back to recharge. All the posts I've found are quite old now... Wondering what folks are doing these days for these flashes... Ideally I'd like to use motorcycle batteries that I can pick up around the world, though I understand the duty cycles of the flashes may be low with those batteries? Any thoughts greatly appreciated... thanks, allie