SD-8A like battery pack to be used for off camera fill flash on a light stand?

<p>looking for a 3rd party battery pack for an off camera fill flash for power for my SB28/SB800. id like to use them on light stands and wireless slaves. it has one cable to the front power connector and the a pc sync cable to connect to the side pc sync of the flash im guessing.</p>

<p>the person says the battery pack wont power a flash that isnt on a camera. doesnt sound logical so im asking.</p>

<p>can the nikon SD-8A power a flash if its sitting off camera or must it sit on the camera also?</p>

<p>didnt know power to the flash has anything to do with it mounted on a camera.<br /> thank you</p>

<p>doesn't have to be on-camera</p>

<p>http://flashzebra.com/products/0263/index.shtml</p>

<p>You plug the SD-8A to the front of the (compatible) flash. It has nothing to do with the camera body. Therefore, it makes no difference whether the flash is on the camera or not.</p>

<p>Robert, I have a SB800 and I use it with a SD-8A when in studio, on a beauty dish. It works as a charm.</p>

Quantum Turbo III.

<p>Buy a Godox ProPac PB820 high-voltage battery pack for only $89.99 (available from various Ebay sellers: just search for "Godox" in Ebay--<em>don't</em> search for "ProPac" or "PB820"). I see a <em>lot</em> of pro event shooters using these lately. I'll be picking up a couple of these myself (I also own a couple of <em>original</em> Quantum Turbos, which you can re-cell with better-than-OEM, Power-Sonic PS-832, sealed lead-acid batteries for under $20).</p>

<p>@Howard, I recently bought a lot of gear and looking for the cheapest solution. I cant afford something expensive. compared to the nikon SD-8a any of these choices are cheaper but for me $66 +shipping (they dont ship to my country) is too expensive.</p>

<p>there are battery packs that sell for $30. they only hold 6 batteries which I think is fine for me, since I shoot at 1/32 power on the dance floor at the weddings. but I was looking at the yongnuo SF-18 (holds 8 batteries) which sells for around $42 with intl shipping. which I think is the correct route for my pocket. I still have some gear to buy to get up to par.<br /> http://thephotogadget.com/content/yongnuo-sf-18-flash-battery-pack-nikon-sb-800-nikon-sd-8a-compatible</p>

<p>@Shun, I figured what the seller was saying was fishy so wanted to ask before hand. to me it makes sense that the camera doesnt have anything to do with the flash getting power from the BP but the sync cord made it suspicious because I thought it needed to be connected to the camera. im wondering why the SD8a has the pc cord and the SD9 doesnt anymore.</p>

<p>@Ralph, I have a lot of new 4x energizer AA NIMH packs sitting on the side so want a battery pack that takes those instead of sealed acid type. I also think theres a problem to ship batteries airmail.</p>

<p>@Mihai. thumbs up TY</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I looked at getting a 3rd party one & all the reviews that I read said not to. Here is a sample one:<br>

<a href="http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/32713121">http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/32713121</a><br>

I decided against getting a 3rd party one & sought out a used Nikon one. Managed to find a mint SD-8A from a dealer for only £10 more than a 3rd party one was new.</p>

<p>thanks for the heads up. the new ones are SF-18 not YF-17/18, although not sure about the different numbers. I also work with the flashes with yongnuo 622n slaves. I dont use CLS, which im guessing what they mean by remote mode or even SU4 mode. </p>

<p>that post is from 2009. im hoping they got their act together and have been able to fix the issue. <br>

im going to try anyway. ill let you know how it is. ill order one for now.</p>

<p>Well, the Godox ProPacs (Ni-MH based) are similar to Quantum Turbos (SLA-based) in that you have wicked-fast recycle times, plus an incredible amount of battery life (e.g., you can shoot at max FPS at 1/8th power with a Nikon SB-800, all night long). I see a lot of photographers retiring their pricey Turbo SCs/Turbo 3s/Lumedynes for these inexpensive units. I think the days of $700 high-voltage battery packs are numbered.</p>

<p>yes Ralph, I remember myself searching for a solution for faster recycle and more flashes with an external power source way back when in the film days. today with FF and iso 3200+, I have 3 flashes on light stands with 622n slaves running 1/32 power and Its just great. but shooting hundreds of photos, towards the end of the day the batteries get drained and im just tired to do a replacment. so want something that will hold one and till the end.</p>

<p>not really worried about recycle since even at 1/16 power (for formals firing from an umbrella) its fast, but towards the end of the event, the batteries are all pooped out. the formals and ceremony and then dancing, it tires them. </p>

<p>im curious how their sales are today. if those companies even exist. like pocket wizard. slowly but surely PW see their quarterly revenues drop. all these companies were raping people for years. </p>

<p>Robert said:</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p><em>I have 3 flashes on light stands with 622n slaves running 1/32 power . . .</em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>Yes, at that power, recycle isn't an issue. I did a shoot yesterday with a 400Ws AC monolight as a key, and an SB-800 as a background light, but forgot my Quantum Turbo battery for the SB-800. But the background light's power was set so low, it wasn't an issue.</p>