Quantum Turbo or Battery 1 with Vivitar 283?

[mark_baylin]

Hello,

 

I'm looking for a battery source from Quantum that will allow me to photograph without any waiting for

my flash to recharge. I use the Vivitar 283 in the red (auto mode) with Gary Fong's Lightspere attached to

the flash. I like to keep things at ISO 200 at F/4 or so. The quick recharge time is for wedding photos in

the church as well as at night during the reception. The best alkalines and rechargeable batteries cannot

keep up anymore...

 

Using the flash as described above, can the Quantum Battery 1+ give me near instant rechage time for

400-600 exposures? Or, do I need to upgrade to the Quantum Turbo to do this job? I'd like to keep the

expence and weight of the unit down, but, if the smaller battery won't do the job, I'll put up with the

expence and weight in order to get the job done properly... I will be using the this equipment every week

throughout the year... I just need to know whether the extra $200 for the turbo is realy worth it?

 

Thanks very much for any suggestions!!

 

Take care all

 

Mark Baylin

[Gary Naka]

The QB-1+ and the Black Box (by Alan Jacobs) are both 6v units, and rely on the flash to increase the voltage to the capacitor. They will decrease the recycle time by virtue of their battery, but not to the extent you are asking for.

 

What you are asking for can only be done using a HV pack, like the Quantum Turbo series (Turbo, Turbo Compact and Turbo 2x2). There is also the Lumedyne and a couple other brands, so you are not stuck with only the Quantums. You will still have a recycle time, but according to the Quantum site, it will probably be about 1 sec rather than 6 sec (for AA NiCads) for a full power dump.

 

As for your 400-600 shots, that will depend on how much power is needed for each shot. The Quantum site shows 500 full power shots w 1 sec recycle for a Turbo powering a generic shoe flash (400 shots w 1.4 sec for the Compact, and 700 shots w 1 sec for the 2x2). If it is NOT a full power shot you get more shots and faster recycling, vs full power shots. But like gas mileage, YOUR mileage may vary.

 

My caution is as you near the end of the capacity of the HV pack, the recycle time will start to increase. SO...if you MUST have that fast recycle from morning (dressing shots) to late night (up to 18 hrs elapsed time), I would guess that you need to have 2 Tubo or Compact batteries (or one 2x2). The flash is using juice just sitting there.

 

gud luk, Gary

[savagesax]

For the money, just slightly more than the Battery 1+ get the TURBO. The reason is simple, someday with the up and coming new products the turbo seems to work with just about all of the more powerful flashes. I have 2 of them and the recycle time is almost instant. If your 283 takes a bite, it will be nice to have back ups such as the turbo or turbo 2 that fits pretty much every type of flash.