Flash question

[todd_torfin]

<p>I have a 580EXII and was looking at the Quantum Trio. I do racing photography at local dirt tracks. My 580EXII works OK but I need something better or a good battery pack for the 580EXII. I have heard about the Quantum Turbo SC. Will the Quantum Trio give me more reach and better refresh or what should I do?</p>

[john_deerfield]

<p>I don't think a Trio is going to give you any more "reach" than a 580. I might look into some of the 400w/s portable solutions from Dynalite/Norman/Lumedyne. In terms of getting a faster recycle time out of the 580, I would just get a CP-E4, Canon's AA battery pack. My experience using Turbo batteries on a Canon flash was always hit or miss.</p>

[picturesque]

<p>I use a Turbo SC with my 580EX II and 580EX and it works well. You just have to follow the hook up procedure and control the flash's auto turn off with CFs. The recycle time for a full power flash is 1.3 seconds, and that's pretty accurate. The regular turbo is a bit faster. Don't know much about the CP-E4. The stated full power recycle is 1.7 seconds, but reports are that it is faster than that, with some people claiming a second or less. In any case, you aren't going to get a lot faster than about a second for a full power recycle. Some people say the new hybrid zinc AAs allow this, but you can seriously blow up your flash if that's the case.</p>

<p>A Trio (at normal or 50mm reflector position) is actually rated lower than the 580EXII at normal reflector position. 110 to 138. This is partly due to the type of reflector it has. There are only two reflector positions on the Quantum. The latter gives nice light, but you'd need the telephoto reflector to get more power focused, which is what the shoemount reflector does--focus the light at telephoto zoom positions.</p>

<p>For more reach for the shoemount, you might try the Better Beamer attachment, which is what wildlife photographers might use, or the Mila Grid product that is similar.</p>

<p>The older Quantums are about 2/3 stop more powerful than the 580EXII, but again--depends on what zoom setting you are talking about.</p>

<p>For more power (and more reach), you can go with Metz handlemounts or Norman or Lumedyne battery portables. Some of the Metz handlemounts also have only two head zoom positions, but the top of the line 76 Digital's head zooms like the 580EXII. The Norman and Lumedyne portables also have the round reflector, so two reflector positions with telephoto reflector as an option. Since the latter two use their own battery packs, you'll get fast recycling.</p>

<p>I would think people use the Quantum type units for racing because of the power and flash durations, but I don't know a lot about racing photography.</p>