canon 550ex recommended battery pack...

[artie_kraemer]

Hey guys! I am looking to pick up a canon 550ex for my 7e and I want

to go with a quantum pack for it. I was looking at a couple of packs

such as a turbo, turbo z, and the bantam 1+. I wanted to know which

of these you would recommend? I know there is a huge differance in

price between these packs and that is not a factor, however i'm going

to be doing some extensive photojournalistic photography and wanted

to know if you guys had any experience with any of the packs listed

in conjunction with the 550ex. Any thoughts would be appreciated!!!

[jimstrutz]

The Battery 1+ and the Bantam are both 6 volt batteries. They use a dummy battery plug that fills the space where your AA's are now. They will do a full power recycle on my 550EX in about 5.2 to 5.5 seconds. This is, at most, 1/2 second faster than 4 NiMH AA batteries. The Battery 1+ will last longer than the Bantam and considerably longer than the NiMH AA's, but several sets of rechargable AA's are still a whole lot cheaper than either of the 6 volt Quantums, so I don't see why anyone wants one. I'll sell you my Bantam real cheap if you're interested.

 

The Turbo and Turbo Z are different. They are a high voltage power pack (about 330 volts), and will do a full power recharge on the 550EX in about 1.5 seconds. And they will do it all day long. The Turbo uses lead acid cells and is larger/heavier than the Turbo Z, which uses NiCad or NiMH cells.

 

There are other brands that do the same thing. In fact Canon's own Transistor battery pack is nearly as fast as the Turbo for considerably less money.

[yakim_peled1]

I used the Canon CP-E2 for a while with my 550EX. Recycle times were hardly noticable (generally less than 0.5 sec). I sold it only because I don't need such fast recycle times.

[ben_rubinstein___mancheste]

http://www.aljacobs.com/universal_battery_packs.htm

if you're on a tight budget, I've just ordered one for my 420ex, not that I need it so much but at the price it's worth it for the fun.

[flipper1]

Artie... I use Canon's Transistor pack E with my 550EX/1D combo and this will usually last up to 6 days as a staffer for press work (approx 180-240 shots a day)with rapid enough recycling for most jobs!

[paul_burgman]

Go with the Turbo, I have been using them for years, without

problem. The disadvantage with the Canon Transistor Pack, is

that it can only drive a single flash, whereas the Quantum Turbo

with the Cable splitter can drive 2. The Transistor pack also has

to be dismantled to charge. Quantum make an in car charger so

you can keep the battery topped up. Although I have been weeks

without charging mine (iti s used daily) and still not come close

to exhausting the charge.

 

Paul Burgman

[Marc453]

I have two turbos and recommend them highly over almost all other batteries. The best thing about them is that Quantum has done a lot of homework and is constantly adding to its line of accessories for the Turbo and the Q2 flash, which by the way is worth the extra money if you don't mind the weight. Quantum's new module for the Q2 and the digital update is also worth the money. Finally, the turbo battery will also power digital cameras, the newer DC studio lights and a whole slew of other professional flashes.

[grabshotz.]

So how consistant is Canon's CP-E2 6AA tranistor recycle time? Shooting HS football games in low light stadiums require ISO 800/1600 at f/2.8 however, efficiently changing batteries is a NIGHTMARE.

 

Any power pack recommendations for a 550EX /580EX are fully welcome.

 

E-Mail: photos@grabshotz.com

 

Thank You So Much,

 

Scott Di Vincenzo