Battery Power (ex. Quantum)??

[Bighead]

I shot a wedding on Saturday and as usual, I shot about 25 rolls of film... (for a total of 49 rolls, my partner shot with Portra) Most of which was Delta 400 where I used my Vivitar 285... Either full throttle or cut back for some slight fill....

I've noticed that the double A's, are fairly inconsistent as well as easily drained.. I even had a battery get to hot and blow up... Not sure how that happened or why, but it was a fun mess in the middle of a portrait session with the wedding party...

So, another upgrade to gear.... What is a good battery set up? Something that will handle 750 - 1000 shots without getting crazy on me? Something I can use with a Vivitar as well as a Nikon flash (probably a sb-800)...

Oh yeah, hopefully something I can mount on my flash bracket (Custom Brackets CB Digital-T)

 

[John Koehrer]

Bighead,
Take a look at the Quantum Battery One. It can be used as an over the shoulder pack & also has a belt clip. Adapter cables are available for many flash units. This will work with 6V (4AA) flash guns.

 

[Bighead]

They are used all day long on Ebay. Of course, the cells could be worn... Someone had said that you can replace the cells for $25, if thats the case, would it be a good deal to buy a used and replace cells or should I just spend the cash for a brand new one?

 

[Nick Zentena]

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

Anybody know about these guys?

The fake battery inserts would seem to imply that any battery could be used that provided the right voltage.

 

[DKT]

try a Quantum Turbo. I've been using them for about 15 yrs now for shooting events and have used them with them with 283s, 285s, SB26, 28, 80 and 800, and Q-Flashes. I also used Battery One's back in the mid 80s when they first came out, and these are great for use with a 283, but they won't last for a full day's work like a Turbo will. Both the Turbo and the Battery One are lead-acid cells and don't have a memory. You can charge them at any time and leave them unused for weeks at a time and still have a decent charge. The turbo can be used for a full days work though. I routinely use them to shoot for 6 hour plus shoots and have shot as much as 20 rolls or more using them with auto flashes for fill etc. Very quick recycle time--even compared to a Battery One. If you get a Battery One, I'd get 2 of them and use one for backup or for when the other one poops out...it's nice to have 2 Turbos, but you'd have to be working pretty hard to drain one out.

I've also used the Turbo-Zs, but had to get rid of two of them after a year because they both died. I could have gotten them recelled, but I pretty much sold them as-is for a hell of a loss, bascially gave them away, because they were unreliable.....I bought another Turbo instead. They're heavy, but they're reliable...I still have the Battery One I bought in 1984 though...

btw--we've had 5 Turbos since 1989 or so, and we're down to 2 working ones now, with a third that needs to be recelled. The other two have been recelled a few times each, and are suffering other old-age problems, but these things really have gotten used and they're good value for the money, imho.