Welcome to the wedding world. Recycle times are the number one problem. And we are talking 1 second or less as being fully usable. Any longer and you can miss shots, as you have probably found out. Most flashes using ANY kind of AA's won't recycle any faster than about 5-9 seconds. The best recycle times are with the very expensive lithiums and it is still 5-6 for your flash. It will only be about 1 second faster than fresh alkalines. Hardly worth it.
So the only route to go is an external larger battery pack. Right now, for the AF540GFGZ the only option is the Pentax TR-Power pak II. I have one - it takes 6 C cells and brings the max recycle time down to about 3 seconds. Because of thyristor circuitry, it is usually around 1 second. Basically the more flash power needed, the longer the recycle time, but it is much better than the AA route. Still, it is just marginal. Quantum makes the battery packs that are most used for flash work. The problem right now is that none are set up for the AF540 flash. you would have to make your own holder - not impossible. But the battery packs are expensive - based on capacity and recycle times. To do better than the TR-Power Pak II, it will probably cost you more than the flash. I have had the joy of looking into all of these things. On top of that, light modifiers that soften the flash output take more power and increase recycle times. So a Lumiquest Soft Box or Gary Fong Light Sphere will increase the recycle times. The other alternative is to use a different flash - most likely one of the Metz big handle mounts - I have a Metz 45 CT-3 unit and 2 Pentax AF-400 T units. These can take different battery systems from Quantum and start to get to where you want to be with both flash output and recycle times. They are bigger, heavier and cost more. They can usually be found used, however. To summarize, you need big, fast batteries to get the recycle time down. The newer Pentax flashes are not supported except by the TR Power Pak units. They do an ok job, but not optimal (I use one all the time). Otherwise you are looking at a different flash system - and with enough flash output to really handle a wedding the Metz series 45 would be your most economical choice - you would shoot using the Auto sensor in the flash, matching your camera settings to it. It is reliable and there are multiple battery system choices along with multiple light modifiers you can get. -- Best regards, Bruce Thursday, March 12, 2009, 11:08:49 PM, you wrote: JC> Anyone available to answer an alliteratively quaint and quick question? JC> Well, I was wondering what's the best battery to buy for frequent-flash JC> photography. The bullshit batteries I bought for last weekend's white JC> wedding were obviously obsolete for that oddysey of outbusts. JC> Alkalines are available all around, yet vary in their veracity and voltage JC> volume. Lithiums last a lot longer, but buying them by the bag begets JC> broke-ness. Rechargeables require regular monotonous mainenance and more JC> money at the moment of purchase, but procurement provides a pre-existing JC> power population in your pocket that pooh-poohs spurious substitution by JC> shoddy successors. JC> Recycle rates, really, are the reason I ask about all this. My Pentax JC> AF540FGZ needs a new and nubile change in the charge-chamber. Previous JC> performance pooped out posthaste, posing a problem. JC> Suggestions? JC> Silly salutations, JC> John JC> -- JC> http://www.neovenator.com JC> http://www.cafepress.com/calemp JC> http://www.cafepress.com/neovenatorphoto JC> -- JC> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List JC> PDML@pdml.net JC> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net JC> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
