550 ex not recycling quickly enough

[sw949]

My 550EX is great paired with my 5DmIII but sometimes it doesn't recycle quickly enough. I am a wedding photographer and for the first dance I need to be able to shoot quickly. I'm generally shooting in ETTL if that matters. I always put fresh batteries in at the beginning of every event, and I generally only use the flash for the dance floor so the batteries are not spent by the first dance. I hate missing a great shot b/c my flash didn't fire!! Anyone have advice? 

[Skirball]

Get an external battery pack.  Absolute necessity for wedding Togs.

Also, in general, if your flash is struggling then up your exposure so it doesn’t have to work as hard (i.e. raise your ISO a stop or two and lower the shutter speed – if you can – a stop or two to compensate).  Using 1/4 or less can make a big

[cicopo]

Your recycle times will be way shorter if you use the auxillary power pak (if that model has the port it plugs into). I think the current model is CP E4 (which I have) and it's quite fast getting full power blasts. It is NOT just a battery pak, it has electronics to supercharge the flash which is how it cuts the recycle time.

[TCampbell]

As Skirball and cipoco have pointed out -- the trick is to use external battery power with the flash.  That will _really_ speed up the recycle time.

Incidentally... another factor that controls recycle power is the amount of energy the flash had to dump when it fired.  If you're on manual and firing at full power then it's going to be a long recycle time and really eat the batteries.  Do you shoot E-TTL and/or if shooting manual are you using full power or are you dialed back a bit?

[hsbn]

Also, good batteries can help too. You can google Battery & flash recycle time online. Some batteries do make a different.

[sw949]

Thanks for the advice. I was afraid I would have to buy a battery pack. Any recommendations? Is this an item where you get what you pay for or can I go for a generic like this:

http://www.amazon.com/SF-18-Battery-580EXII-MR-14EX-Yongnuo/dp/B007P1C4RO/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=13...

[hsbn]

I've used Yongnuo one for 3 years now. Everything is working fine. I have 3 of them. None defective so far.

[amfoto1]

Slow to join the party here, but I just saw this post...

I've been using several 550EX with Canon CP-E and CP-E4 battery packs for some years now. Also am using several 580EX II with and without the battery packs. I have not used that Yongnuo battery pack, but it looks similar to the Canon.  One nice thing about the CP-E4 is that you can reload them without removing from the unit from the case or the case  from your belt... just unsnap the flap at the bottom, press the release button and slide out the magazine that holds the batteries. Replace the batteries in the magazine and put it back... or if you have an extra mag ready to go just slide it in and latch it in place. Extra battery magazines (CPM-E4) can be purchases to have ready andloaded with batts and ready for use.

All my portable flashes and batt packs use standard AA batts, so everything is conveniently interchangeable.

If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend getting a bunch of quality rechargeable AA batteries. Not only will this be more cost efficient and "green", you'll also find your flashes recycle faster and you get more shots than with standard alkaline batteries.

EDIT: Be a little careful, using one of these you can overheat the flash or the battery pack with extensive, fast and continuous shooting. I've seen mention of battery packs being damaged beyond repair with too fast and continuous use.

Also, I've seen mention that the Yongnuo is identical to the Canon item. But I haven't used it myself, so this is just info I'm passing along.

***********
Alan Myers

San Jose, Calif., USA
"Walk softly and carry a big lens."
GEAR: 5DII, 7D(x2), 50D(x3), some other cameras, various lenses & accessories
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