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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Vagabond Mini Lithium Results
PJ Heller, Photographer
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Santa Barbara | CA | USA | Posted: 6:18 PM on 03.24.11 |
->> There were lots of posts when the Vagabond Mini Lithium battery pack was first announced, but very little since then about how they actually perform.
Anybody care to comment about likes/dislikes (I saw Rob Galbraith's comments on his site).. |
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Paul Alesse, Photographer
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Centereach | NY | USA | Posted: 6:23 PM on 03.24.11 |
| ->> Couldn't be happier. It has made travel so manageable and portable. They recycle fast and hold their charge when not in use. My only neg is that I haven't been able to effectively figure out how to clamp them to the light stand with the included bracket. Much easier just to hang them by the strap. |
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Kevin Krows, Photographer
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Forsyth | IL | USA | Posted: 7:27 PM on 03.24.11 |
| ->> I'm very happy with the four I have. Buff's return policy is outstanding so try one yourself. |
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Brian Tietz, Photographer
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Fort Myers | FL | USA | Posted: 10:14 PM on 03.24.11 |
->> Anyone using these with packs and heads? I'd love to know if this will power a Dynalite M1000wi, and what the recycle times are at full power.
Rob Galbraith did some tests with Profoto Acute pack but it took 9-11 seconds to recycle it.
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=7-11314-11226 |
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Rodrigo Pena, Photographer
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Beaumont | CA | USA | Posted: 2:51 AM on 03.25.11 |
->> I just got two Vagabond Mini Lithium batteries and I was surprised at how light they are (3.5 lbs.) I have the Vagabond 2 and both of these lightweight batteries combined weigh less than half of the Vagabond 2 which weighs 18.6 lbs.
The VML's are a little slower to recycle than the Vagabond 2. I was shooting a special olympics gymnast last night and I noticed that I did not wait long enough for my flashes to recycle. I was using two AB1600's with a VML on each unit, placed on 1/4 power. I thought the power was low enough to be able to shoot somewhat rapidly. The first two shots of any group were good, but fell considerably after that. Keep in mind I was not waiting longer than a second for the recharge.
When I noticed the lack of recycle time, I spaced out the distance of my photos and had no troubles.
I never reached the battery exhaustion because I only took 326 photos.
I think Rob Galbraith's comments and data are accurate. I'm very happy with the VMLs. |
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Louis Lopez, Photographer
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Fontana | CA | USA | Posted: 4:34 AM on 03.25.11 |
->> Performance disappointing with trying to run just one ProFoto acute 1200 on one lithium unit. Took so long to recharge it was unusable.
Very disappointed. Had to run power cords.
Will have to run some tests and see what it will be usable with.
Unfortunately I have all ProFoto for my lighting. |
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Michael Fischer, Photographer
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Spencer | Ia | USA | Posted: 9:46 AM on 03.25.11 |
->> Anyone used the Mini with a Elinchrom R series units?
I've got a unit on order. Will cancel if it isn't going to work.
Thanks,M |
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David Seelig, Photographer
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Hailey | ID | USA | Posted: 11:23 AM on 03.25.11 |
| ->> HI Micahel I have a rx 600 at full power no model lights I am getting a 4 second recycle time. This may pick up if the battery has a brake in time. If I go down a stop I get a 3 second recycle time. the rx 1200 is much slower . |
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PJ Heller, Photographer
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Santa Barbara | CA | USA | Posted: 1:03 PM on 03.25.11 |
| ->> Anybody try the VML with a Dyna-lite UNi400jr ?? |
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Michael Fischer, Photographer
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Spencer | Ia | USA | Posted: 5:29 PM on 03.25.11 |
->> David,
You're made my day. I have 500's and 1000s and it should work either way. Thanks for the response.
Michael |
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Jason Myers, Photographer
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West Palm Beach | FL | USA | Posted: 8:16 PM on 03.29.11 |
->> Got mine yesterday and it works perfectly with my Elinchrom BXRi 500's
I'm stoked! |
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Patrick Murphy-Racey, Photographer
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Joe Brown, Photographer
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Woburn | MA | USA | Posted: 9:15 PM on 03.29.11 |
->> My friends at the studio put one of these through it paces and made a video of it - you can see it here:
http://vimeo.com/19073905
Joe Brown |
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Michael Fischer, Photographer
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Spencer | Ia | USA | Posted: 12:37 PM on 04.02.11 |
->> Got mine yesterday. Used it on a soccer story portrait. The recycle time on a Elinchrom 500 was great until the wind blew the light over. Switched to a R1000 and it's about 6 seconds..
I really love this....very affordable. |
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Yamil Sued, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Peoria | AZ | USA | Posted: 4:54 PM on 04.02.11 |
->> I'm still rocking the vagabond II's, but I'm curious about these.
Can't wait to play with them on location in the desert. |
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Mark Perlstein, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Plano | TX | USA | Posted: 7:54 AM on 04.03.11 |
| ->> They are very popular. I needed one last week. I wish they were not on back order. |
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Michael Fischer, Photographer
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Spencer | Ia | USA | Posted: 1:18 PM on 04.03.11 |
| ->> Mark, the wait isn't too bad. I think I waited about 2 weeks before they shipped mine. |
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Ilan Klein, Photographer
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NYC | NY | USA | Posted: 5:42 PM on 04.04.11 |
->> Jason,
Does the VML actually work with BXRi?
I've read in many places it doesn't work well because the BXRi is multi-voltage.
Did you get any weired sounds during recharges ? What's your recharge time? Is it one strobe per battery? |
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Jason Myers, Photographer
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West Palm Beach | FL | USA | Posted: 8:49 PM on 04.04.11 |
->> I haven't had anything strange occur with my BxRi 500s to date..No weird sounds. I haven't fully put them through their paces with the VM on assignment.
For my "testing" I had the modeling lights off (user manual with Vagabond Mini states several times not to use modeling lights so I did as told)
At full power with both strobes plugged into one battery, I was getting about 4.5 -5 sec recycle times which I think is pretty good for 1000 total WS at such a minimal price point. At minimum to mid power it was nearly instant recharge with both firing. Didn't see a noticeable decrease until around 5.0 which is at the upper end (6.3 is full power)
I read the discussion boards too before ordering and figured for less than $240 bucks if it didn't work I'd use it around the house during power outages in hurricane season :) But so far I'm pleased with the Elinchrom BxRi 500's performance combined with the Vagabond Mini Lithium
I also have the Ranger Quadra system which I've yet to work in conjunction with the BXRi's.. Will report when that combo happens.
Hope this helps
Jason |
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Ilan Klein, Photographer
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NYC | NY | USA | Posted: 10:31 PM on 04.04.11 |
->> It actually helps :)
I'm happy to read this because i own two BXRi and after looking for lightweight solutions operating those outdoors there's a positive sign :)
I've thought that only the Tronix Explorer XT can solve this issue.
Thanks,
Ilan |
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