I bought 3 - 4 packs of AA EveryReady Batteries for my flash before the wedding I was scheduled to do last Saturday.

I would have bought another brand but the town I was in had no stores and only a small gas station. After taking the group pictures before the ceremony I had gone through 8 of the batteries leaving me only 4 for the ceremony. I had to choose my images carefully in order to not miss something while the flash was recharging (this severely limited me and was certainly embarrassing).

I ended up going through all 12 of the worthless batteries before leaving the church. They were within expiration date but I have no idea how long they've been sitting on the gas station shelf. I imagine they couldn't have been there long because they weren't dusty and this is the only store for locals to shop at.

I was able to pick up some duracells at the walmart located in the town where the reception was held(50mi away). I bought 16 of them and I only went through four during the ENTIRE reception. This was with extreme use.

In short please avoid these like the plague.

I've had good luck with Energizer Ni-Mh rechargables. I don't bother wasting money on non-rechargables, unless it's an emergency. I've got a 15-minute charger for mine, so I can get a full charge before I use up the ones in my flash and swap them out. Works on 12v too. The batteries get pretty hot, and I imagine it wears them out faster to charge them this fast, but so far they've held up.

I'd like to try out those Eneloops Idjiit was raving about on the OT equipment thread. I've heard good things elsewhere about them too.

Yep, I also use rechargeables.
The charger can charge a set faster than I can go through them with a flash, even with constant use.
So I have 2 sets for each flash. That way I can fire away, bring the chargers and never have to worry about it unless there is no juice there, but I have 16 batteries total.

I've used the energizer rechargeable ones before with little success. This was awhile ago so maybe things have gotten better since.

mine are whatever the dude from B&H recommended.
NOT energizer though.

I think one of my Energizers bit the dust today. (Charger just flashed when it was inserted, wouldn't charge until I pulled that one.) It was an old 1600mAh, so I was expecting it. I've been using 4 of them until they die. My others are 2200mAh and not as old.

So, I picked up an 8 pack of Eneloops at lunch. We'll see how they do this weekend. I leave this afternoon for Terrible's Primm 300 in Nevada. Hopefully I can get some good shots. The access will probably not be as liberal as Mexico.

Originally Posted by LateApex

I leave this afternoon for Terrible's Primm 300 in Nevada. Hopefully I can get some good shots. The access will probably not be as liberal as Mexico.

I can't wait to see whatever shots you get.

This time I'm going to keep the 70-200 on, and use a monopod. At the 500 I second guessed myself and tried shooting with the kit lens so I could use a CP, and while the color was nice, I ended up with some junk.

I'm also going to try this "trap focus" method I've been reading about...

I forget, what camera do you shoot with? Every result in google for "trap focus" refers to Nikon so I'm curious how to set it up with a canon.

I use a Nikon D50.

Basically, you set up the camera so the shutter won't fire until the subject is in focus. Hold the shutter release, and when it moves into focus, it fires the shutter for you. It removes the half-press AF. You use the "AF-On" button to set focus initially and set the camera for continuous focus(AF-C on a Nikon).

It's perfect for this stuff, as I just shoot the same spot over and over. I could probably manual focus as well, but I'd have to react fast. This method is probably much faster than I could do.

I'd be willing to bet you can do the same thing with a Canon, it's just called something else.

nope, can't do it...
Sound perfect for motorsports too...

No wonder I had never heard of it. We Canon users have to rely on the AI servo. Good luck shooting the race.

Originally Posted by LateApex

So, I picked up an 8 pack of Eneloops at lunch. We'll see how they do this weekend.

What's the verdict?

Can I use any NiMH charge with these batteries or does it have to be this one:
http://www.wolfcamera.com/product/142140185.htm

I want those batteries but I'd like to have a four battery charger. Can I just purchase a four pack and a different four battery charger?

I'm on the wolf website because someone c gave me a GC.

Yes, you should be able to use any NiMH charger for any NiMH batteries.

I started out using Energizer 2200's 3 years ago then switched over to 2500's a couple of years ago, bought 4 set's of 4. Bought a couple more sets last year and am down to 8 - 10 good ones now (good being batteries that charge to about 2300).

A couple of weeks ago I bought 4 sets of Sanyo 2700's, have 3 sets broken in now, working on the 4th.

I use the Maha MH-C9000 charger, like it quite a bit, batteries never get hot during the charge cycle. I also like that each bank charges on it's own, handy when your flash takes 5 batteries.