[philbaum]

3 weeks ago, i was shooting this portrait, with 2 yongnuo flashes, 1 a manual YN460II and the other, a manual YN560. I was using fully charged eneloops out of my Maha 800s charger - which monitors the charge on individual batteries.

After about 3 or 4 shots, the shots dimmed noticeably, no flash adjustments helped, and i had to revert back to a Metz flash. (very frustrating) 2 days ago, I was preplanning a shoot with a friend, and the flash power seemed to fall off again, with eneloops. So i went home and did some checking - same problem with power fall-off after a few shots.

Yesterday, in panic mode, i just went out and bought a bunch of one time usage alkaline batteries, and my impression was that they worked much better in the Yongnuo flashes. Results were a little muddied because my friend was doing the shooting and using his onboard flash to supplement the 2 softboxes we had.

IIRC, the eneloops develop a lower voltage than many other rechargeables. My eneloops are getting older, some are at least 2 years old, although i haven't recharged them that much.

If one goes to speedlights.net, one will find a lot of information about various flashes, and also about yongnuo flashes. Their testing indicates they are about equal power with most models out there. They also note that they charge fast.

1. I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed any power problems with Yongnuo flashes, particularly with regard to eneloops

2. I'm just thinking of a test i can perform to get to the bottom of this issue. I could take 1 or 2 Yongnuos with fresh AA alkaline batteries, discharge them 20 times, and take before and after pictures iwth the flash to see how EV falloff in light occurs. Then repeat that test with freshly charged eneloops. I also have a Metz 48 and could repeat the test and compare results with the Yongnuo. All done in manual at full power.

I get the sense that the Yongnuo aren't producing the power with the eneloops, but i may be totally wrong without test data. When i use fully charged eneloops according to the charger, and the Flash light signals fully charged, i normally think its ok to proceed shoot, but i think there's a problem.

Does any of this ring a bell with your experience - please explain???

[Anvh]

I hardly see the use of batteries like eneloop for flashes. Flashgun draw a lot of power so the batteries are completely quite fast so there is little use that the eneloops hold the charge longer.
Just recharge your batteries before the shoot and use the eneloops for the metz and take that flash with you for "just in case" flash photography, thats what i would do.

[adwb]

I use UNiROSS HYBRIO batteries which are I believe the same as enerloop batteries.
I have no problems with them in a metz 48 or the 2 yn560 units I have or in the metz cl45 that I also use. I can't say that I would get more flashes from Duracell plus batteries as I have never compared them however given the lower voltage of the hybro/enerloop i would assume that to be the case.

I use the hybro batteries at weddings and have never had a problem with them running down quickly, in fact I never have had to change a set during a wedding yet.

Could it be you batteries have reached the end of their life?

[Anvh]

nizn batteries might be an idea, no idea how healthy they are for the flashes.
Some flashes can take the higher voltage but others...

[DaveHolmes]

I have Yongnuo YN560 and YN460 as well as the Vivitar 285hv and only use Eneloops...

To be honest I haven't had any of the issues you have... I have about 6 sets (of 4) that revolve between my lads *ist, my missus' HS10 and the 3 flashes and get charged regular (with a cheapo charger)...

Is it possible that your charger is on the fritz?

[philbaum]

I use UNiROSS HYBRIO batteries which are I believe the same as enerloop batteries.
I have no problems with them in a metz 48 or the 2 yn560 units I have or in the metz cl45 that I also use. I can't say that I would get more flashes from Duracell plus batteries as I have never compared them however given the lower voltage of the hybro/enerloop i would assume that to be the case.

I use the hybro batteries at weddings and have never had a problem with them running down quickly, in fact I never have had to change a set during a wedding yet.

Could it be you batteries have reached the end of their life?

I have Yongnuo YN560 and YN460 as well as the Vivitar 285hv and only use Eneloops...

To be honest I haven't had any of the issues you have... I have about 6 sets (of 4) that revolve between my lads *ist, my missus' HS10 and the 3 flashes and get charged regular (with a cheapo charger)...

Is it possible that your charger is on the fritz?

Thanks for the feedback guys - its good news that noone else has had this problem with eneloops.

I'm getting ready for an art walk show on Saturday, but then i'm going to do some testing to figure out where the problem is. I happen to have a cheaper charger as well as this more expensive one, and thats one comparison i can make. Also, i want to compare them against non-rechargeables on a practical basis. Will reply back here once i do some testing - something at my end is not working right. It could just be end of life batteries.

[manishved]

What you need is a La Crosse Technology BC-700 battery charger. Completely refresh your Eneloops with this charger and they are as good as new.

[elliott]

What you need is a La Crosse Technology BC-700 battery charger. Completely refresh your Eneloops with this charger and they are as good as new.

The Maha should be able to do that too.

Refreshing them shouldn't be necessary to do very often, I do a deep discharge on mine about every 50 charges or so. Doing it too often might do more harm than good. I only use Eneloops in my K100D, Yongnuo YN-560 and Vivitar 285HVs, they have never let me down and I have some from 2008 when I bought my K100D, still going strong. I use a Lacrosse BC-900 charger, usually set around 700ma, but the Maha 800S should be just fine.