I was loading my old Energizer 2000mAh batteries into the Yongnuo YN 565EX speedlite to start doing a little bit of testing and found that they no longer hold a charge. So I started doing some research to find a modern day replacement to my three year old batteries and decided to go with the Maha Powerex 2700mAh batteries. At about a 1/3 more capacity, they seem to be a good upgrade to my old batteries.

The nice thing is that the batteries come with individual 4 pack cases as well as a nice padded case for storage. That should make it easier to identify which batteries are charged and which ones need to be charged.

Sold separately, the Powerex MH-C800S 8 cell smart charger, gives you charge indicators for every battery plugged in. It also acts as 8 individual chargers so single batteries can be removed when charged. I know many of these chargers say that can charge your batteries in under 2 hours, but I’ve always opted for the slower charge if the battery charger supports it. The batteries don’t get as hot and it seems like they last longer.

My old batteries made it 3 years, so I’m guessing if I take good care of these I should get another 3 to 5 years of use out of them. If you’re trying to decide what batteries to get for your speedlite I usually recommend Ni-Mh (Nickel–metal hydride) batteries with mAh (milli-Amp hour) ratings of 2000 or above. The NiMh batteries give you much faster cycle times after a flash and the high mAh rating usually means they’ll last a lot longer, usually 300 to 500 flash operations depending on conditions.

Considering a 16 pack of off the shelf Duracell batteries runs around $12 you only have to recharge these batteries 5 or 6 times to make them worth the price. Plus the faster recycling times speeds things up if you’re shooting portraits, or doing work at a wedding. They’re definitely a good investment if you do even a little bit of flash photography work.


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