Customer Reviews

Opteka External Flash Battery Pack for Canon 580EX, 580EX II, 550EX, 540EZ, MR-14EX, & MT-24EX Speedlite Flash Units

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

being someone who's used the Canon version of this battery pack, i have to say that this product is very, very good. i shot a 4 hour event with this battery pack, and one 580EXII, and got over 500 shots with it, at varying ISOs, with absolutely no problem, no slowdown, and no having to change batteries! 500 shots! crazy!

to be fair, the canon product is much more 'solid' feeling, and will probably last longer, but for the price you really can't go wrong.

differences:
-the canon battery pack holds 8 batteries, and this one holds 6.
-unless i'm wrong, the battery pack doesn't 'kick in' until the batteries in the battery pack become necessary. on the canon product, the small red light goes on every time you fire the flash. with this one, the light doesn't come on until the battery pack becomes necessary for the recycle. i don't know if this is supposed to happen, but it does, and that's fine with me.

i like the belt clip with the velcro pouch, and how much lighter this one is than the canon one. remember, that's because it has 2 less batteries. for half the price of the canon one, i really, really recommend this product. hope this helps. [...]

I thought to myself, why spend $150 for a Canon flash power pack when I can get this one for $50. I'll tell you why. "If you buy something on sale that ends up breaking after one use, you haven't saved a dime". In fact, if you end buying that $150 product anyway, you've actually wasted $50.

That was my experience with this battery pack. As noted by the other reviews, this pack "feels cheap", like if you dropped it the wrong way, it would crack. I thought to myself, if perhaps I babied it, I could probably get a couple years of use out of it. Boy was I wrong. At this point, I would have been satisfied with a couple of months use. After one photo session, a wedding, this pack would no longer latch with batteries in it. It latches fine without batteries, but for some reason the pack doesn't operate without batteries. LOL.

If you still choose to buy this product, understand that you are buying a disposable product, and you may dispose of if sooner than you think. If you're a professional or a serious amateur, you know that manufacturers like Canon and Nikon make a ton of money marking up their products a lot more than they should; but you take solace in the fact that you'll never have to buy that product again. This is not that type of product. If you buy this product, you are trying to get lucky, and unfortunately my luck wasn't so good.

Why give it 2 stars instead of 1, you ask? I try to give credit where credit is due. When this pack was working, it did exactly what it was supposed to do and enabled me to capture the shots I needed to get. If you only photograph weddings outdoors on sunny days in the summer, a battery pack for your flash is non-essential, but if you shoot indoors and occasionally use a flash, you need a flash battery pack to keep up with the moments that would otherwise be missed or turn out underexposed.

I ordered two of these battery packs. Within 3 shoots, one of them stopped working entirely. I sent it back for an exchange and within that time, the other started working intermittently. When I received the new one, it wouldn't even come on!!

I ended up sending both packs back for a full refund. They cost me many shots that cannot be duplicated and I can't afford that in my business. They are cheap battery packs and that's how they work...cheaply! Look elsewhere for battery packs that can relied upon!!

I used my recent purchase of an Opteka External Flash Battery Pack for the first time on an event with very low light. Most of the pictures were taken on a dance floor where I shot over 400 photos with my Canon 580EX II flash. I never had to change batteries and there is still power left in the unit. It recharges the flash immediately and I had not a single situation where the flash wasn't firing because the photos were take too fast after each other like I experienced without the unit in the past. I am very satisfied with the purchase and the price of less than 60 Dollars compared to the Canon unit with over 140 Dollars is just right.

I bought this just to try it out before I bought a quantum battery ($400). This has proven to be a awesome piece of equipment! I have done about 3 weddings with it so far and before it slows down I can easily take over 600 photos. It doesn't keep up as well as the quantum but for 1/4 of the price it does a great job. Well worth the money I spent on it. I use the rechargeable "Eneloop" batteries. They work far better than any other rechargeable batteries I have every used. But I definitely give this little batter pack an A+ on value and performance to price ratio!

I looked into a few different battery packs for my Canon 580EX II and after doing research and reading reviews/suggestions, I decided to take the plunge with the Opteka external battery pack. I must say that it has been stellar in use. I've shot a few weddings, several engagement sessions, and a couple of portrait shoots with this battery pack mounted with my 580EXII and it has been a pure delight. Quick recycling time and longevity come to mind when I used it. I eventually purchased another one for my other 580EXII. In short, I spent less on two of these items for one of the Canon version. Worth every penny in my opinion.

This is a wonderful tool to have in your bag. I have been shooting weddings and events with 580 ex II. the Opteka pack allows me and my wife to shoot well into the night with no problems at all.

I hope that this helps....

I probably got one that was no good. I read the prior reviews but still decided to trust my luck and got burnt.
I could not find a way to rate it '0' So I rate it one star by default.
I followed the instructions (which could have been a bit more explicit).
Alas, after many tries my unit did not work at all.

No pilot light. No warmth to suggest it was charging, no sound, No power in my 580EXII.
I found the Opteka site and sent off a mail asking for some assistance, but to no avail.
Sadly the time has passed and I can't return the item, and really I have lost interest and faith in the product. I have put this one down to experience.
There are others who have units that work, so I assume I got a dud.
I would not buy this product again nor recommend it.

By the way I have bought other Opteka products that work well.

This battery pack works very well. I bought it for photographing weddings and events. It held up like a champ! The battery cover is a little difficult to open with my delicate girl hands, but it makes me feel secure that my batteries won't randomly fall out! If you're debating between this pack and a name brand kind, go for this one. It works very well!

It may feel a bit flimsy and light... but once you load 6 AA batteries in it you will be glad its light weight. This product increases the flash rate..... i wast sure if i was going to notice how well my 580EXII would shoot with it... but man can this thing zip through the recycle time. I must have shot more the 800 pics at my last wedding..... I will warn you... it over heats, so i recommend removing the batteries after using it, and remember to wear a belt so that you may slide this on. Love the item. i can see myself buying another one for my second camera.