Bill Pearce wrote:
> Someone on this list noted that there is a comparable product at a much
> lower price. Found out about it after I had already got mine, but not
> bitter. Mine was from KEH, in LN condition, but not LN price. Don't remember
> for sure, but I think it may be SP.
--------------------------------------------
Yup, I'm the guy and it is the "SP Systems Power Pack". Don't look
under battery, you won't find it. Too bad the disctributor is so lame
that they don't even realize that they're importing a 100% compatible
Quantum Turbo alternative at 1/3 the price. It puts out 330 volts and
takes Quantum cables. Even the control panel is nearly identical to the
Quantum including the 3 green and 1 red battery condition lights.
You can buy this gem from B&H for $123.95 right here:
<http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=294330&is=REG&addedTroughType=search>
Now a word of warning. If you are a pro who regularly abuses equipment
by dropping rocks on it you might want the Quantum Turbo instead. For
$400 you do get something more rugged. For my money, however, I'll buy
the SP Systems Power Pack and if I'm rough handed and/or need a backup
I'll buy three of these instead of one Quantum Turbo.
The SP Systems case is plastic with much thinner walls than the Quantum
Turbo. The plastic parts are not as precisely cast and don't fit
together as well as the Quantum. The entire assembly is also a bit
larger and heavier than the Quantum but mostly because the SP Systems
pack has a larger capacity (2.3 AH) lead acid battery vs. the (I think)
1.7 AH NiCad battery in the Quantum.
The lead gell cell battery in the SP Systems pack is a standard 12 volt
Panasonic style VHS video camera battery. It also happens to be about
the same size as a VHS video casette. You can buy replacements or
spares on the web for about $20. Replacing the battery with a fresh one
can be done on location very quickly by opening the battery compartment
door and exchanging batteries. Mark corrected me once before when I
said the Quatum had a proprietary battery pack but in any case I believe
you need a screwdriver to get into the Quantum case. Both the Quantum
and the SP Systems pack have to be recharged using the power pack
itself. While the battery is being recharged the power pack can't be
used. But only the SP Systems pack is made to have a readily changed
battery. You can keep a fully charged spare on hand and easily exchange
them if needed.
I will be the first to admit that there is no comparison in the quality
of case construction between SP Systems and Quantum. However, the SP
Systems pack actually works quite well and is reasonably protected from
impact by its wraparound padded cloth case. Just don't throw it across
the room.
It's interesting that this note arrived tonight since I just completed a
capacity test of the battery pack not more than an hour ago. I have a
friend who tends to forget that her AA powered Vivitar 285 and Sunpak
383 can't recycle as fast as her shutter finger. She desperately needs
faster recycling time and asked if she could borrow my SP Systems pack
for a shoot coming up on Saturday night. I have a Sunpak 422 which is
the same basic flash as her Sunpak 383 so I also happen to have the
right Quantum cable for her to use.
I had never before fully tested the capacity with the 422 and determined
just now that the SP Systems pack will deliver at least 400 full power
dumps from the 422 before the battery reaches 1/4 capacity. That's the
point where the three "battery guage" green lights are all off and the
only remaing light is red which means the battery is at 1/4 charge and
it's time to rechage the battery soon. Since the flash is typically
used in normal auto mode while covering various events it doesn't
normally do a full dump. Its practical shooting capacity with a 422/383
is probably more like 5-600 shots. At ISO 100 422/383 claim a guide
number of 100 at 28mm lens coverage. The T-32 claims a guide number of
104 at 24mm so the T-32 is (by specs) a more powerful flash. It
wouldn't likely be able to go 400 full dumps on this battery but maybe
I'll try it one of these days.
BTW, the way I did this testing was to set up the interval timer on the
Minolta A1 to fire off a series of 60 shots spaced at 30 second
intervals. After the 60 shots were done I checked the recycle time to
see if it was getting any longer than the 1-1/2 to 2 seconds I estimated
when the battery was fully charged. After this check I started the next
round of 60 shots and kept it up until the battery indicated it was low.
I never detected any deviation from the guesstimated 1-1/2 to 2 second
recycle time during the entire test. I also have a Quantum "Y" cable to
simultaneoudly power two T-32's. I haven't used this setup in a while
but my recollection is that it takes about 3 seconds to recycle the
pair. That would indicate that the T-32 and Sunpak 422/383 are actually
fairly closely matched in power.
Anyhow, I'm a happy owner of one of these things and consider it the
perfect thing for someone who only needs to use one ocassionally.
Chuck Norcutt
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