Would you believe that a battery has to be what I consider my best photography purchase? That's right! My Vagabond Mini Lithium battery by Paul C Buff, Inc. is my best purchase. Yes, camera bodies, lenses, lights, flash and modifiers are all very good purchases. But this purchase opened me up a whole new realm of possibilities in my photography.
Don't be fooled with the word "mini,” this battery powers my studio flashes on location. I should have bought this item years ago. Don’t get me wrong, I love my speedlights! But being able to use studio flash anywhere, even when there is no power, that is priceless. The battery conveniently attaches to my light stand for seamless use. Buff Inc. says that one battery pack can power up to four flashes, I have not tested that because I only use two flashes most of the time.
I know what some of you are thinking, what about high-speed sync to overpower the Sun? I find that unless you are using several speedlights your options are very limited in properly doing it. With my Alien Bees flashes and Phottix Odin II (my second best photography purchase) I can use the overdrive sync (ODS) feature, on the Odin II, to utilize higher sync speeds. So I can have the best of both worlds the power of my studio flash units and higher sync speeds.
By the way, using the studio flash can save you time and money. Who wants the cost of sending your speedlight out to replace the flash head, when you can easily replace a flash tube yourself at a fraction of the cost. Finally, using your studio flash increases your overall flash power on locations.
You should consider adding a powerful battery for your studio flash. It can be the difference between shooting a portrait or a snapshot!
