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Nikon SD-8A High Performance Battery Pack
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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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1
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3274
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Fri April 6, 2007
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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Average Rating
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100% of reviewers
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£135.00
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8.0
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supersize
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Description:
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The SD-8A shortens flash recycling time by as much as 60-70% and more than doubles the flash capacity. The SD-8A operates on six AA-type lithium or NiCad batteries and can be used with the SB-28, SB-28DX, and SB-27 Speedlights. For use with all Nikon flashes with corresponding attachment (SK-6A). Connection: with cord SC-16. Charging time: 3 sec. (alkaline); 2 sec. (NiCd). Flash output: 250 (alkaline); 100 (NiCd). Power Source
Item Specifications:
Product Description: Nikon SD-8A High-Performance - battery pack - AA
Product Type: Battery pack
Battery: AA type
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Keywords:
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Nikon SD-8A battery Pack
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Author
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VikingPhotography
Forum Regular
Registered: July 2006
Location: Just south of Glasgow, Scotland
Posts: 823
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Review Date: Fri April 6, 2007
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: £135.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Allows lightning-fast recycling times for your SB-800 and other compatible Nikon flashes
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Cons:
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Expensive for what is effectively a glorified battery holder, yet far cheaper than competing products
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The SD-8A battery pack from Nikon is designed to reduce flash recycle time and extend the usability i.e. maximum number of flashes output for their compatible flashguns.
The device is exceedingly simply: it houses 6 x AA batteries and has a cord that terminates in a three-pin Nikon proprietary connector and a standard PC flash sync plug. According to the manual, both connectors must be plugged in to your flashgun in order for the unit to function properly.
It is supplied with a soft fabric pouch which has a belt loop on the rear, allowing you to slip the unit onto your waist where it will sit relatively unobtrusively. Filled with six AA cells it weighs around a third of a kilo or so... hardly noticeable in my opinion.
There are also two removeable rubber plugs on the unit; these are referenced to in the manual as permitting the attachment of an accessory set which will allow the SD-8A to be screwed onto the tripod mounting socket of your camera and/or a standard tripod thread.
The function of the SD-8A is very straightforwards: it relieves your flash units cells from the task of recharging the flash's capacitors; you'll still need to have AA batteries installed in your flash in order to power the flashguns own functions, so you'll need 10 x AA batteries in total to work such a setup.
At the time of writing this, UK prices for rechargeable batteries are hovering around the £8 mark for 4 x 2000mAh AA cells, offering the best price/performance ratio whilst being kinder to the environment than regular disposables. Still, you would need three sets of these at a total cost of £24 to supply the juice to your flashgun - something that needs to be considered carefully if you have multiple flash units.
My SD-8A battery pack arrived this morning and, so far, I've only tried it on limited static "torture" tests... shooting at 1/50 sec, f/16, ISO 100 in a dark (drawn curtains during daylight) room it acheived a recycle time of around 3 seconds. When my SB-800 was powered directly with only four AA cells, the recycle time for the same shot was just over 8 seconds - so the SD-8A certainly lives up to its claims by more than halving the recycle time.
The only other commercialy available product which you could compare the SD-8A to would be the Quantum Turbo Slim Compact battery - a unit which retails for around £350 and then still requires a proprietary lead to connect it to your flashgun for another £30 or so.
Compare this to the cost of the SD-8A with 6 x AA rechargeable at a total of around £150 and you're bound to agree that the Nikon unit offers the better value for money.
The only downside is that the SD-8A is very scarce and hard to find - at least in the UK - but persistence will pay off since they do appear to come into the country on a semi-regular basis so I'd advise getting an advance order in if you want one.
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