Which external power supply?

[ryee3]

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I am planning on purchasing an external power source that will work on my Leica SF 58 flash and/or my DMR. I am considering the Quantum turbo 3 or the Tekkeon mp3450i. I plan to purchase the Michael Bass connector for the DMR. Does anyone have any experiences with these 2 battery choices ie pros and cons?

 

And does the Quantum CM58 cable that connect to the Metz 58 AF2 electronic flash work with the Leica SF58 flash unit? Thanks for your comments:)

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[johnnyj]

Last June I shot a high profile wedding using the DMR. Nothing could go wrong. Actually had two cameras; R8 and R9 both with DMRs. The SF58, by the way, does not work in TTL with the DMR and R9 combination. The R8 does. I used the Tekkeon battery and the Bass connector with the R8. Both worked fine. However, the Tekkeon does not come with a means to attach it to a belt or wear over the shoulder with a carry strap. I didn't really care because it was light enough to put in my suit jacket pocket. In other circumstances I would have rigged up another way of carrying it. Preferrably attaching it to my belt. The Bass cable standard length is a little short. I would have preferred another 5 inches. The Bass cable connection to the Tekkeon, altjough snug, does not lock in place. Because of the short cable, the cable pulled out a couple of times. When that happened I had to shut down the DMR, reconnect and power up again. That can be a heart attack at the wrong moment. The Tekkeon does not display the power state on the top edge like the Metz 76. I prefer knowing what the power state is by being able to look down at the power supply without having to tip it up, or take it out of my pocket (as in my case). By the way, after 1000 shots the DMR, R8, SF58 and 28-90 get heavy. Make sure the hand strap is tight. I would recommend practising for a couple of hours two different times before the shoot to find the right tightness for the hand strap and learning to heft more with your focusing hand to take the strain off your wrist in the strap. My arms were sore the next morning. Out of the 1000 shots I culled it down to 750 and the client wanted to keep 560. My assistant had the R9, DMR, Metz 40MZ-3i with the handle battery pack ready for the long shots. One of the rules of the wedding was during the ceremony to stay out of the face of the wedding couple and minister. That meant using the 70-180 on the R9 and occassionally getting close enough with the 28-90. I personally hate going to a wedding that looks like a photo shoot for a movie advertisement so I sympathized with the couple's and parent's request.