The new Flashpoint Blast PowerPack PB-960 offers fast recycle time, lower costs, and 1800 full-power blasts per charge.
If you’re a professional wedding photographer, you need power—lots of it. A typical shoe-mount flash running on AA batteries will crap out after a couple of hundred photos (even less if using rechargeables), and may take several valuable seconds to recycle. That’s why wedding and other event photographers rely on battery packs, which last longer and reduce charge time. The just-announced Flashpoint Blast PowerPack PB-960, available exclusively at Adorama, gives you pro-level power for less money, and adds a new level of flexibility.
The Flashpoint Blast PowerPack runs on interchangeable, rechargeable Lithium batteries, which can be a huge savings. Until now, power packs were self-contained, and once a unit was out of juice, you were out of luck. You needed to recharge it, meaning you would need to own an additional power pack—a significant additional expense—as a back-up. With theFlashpoint Blast PowerPack PB-960 ($269.95, exclusively at Adorama), you merely swap out the spent battery for a fresh one. At $100 per battery, that’s a major savings over full power-packs.
But it is likely you’ll rarely need to swap out batteries in the middle of an event, since the BlastPack boasts the ability to power 1800 flashes at full power per charge. Recycle time at full power is said to be 1-2 seconds, and is nearly instantaneous at 1/2 power. The battery charges in approximately 3 hours, and holds 4500 mAh.
Other useful features are an LED indicator, which shows you how much battery life is left, and two connections, so you could actually run two flashes off the same power pack. There’s also a convenient belt clip as well as a shoulder strap, giving you multiple ways to carry the unit.
TheFlashpoint Blast PowerPack PB-960 is available for most currently-available flash systems; the price ranges from approximately $269.95. Additional kits are available with extra battery packs included for a $20 savings.
The Flashpoint Blast Power Pack BP-960 is available exclusively from Adorama and is available in the following configurations:
Flashpoint Blast Power Pack PB-960 with cable and battery ($269.95):
Flashpoint Blast Power Pack PB-960 with cable and two batteries ($349.95):
