CY asked about using NiCd's which have a lower voiltage than Alkaline
batteries, when used in a flash unit.
Cy,
Ignoring burnout issue, as a first order, if the flash ready light
comes on then the flash will work. The ready light is voltage based. However
the light comes on at a somewhat lower level than nominal operating level. So
you may have somewhat reduced power and/or longer recharge time if the
achieved voltage level is marginal. For TTL flash, provided the flash
triggers, even if the output voltage is so low the ready light does not come
on, it still works correctly but obviously with reduced maximum range (GN).
In the case of some of the Metz flashes they have a different battery
pack connector on the dedicated NiCd's which automatically connects to a
different transformer tap to achieve the same voltage out, irrespective of
type. In the case of some of the Sunpak units they have a feedback regulated
voltage control loop that speeds recharge even with old depleted cells, and
makes it insensitive to battery type. In fact the OM BG2 does this too, which
is why it chirps when regulated voltage is reached.
Regards, Tim Hughes
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