The Vagabond Mini™ Lithium is a third generation controlled-current pure sine wave power source for operating AC powered studio photoflash units in the field from its built-in battery.
Vagabond Mini™ Lithium is small and lightweight (weighing just 3.5 pounds including quick-change high capacity lithium battery), designed to operate from one to four Paul C. Buff, Inc.™ self-contained flash units (AlienBees™, White Lightning™ and Einstein™ flash units), but has application for powering flash units from other manufacturers*. The packaging is highly evolved and is completely enclosed within a strong, high-impact, flame retardant ABS housing. The battery is fully encased in the same ABS material and can be instantly replaced with the slide-in latching mechanism; there are no wires or user connections other than the AC outlets and charger inlet. The unit additionally includes a light stand mounting mechanism and a convenient carrying strap.
The Vagabond Mini™ Lithium inverter includes two outlets, a multi-level accurate battery charge indicator and a convenient front panel battery charging connection for the supplied 3-hour universal rapid charger (95VAC to 250VAC charger input). For operating 120VAC lights in 230V studios, the charger may be plugged in such that the unit is charging while in use, allowing continuous operation in most uses. For heavy use, spare batteries can be charged externally so that they are ready to instantly plug in. The Vagabond Mini™ Lithium may also be powered from an external sealed lead acid (SLA) battery, if desired.
The product utilizes the very latest LiCoxNiyMnzO2 lithium battery chemistry to provide extremely high power density and elimination of battery sulfating and poor efficacy that plagued previous battery-operated systems using heavy and inefficient sealed lead acid batteries.
Quick Specs Chart:
By contrast, a 10lb 12V 12AH SLA (Sealed Lead Acid) battery stores 144 watt-hours of energy, but can typically supply only about 60% of its capacity to an inverter system (about 90 watt-hours). This is because SLA batteries suffer from increasing internal resistance as they are discharged. This robs the usable power and causes recycle times to get longer and longer as the battery is discharged. Thus, the Vagabond Mini™ Lithium may be compared, in terms of energy delivered, to SLA systems using 15AH batteries weighing about 12lbs or more.