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How I prevented a Godox speedlight from setting my studio on fire

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Yup, is a harsh title, clickbaity even. Sadly, it’s true. I do think that this story (and lesson) could have ended up very differently. Luckily, no one is hurt and no harm as done to my studio aside one dead battery.

I am a big Godox fan. I shoot quite a bit with the AD600, AD200 and the V860II for Sony. Well, mostly with the AD600 and AD200. The 860II is many times waiting in the drawer for when we need an extra light. Since it is rarely used, I don’t top off the battery. It usually stays in the drawer next to the strobe. I charge it before a shoot and sometimes after a shoot as well. Now, before I talk about exploding homes, let’s take a look at the tech that powers the V860II.

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Cactus suspends the RQ250 strobe as Kickstarter campaign falls short of its target

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Cactus has today announced that the Cactus RQ250 portable strobe has been suspended. The reason, it seems, is down to the fact that the Kickstarter campaign was not fully funded. There just weren’t enough people interested. So, Cactus posted an update to the campaign, as well as to their Facebook page.

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Cactus takes to Kickstarter to launch new RQ250 portable strobe

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Well, this is a bit of a surprise. The Cactus RQ250 strobe announced shortly before The Photography Show earlier in the year is being taken to Kickstarter. Originally scheduled to ship in September 2018, it looks like it’s seen some slight delays, with the campaign showing backers will now receive theirs in October 2018. Now that it’s on Kickstarter, though, we finally know the price. And it’s not cheap.

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Everything you need to know about flying with Li-ion batteries and TSA restrictions

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Since the Samsung Galaxy’s exploding battery issue, people have become concerned about flying with Lithium-Ion batteries. TSA has some restrictions when it comes to carrying them on a plane, and it can be confusing and frustrating if you need to travel for a photo shoot. In this video, Jay P. Morgan shares plenty of useful information that will help you prepare your batteries for a flight and arrive happily and safely to your shooting destination.

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Stanford boffins develop Lithium Ion battery with built in fire extinguisher

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Lithium based batteries power a lot of stuff these days. Phones, cameras, laptops, and even vehicles. There’s a lot of “best practise” advice out there when dealing with Li-Ion and Li-Po batteries, but it’s not common knowledge. Most consumers don’t know how to look after their batteries. Or that there even are suggested ways to use, store and charge batteries. They just assume technology will take care of it all for them. Many times it will, unless you get unlucky with cheap or counterfeit batteries.

Problems aren’t always the consumer’s fault, though. Sometimes manufacturers screw up. Given the issues with the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, it’s clear that Li-Ion and LiPo batteries aren’t perfect. Now, we’re a step closer to getting a little more perfection out of them. Or, at least make them a little less explosive. Researchers at Stanford University have developed a solution for Li-ion batteries to self-extinguish in the event of thermal runaway.

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