Canon CP-E4 Speedlite Compact Battery Pack

Denis99 wrote in post #10632501
Resurrecting an old(ish) thread here.

Just bought a used CP E4 from Ebay - works fine, but doesn't have the original instruction manual - had a quick google but can't find one online anywhere.

Can anyone help me out here?

Using a 580 exII - please confirm that I need to set Custom Function 12 to on , for the flash to take the charge from the battery pack (CP E4)

Many thanks.

If your battery pack is working properly, there is nothing you need to do to use it other than plugging the battery pack to the flash. C.Fn-12 allows you to use the internal batteries to charge the flash along with the battery pack (this is the default). If you do not want to use the internal batteries to also charge the flash, then will need to set C.Fn-12 to 1.

You get the quickest recycling of the flash by setting C.Fn-12 to the default of 0. But setting it to 1 will make the internal batteries last longer (because it won't be used to charge the flash).
Note: The flash will stop working as soon as the internal batteries die, even if you have a fully charged set of batteries in the external battery pack.

Peter,

I highly recommend getting the best NiMH batteries money can buy, for the CP-E4 battery pack.

I did some homework and ended up buying the Maha Powerex batteries and the Maha battery charger/conditioner. This charger/conditioner is a must have because at some point, you will need to re-condition the batteries, so they'll last longer, and it's better to "slow" charge than "quick" charge. Quick charging can shorten the life of the batteries.

The Maha Powerex NiMH batteries are 2700 mAh. This will give you the fastest recycle times.

Here's the batteries:
http://www.mahaenergy.​com …iewItem.asp?idP​roduct=415

Here's the charger:
http://www.mahaenergy.​com …iewItem.asp?idP​roduct=407

Good luck!

Thanks for the info and advice.

I was definitely confused about the C.Fn 12 setting. I need fast recycle time, so I'll leave in the default 0 position.

Thanks for the advice about the batteries also.