cp-e4: what a difference!

I picked up a cp-e4 battery pack for my 580ex2 last week, and shot with it on saturday. I've got to say I was definitely impressed with the recycle times I got shooting a wedding reception saturday. Ordinarily I have to be really judicious shooting things like the procession coming in, otherwise I get a really dark outline of the shot I should have gotten. But, with the cpe4 I was able to hit 4 or 5 consecutive shots over a 2 or 3 second span with no problem. In fact, I did my best to hammer the thing to see how far I could push it. By the end of the night I had only a few underexposed shots, out of probably 300.

As I said I was skeptical that the cpe4 would do the job, but I have to say it is definitely worth the investment to me. I was afraid I'd have to get the quantum to get the performance I needed, but the much cheaper cp-e4 did the trick.

That sounds great - just pay attention to the caveat in your manual about overshooting the flash. They will burn up.

I love my CP-E3 and CP-E4, they mean I don't have to change batteries at all at a wedding, and the flashes pretty much always fire at the power I want.

Titus213 wrote in post #6753117
That sounds great - just pay attention to the caveat in your manual about overshooting the flash. They will burn up.

Yeah, I won't be shooting like that (intentionally) again - I just wanted to see what the cp-e4 could do.

timbop wrote in post #6752717
I picked up a cp-e4 battery pack for my 580ex2 last week, and shot with it on saturday. I've got to say I was definitely impressed with the recycle times I got shooting a wedding reception saturday. Ordinarily I have to be really judicious shooting things like the procession coming in, otherwise I get a really dark outline of the shot I should have gotten. But, with the cpe4 I was able to hit 4 or 5 consecutive shots over a 2 or 3 second span with no problem. In fact, I did my best to hammer the thing to see how far I could push it. By the end of the night I had only a few underexposed shots, out of probably 300.

As I said I was skeptical that the cpe4 would do the job, but I have to say it is definitely worth the investment to me. I was afraid I'd have to get the quantum to get the performance I needed, but the much cheaper cp-e4 did the trick.

+1. I just received this from BH and shot a Bat-Mitzvah on Sat night. I was so used to that high pitched whine (not my wife mind you - but the flash charge ) and now the whine is a quick almost non-existent chirp. Its amazing. In fact, I wish they made one of those for the wife - then life would be perfect!

kidding. RELAX.

does the CP-E3 work with the 580ex2, or what's the difference between the CPE3 and CP-E4?

thank-you
Raymond

CP-E3 and CP-E4 are virtually the same, and both work with the 550EX and 580EX V1/2. The CP-E4 has a slightly more waterproof plug, and the battery tray is more robust. Performance is identical as far as I can tell. I have one of each, I use whichever is closest.

Unfortunately the trays are not interchangeable, so if you have a spare tray for each, you have to mark them differently so you know which one will fit into which housing.

I bought for my old 550ex. Even though recycle times are not like 580exII but overall I am impressed by cp-e4. I used them for shooting high school football.

550EX is quite a bit slower to recharge than the 580 II, but with a battery pack they're about the same.

Yup, been using a pair for about a year. They're awesome!

About a year ago I was debating between the Quantum and CP-E4 for a long time before deciding to go with the latter. It's perfect for my needs and has served me really well.