CP-E4 Yongnuo (sf-18) 8AA behaviour

I purchased one of the CP-e4 clones from Ebay. The quality of this product appears to be excellent. I have never looked at the original Canon CP-E4 but the knock off Yongnuo looks well constructed. The battery tray seems to be a tad fragile.

I emailed Yongnuo directly last night asking the normal behaviour of the unit. The instruction manual is 1 piece of paper with little info.

If anyone purchases the SF-18 it is normal for the red light to be dimly lit. The red light illuminates brightly only when flash is fired. My unit has a very subtle quiet buzz.

I have a question though... does the battery pack allow proper flash exposure with continuous rapid fps/shooting? Will it keep up with the 50D? I would assume even with an FEC + 1/3 (ettl) I'd get blackouts from time to time in 10 consecutive fires (example). I haven't fully tested the "clone" yet.

AlanU, I have the original cp-e4 and the red light is always on when it is working. I also get buzzing sound when using my 550ex. The battery tray is better than the one on old cp-e packs from what I hear.

Regarding continuous shooting, Iwould only do if at low power settings. FEC + 1/3 doesn't mean anything as you never know the exact flash power ine TTL mode. With too rapid firings at high power you can burn your flash. The newer flash have circuit to shut down if they get too hot. But even with the pack, you won't be able to recharge fast enough to shoot at full power or even 1/2 power so maybe risk of overheating/burning is less.

I have 4 and they work the same as yours, faint light when on, strong light when charging.

How high a fps it can keep up with depends on how much power it's having to put out. If your ISO is as high as possible and your aperture as wide as possible, there's every chance it can keep up with your camera.

Thanks for the input Bobby.

Thank you Hermes, I was just concerned that the item I bought was defective. Shipping this item from Canada to HK would be tragic $$. Now I feel the battery pack is operating properly.

I'm more concerned of eliminating battery swaps. Several weeks ago I was taking photos of Japan's Emperor and Empress. My Eneloops need changing and I swapped batteries "praying" not to miss a good photo. The Canon original costs double ++ compared to the "clone". This Yongnuo appears to be a very good clone. Even the sticker seems to be a copy of the original.

AlanU wrote in post #8369291
Thanks for the input Bobby.

Thank you Hermes, I was just concerned that the item I bought was defective. Shipping this item from Canada to HK would be tragic $$. Now I feel the battery pack is operating properly.

I'm more concerned of eliminating battery swaps. Several weeks ago I was taking photos of Japan's Emperor and Empress. My Eneloops need changing and I swapped batteries "praying" not to miss a good photo. The Canon original costs double ++ compared to the "clone". This Yongnuo appears to be a very good clone. Even the sticker seems to be a copy of the original.

Double? more like four-times more.

Eliminating battery changes was the main reason I got mine too. I'm confident that 4 eneloops in the flash and 8 more in the pack will allow all my flashes to last an entire day.

AlanU, how much you pay for these things delivered?

Mine is originally at $65 with ebay seller "yongnuophotoequipment​" where I originally bought my CTR-301P. But because I have bought several things from them before and I alerted them to it, I made an offer for $56 with them and they accepted, so mine cost $56 shipped. Also recently I made an offer for Yognuo Flash YN460 which is supposed to be $50.58, offered them $40 each and got two for $80 shipped. many people do not know that you can bargain with there ebay seller from HongKong/China, but yes, you can.
Shipping from them to New York City is about one week or 7days, not bad.
Mufutau

Thanks Mufutau.

mufutau55 wrote in post #8370609
Mine is originally at $65 with ebay seller "yongnuophotoequipment​" where I originally bought my CTR-301P. But because I have bought several things from them before and I alerted them to it, I made an offer for $56 with them and they accepted, so mine cost $56 shipped. ...

I just ordered two more SF-18 packs. My offer of $50 each was accepted. I think the secret may be to contact the seller directly (which I did) and not through eBay.

Dave F.

You are right Dave.. That is exactly what I did too. I will need to buy one more from them so that both my 580EX and 580EXII can each have it's own.
Nothing to lose when making an offer, it's either YES or NO.
Mufutau

tetrode wrote in post #8371329
I just ordered two more SF-18 packs. My offer of $50 each was accepted. I think the secret may be to contact the seller directly (which I did) and not through eBay.

Dave F.

tetrode wrote in post #8371329
I just ordered two more SF-18 packs. My offer of $50 each was accepted. I think the secret may be to contact the seller directly (which I did) and not through eBay.

Dave F.

Taking notes here... for an imminent purchase.

Does anyone know if there is a pack that is made for Nikon as an equivalent to the SD-9 for the SB-900? Currently the Nikon SD-9 sells for $200 and I'd rather not spend that much is there is an inexpensive compatible version available on eBay.

TMR Design wrote in post #8373209
Does anyone know if there is a pack that is made for Nikon as an equivalent to the SD-9 for the SB-900? Currently the Nikon SD-9 sells for $200 and I'd rather not spend that much is there is an inexpensive compatible version available on eBay.

Hey Robert,

Yongnnuo has an 8 AA battery setup equiv to the SD-9

http://cgi.ebay.com …f081&_trksid=p3​286.c0.m14

i'm thinking of getting one for my SB80DX

Thanks Alan. I may just get one of those and give it a try.

TMR Design wrote in post #8373317
Thanks Alan. I may just get one of those and give it a try.

Robert,

I think many of these packs are not compatible with the SB-900.

Read the fine print very carefully.

Enjoy! Lon