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Canon CP-E4 for Handheld Macro

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Sabaki

Dec 4, 2012
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Cape Town, South Africa
#1
Hi Everybody :)

There's a fantastic Australian photographer who does these brilliant photos of the peacock jumping spider.

I asked him how he manages to focus stack live, healthy animals and he advised he attaches a battery pack to his macro flash and can fire off 10 consecutive shots, which makes everything easier.

I simply love macro and am now considering purchasing a Canon CP-E4 battery pack for this purpose but would like to know if anyone has experience with either this technique or the CP-E4 unit and can offer me some advise before I proceed with purchasing one.

Any advice would really be appreciated

Kind regards
 
#2
I can not say anything about usage with macro flashes (make sure your flash has the proper input), but I had some brief experience with the CP-E4.

I have tried two CP-E4 with my 600EX-RT. They roughly cut the full-power recycle time into half, or allow more consecutive shots at a lower power setting. What however made me return them was the fact that the included DC-DC converter produces a rather anoying beep when recharging the flash and every few seconds when idle.

The CP-E4 was recently replaced by the CP-E4N, which is advertised to be more tolerant to overheating and to slightly improve the recharge time (and the included carrying bag seems much cheaper…).
At least the one unit I could test does no longer produce the beep, but instead produces a slight hum when idle. Even though it is not completely silent, I find it definitely acceptable.

There are of course much cheaper Chinese copies of the CP-E4. You have to keep in mind though, that the battery pack is not just a simple battery holder but produces high voltage (327V according to the label on the CP-E4N). I would not want to risk having my expensive Canon flash and/or even the camera itself destroyed by some malfunction of the battery pack (for example due to insufficient overheating protection).
 
Upvote 0
#3
I have a CP-E4 and always use it with my MT-24EX for macro with my MP-E 65 and sometimes my 100 macro. I've had absolutely no problems with it and I've taken thousands of shots with this combo. I take mostly single shots because most of my subjects move, but you could take many shots quickly if you bump up the ISO a bit. You often want to do that anyways to bring more of the ambient background in.

Keep in mind for macro you'll want something like the MT-24EX that can get close to your subjects. A flash like the 600EX is mostly useless. Where I'm jealous of the Australian photographer is in the variety of insects + jumping spiders they have. I've been to Queensland and have seen them. Here in the PNW we have far fewer, they're much smaller, and are more skittish.

Here are a few wolf spiders I've taken with the combo (no stacking).

Surprise! by Joseph Calev, on Flickr

Exploration by Joseph Calev, on Flickr

Greetings by Joseph Calev, on Flickr
 
Upvote 0
#4
kirispupis said:
I have a CP-E4 and always use it with my MT-24EX for macro with my MP-E 65 and sometimes my 100 macro. I've had absolutely no problems with it and I've taken thousands of shots with this combo. I take mostly single shots because most of my subjects move, but you could take many shots quickly if you bump up the ISO a bit. You often want to do that anyways to bring more of the ambient background in.

Keep in mind for macro you'll want something like the MT-24EX that can get close to your subjects. A flash like the 600EX is mostly useless. Where I'm jealous of the Australian photographer is in the variety of insects + jumping spiders they have. I've been to Queensland and have seen them. Here in the PNW we have far fewer, they're much smaller, and are more skittish.

Here are a few wolf spiders I've taken with the combo (no stacking).
Click to expand...

VERY nice! Lovely creatures! Thanks for posting.
 
Upvote 0
#6
Thanks for the feedback everyone :)

Kirispupis, thank you for sharing your images and advice.

I'm really curious as to the Aussie tog's end-to-end technique because his end results are excellent. There's sharpness from the eyes all the way the backside of the spider.

If I can replicate a similar technique, I'd feel accomplished.
 
Upvote 0
#9
Sabaki said:
RomainF said:
Hi mate,

Could you provide us a link to that photographer's work ? I ain't really into macro/nature kind of work but you triggered my interest !

Thanks,
Click to expand...

Hi RomainF

His name is Michael Doe and I only know him through Facebook

Let me know what you think once you find him
Click to expand...

WOW @ Michael Doe´s spider shots on Flikr! Rich, intimate (and cute) spider portraits! Thanks for pointing us towards this guy and yes, certainly something to strive for,-the light is playful and almost stage-like, but very cool and precise images. Happy shooting y´alls :-D
 
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