580exII blowing out

Camara Photography, LLC

I have never had this happen to me before, so when it started happening yesterday at a wedding, I was baffled.
I had a 580exII randomly started to blow full power, even when set 3 stops under. It seemed to calm down a bit after removing it from the hot shoe, and reinstalled it, but it was still sporadic as to when it happened. It didn't seem to matter if I was using it heavily. I would even turn it off for a bit to let it cool, and still didn't seem to matter. It was on a 5d.

Anyone ever have this happen to them?

ziggy53

Camara Photography, LLC wrote:

I have never had this happen to me before, so when it started happening yesterday at a wedding, I was baffled.
I had a 580exII randomly started to blow full power, even when set 3 stops under. It seemed to calm down a bit after removing it from the hot shoe, and reinstalled it, but it was still sporadic as to when it happened. It didn't seem to matter if I was using it heavily. I would even turn it off for a bit to let it cool, and still didn't seem to matter. It was on a 5d.

Anyone ever have this happen to them?

That is generally a contact related phenomenon and it can either be when the contacts become loose, as can happen in a portrait configuration for instance, or when the contacts become dirty. Since removing and reinstalling the flash seemed to help I suspect dirty contacts.

Even if they don't look dirty, I would still recommend cleaning the contacts with a new pencil eraser, being careful not to let any eraser dust get anywhere it shouldn't.

pathfinder

Ziggy's comment about shooting with a 580ex II, from the hot shoe, with the camera in portrait mode, is a known issue, especially with the 580exII. I guess the on/off latch is faster than the older style screw on latch, but for my money, the 580ex's screw tight fastener was much more secure.

I try to avoid using a 580ex II in a hot shoe when shooting in portrait mode. Or use an ETTL cord, or an ST-E2 to trigger the flash, or a PW.

jeffreaux2

Ive seen this happen several times with cords as well. Ziggy is right (doh!) and its either dirty contacts or it wasnt securely fastened to begin with.

pathfinder

Jeff, do you think this is just dirty contacts, or due to the weight of the 580exII levering on the hot shoe in portrait mode? I have not noticed this with cords like I have with the strobe itself.

jeffreaux2

pathfinder wrote:

Jeff, do you think this is just dirty contacts, or due to the weight of the 580exII levering on the hot shoe in portrait mode? I have not noticed this with cords like I have with the strobe itself.

Well to be honest, I have used the 580EXII in the shoe a LOT....in portrait or landscape orientation on my XTi and to a lesser extent on the 50D. I have never had this problem in THAT configuration. I have experienced the same issue when using off camera flash with an STE2 that wasn't properly "locked" onto the shoe. Also, a gal that assists me now and then for wedding work has had this problem when using her cord and bracket. I usually just take it apart and put it back together making sure all is tight and it works again.

FWIW she uses the original 580EX and a non canon cord. Promaster I think.

I use 580EX, 580EXII, and STE2......have never used a cord.


My first guess when getting over exposure with ETTL flash is...

-Do I have high speed synch enabled? (why isn't this the default)
-A contact isnt making in the shoe.

pathfinder

I agree about high speed synch, I keep it turned on all the time, as well as 2nd curtain synch, unless I havea specific reason not to - say I need a bit more pop out of the flash when it is maxed out.