Canon G12 problem with controlling external flash

pemmett · February 5, 2011

I'm not sure if anyone has a similar problem but my Canon G12 seems to have problems when i use it together with my 580 EXII. The flash often over or under exposes with no simple explanation when either will happen.

Has anyone else experienced these problems? I had similar problems with my G11 and wondered if it was a Canon thing, but I haven't read about it elsewhere.

One last question does anyone know if the Pocket Wizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 work with the G12?

Thanks/Peter

Dan7312 · February 5, 2011

It's not on the Mini/Flex compatibility list.

http://www.pocketwizard.com/products/transmitter_receiver/36/TT1-C/compatibility/

pemmett wrote: »

I'm not sure if anyone has a similar problem but my Canon G12 seems to have problems when i use it together with my 580 EXII. The flash often over or under exposes with no simple explanation when either will happen.

Has anyone else experienced these problems? I had similar problems with my G11 and wondered if it was a Canon thing, but I haven't read about it elsewhere.

One last question does anyone know if the Pocket Wizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 work with the G12?

Thanks/Peter

kurtw · February 6, 2011

I use my 580EXII with a G11 now and then without any problems. A couple things to look out for regarding the over-exposure:
* Sometimes I've had problems on the G11 if I turn the camera on before the flash. I just tried to reproduce that and couldn't so I may be remembering the details wrong. Experiment with that if you are having problems. Turn the flash on before powering up the camera, or vice versa, and see if it makes a difference.
* Make sure your hotshoe contacts are clean and good shape. Particularly with flakey ttl cords, I've noticed that a bad hotshoe connection will cause the flash to fallback to TTL instead of ETTL. When this happens, you get full 1/1 power flash pops no matter what, usually causing overexposure.

Hope that helps.

Edit - I just noticed that you are seeing underexposure as well, which my idea above would not explain. Do you get the exposure variations shot-to-shot with the same conditions (camera settings, distance, bounce-vs-straight-on etc)? This type of thing is why flashes still have a manual mode...but I've never really noticed significant variations under conditions where all else is equal.

pemmett · February 7, 2011

Thanks for the feedback. I haven't seen any reason or pattern why this happens, but it's probably because I'm to o frustrated at the time to work things through. I'll spend some time working on it.

Not sure if I'm completely stupid here

, but the ETTL doesn't work when the camera is in manual mode. In fact the G12 flash controls for manual mode are very limited. Am I supposed to work the flash in manual mode if the camera is in manual mode also? My only gripe with the G11 & 12 is the flash experiences I've had, and the way it handles manual flash.

kurtw · February 7, 2011

Yeah I had to try it before I posted because I was sure you must be wrong. The flash won't operate in ettl when my g11 is on manual exposure. That's disappointing since that's how I shoot with flash more often than not.

vwhoward · April 24, 2011

Pocket Wizard Mini/Flex & Canon G12
http://wiki.pocketwizard.com/index.php?title=Canon_Compatibility

edge100 · May 27, 2011

vwhoward wrote: »

http://wiki.pocketwizard.com/index.php?title=Canon_Compatibility

The G-series will work in basic trigger mode, without question.

Moreover, because the G-series is using an electronic shutter and is capable of syncing to external flash at up to 1/2000, they actually make excellent cameras for shooting outdoors with flash in sunny conditions.

For instance, on my 5D2, I'm limited to 1/200 (maybe 1/250 with my MiniTT1 and Hypersync). This means that if I want to underexpose the background by 2 stops (which is commonly done), I'm at f/22 (one stop down on shutter speed, one stop down on aperture, vs sunny 16ths), and unless my Speedlites are right next to my subject, there's no way they'll have enough power for f/22.

On the G11 or G12 (or, to my knowledge, any recent G-series camera), I can do 1/1600, f/8, which is completely doable with one Speedlite at a moderate distance (and twice as easy with two Speedlites, if you have them).

Anyone who routinely uses off camera flash outdoors in strong daylight should definitely consider adding a G-series camera to their bag. They're a great alternative to carrying around pack and head systems for this purpose.

Canon G12 problem with controlling external flash

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