Flash in portrait orientation?

MainFragger · September 7, 2007

For some reason, My Canon 20D does not like to trigger an alien bee flash when in portrait orientation. It works fine in landscape, and I have an external flash that also has a PC cable connector..I tried it with that..fine! What am I missing? It doesn't make sense.. And I tried every setting I can think of that even remotely applies, and nothing! I am so confused!

Scott_Quier · September 7, 2007

My first thought is that you might have a mechanical problem. Are we sure your pc cord is firmly attached to the camera and not jogged loose when the camera orientation has been changed? That socket is not the most secure thing in the world and the pc cords have been known to loose 100% connection from time to time.

dangin · September 8, 2007

Scott_Quier wrote:

My first thought is that you might have a mechanical problem. Are we sure your pc cord is firmly attached to the camera and not jogged loose when the camera orientation has been changed? That socket is not the most secure thing in the world and the pc cords have been known to loose 100% connection from time to time.

i concur.

Icebear · September 10, 2007

Try other portrait orientation
Test the connection by turning the camera 180 degrees (no, not backwards).

Art Scott · September 12, 2007

something I started doing a few hundrerd years ago with my first off camera flash that had a pc cable........I automatically bite the connector of the cable that goes to the camera to close the connection a bit and make it tighter(except on Vivatar 285HV's as those have a protruding point that is a tremdous help)....it has become habit with me as I never trust those connections...they are the worst for loosing connection at the most inopportune times.................

MainFragger · September 29, 2007

Totally frustrated..
Today I had a party to photograph, and my 580ex bit the dust, so I rented a 580exII to give it a test drive. I didn't like a few things about it, but I admit, without the manual in front of me, some of it is probably an issue of settings..

1. Although I DO like the idea of the slide over locking mechanism instead of of the round turning wheel and the steel hotshoe, I immeadiately felt that it wasn't snug enough, and there was LOTS of play/wiggling in the hotshoe.

2. I now realize that the flash has an orientation sensor in it.. Because when I turn the camera sideways, it doesn't work.. At first I thought..ok..loose connection.. So I slid a card between the flash and the camera hotshoes, and used the pc cable.. But I still had the problem. So then I took the flash off of the hotshoe altogether, and when I turned the camera sideways, it worked.. But then as a lark, I turned the flash sideways at the same time, it didn't work again. As soon as I put the flash right side up but still kept the camera sideways, it worked. (And before anyone says it..YES I allowed for recycle time..)

I found this very annoying, because it very much limited my ability to shoot portrait (which is about 80 per cent of what I shoot at parties).

I could get away with this if I had one of those brackets that has the rotation for the camera.. But I refuse to pay the rediculous price these companies charge for them..

And as far as the hotshoe thing... The plastic wheel in the 580x was good at tightening, but cracked because it was cheap plastic.. The new locking mechanism looks good in theory, but not so good in execution.. Why can't Canon get this right? They should have just designed a turning wheel made of a stronger plastic, or even of metal.. Or made a better lockdown slider.. I can't believe they expect people to pay $500 for a flash that doesn't even fit their own camera right...

Flash in portrait orientation?

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