20D Q

[chris22cc]

I am new to photography and have started using a 20D I was in a situation where i was pressing the shutter button but for some reason the camera simply did not take any photos, like the battery was dead. There was nothing flashing to indicate underexposure and after a while it started working, any ideas why this happened? Thanks.

[I Simonius]

I am new to photography and have started using a 20D I was in a situation where i was pressing the shutter button but for some reason the camera simply did not take any photos, like the battery was dead. There was nothing flashing to indicate underexposure and after a while it started working, any ideas why this happened? Thanks.

I REMEMBER VAGUELY IN THE MANUAL SOMEWHERE IT SAYS THAT (ooooops Sorry! Caps LOK my tryping s dreadful!)()..... if you let more than 4 ( or is it 6) seconds pass between half pressing the shutter and actually pressing the shutter, you have to take your finger off fist and repress half way... or something like that

SO yes there is a logical explanaion probably

I read the manula ovewr and over and still didnt get it all, but it's in tere somewhere...so I wouldn't worry -yet-It may not be a problem with the camera at all:D

[stupot]

if you are in auto focus and the camera has nothing to focus on it will not take the shot.

solution?

either switch to manual focus

focus on something you can get a lock on(red light flashes and you hear a beep), then recompose and shoot

get a faster lens! the more light they scoop in the easier it is to focus

or use custom function (4-1 on the 350d, dunno what it is on 20d) to seperate the focus and firing mechanism... this will allow you to take a shot, but it could still be out of focus...



edit: and welcome to the forum!

[PacAce]

I REMEMBER VAGUELY IN THE MANUAL SOMEWHERE IT SAYS THAT (ooooops Sorry! Caps LOK my tryping s dreadful!)()..... if you let more than 4 ( or is it 6) seconds pass between half pressing the shutter and actually pressing the shutter, you have to take your finger off fist and repress half way... or something like that

SO yes there is a logical explanaion probably

I read the manula ovewr and over and still didnt get it all, but it's in tere somewhere...so I wouldn't worry -yet-It may not be a problem with the camera at all:D
Simon, as an FYI, you can keep the shutter button half pressed until the cows come home and when you finally decide to press the button fully, the camera will take a picture, assuming focus has been achieve if in One Shot mode and/or the battery has not run out. There is no need to unpress and the repress the shutton button again after 4 or 6 seconds if a shot wasn't taken within that time. Can you imagine what would happen to all those people shooting the camera wirelessly using the "keep awake" cable (where the cable effectively has the shutter button in the half-pressed position) if they had to unplug the cable and then replug it after 4 or 6 seconds of not taking a picture? :)

[I Simonius]

Simon, as an FYI, you can keep the shutter button half pressed until the cows come home and when you finally decide to press the button fully, the camera will take a picture, assuming focus has been achieve if in One Shot mode and/or the battery has not run out. There is no need to unpress and the repress the shutton button again after 4 or 6 seconds if a shot wasn't taken within that time. Can you imagine what would happen to all those people shooting the camera wirelessly using the "keep awake" cable (where the cable effectively has the shutter button in the half-pressed position) if they had to unplug the cable and then replug it after 4 or 6 seconds of not taking a picture? :)

I agree and that is my experience but it DOES say something to that effect in the manuelle!;)

[TheSteveMadden]

If you were using the internal flash, it won't take another picture until the flash has recycled. This can cause a 4-6 second delay if the flash power was at 100% and the batteries were less than fully charged. You'll see buSY on the viewfinder shutter speed display while the flash is recycling.

[Mark_Cohran]

I agree and that is my experience but it DOES say something to that effect in the manuelle!;)

I think if you double check, you'll find that the 6 sec delay refers to exposure lock situations and that button.

Mark

[PacAce]

I agree and that is my experience but it DOES say something to that effect in the manuelle!;)
I don't think so. I think what you read is that if you don't take action, such as fully depressing the shutter button, within the 4 or 6 second time frame after you half-press and release the shutter button, whatever function was active for those 4 or 6 seconds gets cancelled and so, you will need to half-press the shutter button again and then reactivate that function if you still want to use it.

[I Simonius]

I think if you double check, you'll find that the 6 sec delay refers to exposure lock situations and that button.

Mark

maybe, maybe not, Im not saying it's gospel, just a possibility.....

The text I refer to is not that referenced by thy good self nor t'other gent (PacAce)

If I get a chance I'll go on a foray later

EDIT: OK here's the bit I was talking about:
In the 5D manual it's the same text (as in the 20D manual) but on page 31

"if you press the shutter button halfway and (4secs) elapse, you must press it halfway again and wait for a moment before pressing it completely to takea paicture.If you press the shutter button completely without pressing it halfway first or if you press the shutter button halfway and then press it completely imediately, the camera will atke a moment before it takes a picture"

Hope that helps;)

[PacAce]

maybe, maybe not, Im not saying it's gospel, just a possibility.....

The text I refer to is not that referenced by thy good self nor t'other gent (PacAce)

If I get a chance I'll go on a foray later

EDIT: OK here's the bit I was talking about:
In the 5D manual it's the same text (as in the 20D manual) but on page 31

"if you press the shutter button halfway and (4secs) elapse, you must press it halfway again and wait for a moment before pressing it completely to takea paicture.If you press the shutter button completely without pressing it halfway first or if you press the shutter button halfway and then press it completely imediately, the camera will atke a moment before it takes a picture"

Hope that helps;)
I think the part of the text Canon left out is (in bold) "if you press the shutter button halfway and then release the shutter button and (4secs) elapse...". I'm sure I've half-pressed the shutter button and held it there for longer than 5 seconds many a times while tracking birds in flight without any adverse effect on my ability to immediately take a shot.

[I Simonius]

I think the part of the text Canon left out is (in bold) "if you press the shutter button halfway and then release the shutter button and (4secs) elapse...". I'm sure I've half-pressed the shutter button and held it there for longer than 5 seconds many a times while tracking birds in flight without any adverse effect on my ability to immediately take a shot.

Possibly - anyway I was just pointing out that this text exists:lol: :lol:

[mojo_uk]

As someone has already mentioned I think it's a safe bet that this is down to the AF not achieving focus lock. This could be for a number of reasons.

1, Not enough light, if the subject is close enough use the AF assist beam on either the camera or flash gun.

2, Lack of contrast, if an object is of a uniform tone with no destinct highlights this can happen.

3, Too close to the subject. If you are closer than the closest focusing distance of the lens you are using it will not find AF lock.

[stupot]

lol, way to get it back on track mark:)