580 Speedlite question/setting?

[Sewtired]

I have recently purchased the 580x speedlite and so far have loved it! However, tonight I was trying to take some shots, and it would take forever to recharge....thought it was batteries, so put some new ones it, but that didn't take care of the problems. I am afraid some of the settings might be off, but I am embarrassed to say I don't know what they should be.....I am pretty new to all of this stuff. Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks!

[PacAce]

What exactly do you consider a long time to charge? If you have just fired the flash at full power, it'll take up to 6 seconds for the flash to go ready again.

There's no setting or parameter that speeds up the charging of the capacitor so if it's taking a long time for the flash to go ready and you're sure that the batteries are fully charged, there may be someething wrong with your flash.

[Sewtired]

I think it is taking longer than 6 seconds, probably closer to 15. Also when I fire a shot before the flash has recycled, I get a totally black picture...not just a dark one. Maybe I have something else wrong? I am sorry to sound so stupid, I just am learning.

[PacAce]

No, you're not sounding stupid so there's no need to apologize for your questions. Everybody here had to start from square one at one point in time, just like you are doing right now.

Re the flash, my suspicion is that your batteries may not be fully charged. Try using a brand new set of alkaline batteries or, if you have rechargeable batteries, recharge them and try the flash again. If you're still having problems, you may want to consider exchanging the flash or having it serviced by Canon.

[Curtis N]

Try a different (fully charged) set of batteries, and test it systematically.
Put it in manual mode, set it to full power and hit the test button. Time it. Then try 1/2 power and 1/4 power. Recycle time should improve dramatically as the power setting drops. At 1/4 power it should be less than 1 second.