550EX battery power

[Tshoe]

Should the 550EX flash put out a normal flash as long as the red light comes on even as the batteries are running down? I use rechargeable NI_MH batteries.

[photography By Evangelos]

Is should put out as long as the light is red. The thing of it is when the battery’s run down it will take longer to go back to red and the cycling times will be longer. But if power is low you may want to change the batteries or start planning your shots, as you will not have much speed when using the flash.

Amgelo 8)

[robertwgross]

I have an opinion. I can't prove it. But I have watched my 550EX through many weddings, and I have watched the red ready light too many times to guess.

My theory is that when the batteries are fresh and hot, everything works pretty predictably. The red ready light comes on, you shoot, the flash outputs its normal light, and then it recycles in a number of seconds to repeat the process.

However, when the batteries are a little marginal, like after fifty shots or so, depending on the battery type, and when I have been hitting it pretty hard, the weakened batteries are enough to light up the red ready light, but the flash intensity that I will get right then is down at least 1-2 stops. In other words, it seems like it was only half ready.

But, when it is in that weakened state, if I let the red ready light come on, and then if I wait another five or ten seconds, then it will give me about the correct flash intensity. This is my guess.

---Bob Gross---

[Tshoe]

Yes Bob, that is what I thought has been happening to me but had to ask here to see if I was just having some senior moments. Thanks!

[leony]

weddings are rather unpredictable events as each shot is different. although it doesn't seem like making sense - 550EX has also a "green" ready light. That one might be what you're talking about with reduced power.

Sounds like a reason to set up a simple studio (controlled environment) test...

[robertwgross]

weddings are rather unpredictable events as each shot is different. although it doesn't seem like making sense - 550EX has also a "green" ready light. That one might be what you're talking about with reduced power.


No, I am not colorblind. At the very beginning, when my 550EX was new, I thought that the green lamp was better than the red lamp. One re-reading of the manual got that thought out of the way.

---Bob Gross---

[leony]

bob - i didn't mean that you're color blind. i mean that weddings are rather dynamic events - if you shoot a bride in the front/center the rest of the image will be underexposed because of white dress. nothing to do with flash - just the way metering works.

the only way to find out is to shoot a "stuffed toy" from a tripod with good batteries and with run-down bateries. when the flash is "red" my 550EX performs identically despite the bateries in side. takes a lot longer to recycle (naturally) but exposure is OK even with old battries.

i've shot my share of weddings and can't complain about 550's - both that i've got are excellent. and with wireless E-TTL - that's a photographer's dream. set ratios, slam one on camera, other on light stand and shoot away :-) can't get quicker than that.

[Tshoe]

"No, I am not colorblind. At the very beginning, when my 550EX was new, I thought that the green lamp was better than the red lamp. One re-reading of the manual got that thought out of the way. " Bob Gross




I couldn't figure that out either, where did Canon come up with green is wait and red is go? :D