HELP Cant seem to use my 430ex that I bought today

[Rachel B]

I have a 30d and I bought the 430 ex ii today, but I cant work out how to use it-and yes I read the manual, I attached it to the camera set it to EETL focus and take the picture, I get the red light come out the front sensor, but nothing else I cant even seem to get the flash to fire when I hit the test button. I am recharging my batteries incase they were too low-can any one give me a simple steps to getting it working. I even tried setting the camera to the green box mode to see if that works-but it didnt :(

Thank you for your help

[James P]

I've had one for a couple of years and can't think of why it wouldn't work right out of the box? Can you return it and try another?

[Rachel B]

yep store has 30 day return policy. wont be a problem returning it, but I want to make sure I am not doing anything wrong.

[TMR Design]

Does it fire from the test button on the back of the flash?

[Rachel B]

nope :(-if the batteries were not fully charged could this be why (sorry probably silly question)

[TMR Design]

If the batteries are no good or not charged that would account for the unit not working. If they are and the flash won't even fire when pushing the test button then you've got a defective flash and should have it replaced.

Also, regardless of all the controls, functions and intricacies of using flash, you should be able to turn on the flash, pop it on your camera, put the camera in any mode and fire.

[msowsun]

I would think that if it won't fire with the test button, then your batteries are not fully charged, or you have a defective flash.

[TMR Design]

I would think that if it won't fire with the test button, then your batteries are not fully charged, or you have a defective flash.

I'm pretty sure I just said that ;)

[Rachel B]

Thanks-I charged the batteries fully but still nothing,

do I need to change settings in the camera so it will know to use the flash-I am confused to adjust settings so the flash goes off, I set a fast shutter and my meter says the picture will be under exposed, so i expected the flash to go off. is that the right way to do it?

[msowsun]

I'm pretty sure I just said that ;)

Yes, you did, but it took me 4 minutes to type my response.....:oops:

[DDCSD]

Try a completely different set of batteries.

Have you tried to hit the test button with the flash not mounted to the camera?

Also, there is a Cfn that disables the flash, it is set in the camera, make sure that is not set to "flash does not fire".

[TMR Design]

There's not much to think about. As I said, regardless of whether you're using the flash correctly in terms of mode and exposure, if it's mounted to the hot shoe and the power is on and you shoot it will fire. For now, forget about exposure, mode, settings, etc.

Right out of the box it should just work. As I said before, if it's not firing from the test button then something is wrong. You're overthinking this. Get a good set of batteries, make sure they are installed correctly and the door is seated correctly. Power on, hit the test button. That's it. If it's not firing take it back and test the replacement in the store before leaving.

[DDCSD]

Oh, and just to make sure, but you are pushing the lit up red button labled "pilot", correct?

[Rachel B]

Ok well the pilot button wasn't lighting up at all

I was using rechargeable batteries that I had from my previous camera.

Just got back from the store with regular batteries and straight away it lights up the pilot button and the flash works!!!!!!

Thanks for your help and sorry for the silliness LOL

[JenniferLShort]

nope :(-if the batteries were not fully charged could this be why (sorry probably silly question)

Mine did that when my batteries were low. Good luck.

[TMR Design]

Rule #1: Always have spare batteries.

Rule #2: Follow rule #1

:rolleyes:

[Rachel B]

lol thanks...

[DDCSD]

Now get some good rechargables. :) It'll eat through those alkalines like nothing. Glad all is working as it should. Happy shooting!

[egordon99]

Here's a little write-up I came up with. Just replace P-TTL with E-TTL, and note the 1/180s is for Pentax, you can use up to 1/250s with your gear (I believe...)

FLASH write up
My little P-TTL "recipe"

Basically, with flash, the FLASH exposure is solely determined by flash power (actually duration, how long the bulb is actually firing for), aperture and ISO. Ambient exposure is determined by ISO, shutter speed, and aperture (just like without any flash), so the trick is balancing the two. If I'm indoors in a smallish room (such as in someone's house), I usually just forget about ambient since the flash is powerful enough to light up the entire room (hence the 1/180s below, if the flash didn't fire, I'd have a more or less black picture) Now although you're shooting MANUAL Mode, that's only for the ambient exposure (the exposure needle in the viewfinder will blink warning you about underexposure, but ignore that). The camera's P-TTL metering will determine the needed flash output for a proper exposure.

Here's something I wrote on another forum -
"Easy" recipe for great P-TTL flash shots -
1)Point flash at ceiling
2)Put camera in MANUAL mode on the mode dial
3)Set FEC to +1 on the flash head


4)Shoot RAW (this allows you to recover some highlights that might get blown as a result of #3 above)

5)Set ISO to 200 (to start)
6)Set shutter speed to 1/180s
7)Set f-stop to whatever DOF you want



Now if the flash runs out of "power" because of high ceilings, you can raise the ISO or open up the f-stop to compensate. Or you can slow down the shutter to bring more ambient light into the exposure (in addition to adjusting ISO/f-stop) If the ceiling is REALLY high (like in a church), you may need a reflector to throw some of the light forward (I use the Joe Demb Flip-it).

Quick and dirty outdoor fill flash tutorial -

Basically, if your subject is in shade and the background is bright (ie under a tree) or majorly backlit, fill flash is your friend. Think of those times when you got a properly exposed background, but the subject was almost pitch black.

Put camera into Av mode, metering will set the shutter speed to expose the overall shot (which in the situations that call for fill-flash will generally be the background) based on your selected aperture/ISO.

Make sure flash is set to HSS (in case your shutter speed go faster than 1/180s) and P-TTL. Fire away! The shutter speed/f-stop/ISO will expose the background, and the flash should output enough power to light up the foreground.

Now to control the background exposure, you use exposure compensation on the camera body (which would adjust the shutter speed), to adjust how much fill for the flash exposure, you use Flash exposure compensation. The trick is balancing the two (as it is with indoor work), and that comes with experience/experimentation.