EF 500 ST II DG & 10d Problems

[itsanobscureid]

Hi guys,
I have just aquired the EF 500 ST II DG Flashgun for my 10d and seem to be havin a few problems... I'm not sure whether i have a faulty flash unit / hotshoe or i'm just using the wrong settings ... therefore i was hoping someone could shed some light on things for me (the flash preferably :))

when i shoot with the flash i set it to ETTL and have tried both Tv & Av modes on the 10d - what seems to happen is that the cam meters - i take the shot - the flash fires but then when i view the image its as if the flash has not synced with the camera (or perhaps is not bright enough) and therefore the shot is pretty much black .... when i first recieved the flash on friday i did manage to get a 2 or 3 shots where the flash seemed to sync properly, but tbh i'm not sure what mode i was in on the camera & i have been unable to replicate these results .....

if someone here with the flash could let me know what settings will allow me to verify the flash unit is working - ie. put the cam in full auto / flash in ettl take a shot in a dark room .... obviously at the moment i'm not interested in taking great shots, id just like to know the flash is exposing the subject while the shutter is open...

also is there a chance this could have something to do with a custom function i have set wrong - maybe something to do with the 2nd curtain shutter?

as you are probably aware - i'm clutching at straws here so any help would be much appreciated

thx
d

[PacAce]

How about posting the EXIF info of one of your errant flash shots.

[itsanobscureid]

fair point..

please excuse the length of the post i wasn't sure what to include so i've just added everything ...

thanks for looking :)


Here's one where the picture is almost black as discussed - using canon 28-105 USM

IMG_1378.jpg - EXIF Information
- Exif
Make Canon
Model Canon EOS 10D
Orientation top, left side
X Resolution 1/180 inches
Y Resolution 1/180 inches
Resolution Unit Inches
Date/Time 2005:06:17 22:43:15
YCbCr Positioning Center of pixel array
Exposure Time 1/180 sec
F-Number F8
ISO Speed Ratings 100
Exif Version 2.21
Date/Time Original 2005:06:17 22:43:15
Date/Time Digitized 2005:06:17 22:43:15
Components Configuration YCbCr
Compressed Bits Per Pixel 3 bits/pixel
Shutter Speed Value 1/128 sec
Aperture Value F8
Exposure Bias Value 0
Max Aperture Value F4.5
Metering Mode Partial
Flash Unknown (73)
Focal Length 105.0 mm
User Comment
FlashPix Version 1.00
Color Space sRGB
Exif Image Width 3072 pixels
Exif Image Height 2048 pixels
Focal Plane X Resolution 446/1536000 inches
Focal Plane Y Resolution 119/409600 inches
Focal Plane Resolution Unit Inches
Sensing Method One-chip color area sensor
File Source Digital Still Camera (DSC)
Compression JPEG compression
Thumbnail Offset 2548 bytes
Thumbnail Length 1536 bytes
Thumbnail Data [1536 bytes of thumbnail data]
- Canon Makernote
Macro Mode Unknown (0)
Self Timer Delay Self timer not used
Flash Mode On and red-eye reduction
Continuous Drive Mode Continuous
Focus Mode One-shot
Image Size Large
Easy Shooting Mode Manual
Contrast High
Saturation Unknown (2)
Sharpness Unknown (2)
Iso Not specified (see ISOSpeedRatings tag)
Metering Mode Partial
AF Point Selected Unknown (8197)
Exposure Mode Manual
Long Focal Length 105 1
Short Focal Length 28 1
Focal Units per mm 1
Flash Details Unknown (16392)
Focus Mode Unknown (65535)
White Balance Auto
Sequence Number 0
AF Point Used Right
Flash Bias 0 EV
Subject Distance 111
Image Type IMG:EOS 10D JPEG
Firmware Version Firmware Version 2.0.1
Camera Serial Number 230102650
Image Number 2131378
Owner Name
Custom Functions 36 256 512 768 1024 1280 1536 1792 2053 2304 2560 2816 3072 3328 3584 3840 4096 4352
- Interoperability
Interoperability Index Recommended Exif Interoperability Rules (ExifR98)
Interoperability Version 1.00
Related Image Width 3072
Related Image Length 2048



& one where it seemed to work - lens: canon 28-105 usm
IMG_1375.jpg - EXIF Information
- Exif
Make Canon
Model Canon EOS 10D
Orientation top, left side
X Resolution 1/180 inches
Y Resolution 1/180 inches
Resolution Unit Inches
Date/Time 2005:06:17 22:40:30
YCbCr Positioning Center of pixel array
Exposure Time 1/180 sec
F-Number F8
ISO Speed Ratings 100
Exif Version 2.21
Date/Time Original 2005:06:17 22:40:30
Date/Time Digitized 2005:06:17 22:40:30
Components Configuration YCbCr
Compressed Bits Per Pixel 3 bits/pixel
Shutter Speed Value 1/128 sec
Aperture Value F8
Exposure Bias Value 0
Max Aperture Value F3.5
Metering Mode Partial
Flash Unknown (73)
Focal Length 28.0 mm
User Comment
FlashPix Version 1.00
Color Space sRGB
Exif Image Width 3072 pixels
Exif Image Height 2048 pixels
Focal Plane X Resolution 446/1536000 inches
Focal Plane Y Resolution 119/409600 inches
Focal Plane Resolution Unit Inches
Sensing Method One-chip color area sensor
File Source Digital Still Camera (DSC)
Compression JPEG compression
Thumbnail Offset 2548 bytes
Thumbnail Length 7680 bytes
Thumbnail Data [7680 bytes of thumbnail data]
- Canon Makernote
Macro Mode Unknown (0)
Self Timer Delay Self timer not used
Flash Mode On and red-eye reduction
Continuous Drive Mode Continuous
Focus Mode One-shot
Image Size Large
Easy Shooting Mode Manual
Contrast High
Saturation Unknown (2)
Sharpness Unknown (2)
Iso Not specified (see ISOSpeedRatings tag)
Metering Mode Partial
AF Point Selected Unknown (8197)
Exposure Mode Manual
Long Focal Length 105 1
Short Focal Length 28 1
Focal Units per mm 1
Flash Details Unknown (16392)
Focus Mode Unknown (65535)
White Balance Auto
Sequence Number 0
AF Point Used Right
Flash Bias 0 EV
Subject Distance 340
Image Type IMG:EOS 10D JPEG
Firmware Version Firmware Version 2.0.1
Camera Serial Number 230102650
Image Number 2131375
Owner Name
Custom Functions 36 256 512 768 1024 1280 1536 1792 2053 2304 2560 2816 3072 3328 3584 3840 4096 4352
- Interoperability
Interoperability Index Recommended Exif Interoperability Rules (ExifR98)
Interoperability Version 1.00
Related Image Width 3072
Related Image Length 2048


& another one where it seemed to work - lens: canon 70-210 f4
MG_1371.jpg - EXIF Information
- Exif
Make Canon
Model Canon EOS 10D
Orientation top, left side
X Resolution 1/180 inches
Y Resolution 1/180 inches
Resolution Unit Inches
Date/Time 2005:06:17 17:25:22
YCbCr Positioning Center of pixel array
Exposure Time 1/180 sec
F-Number F8
ISO Speed Ratings 100
Exif Version 2.21
Date/Time Original 2005:06:17 17:25:22
Date/Time Digitized 2005:06:17 17:25:22
Components Configuration YCbCr
Compressed Bits Per Pixel 3 bits/pixel
Shutter Speed Value 1/128 sec
Aperture Value F8
Exposure Bias Value 0
Max Aperture Value F4
Metering Mode Partial
Flash Unknown (73)
Focal Length 70.0 mm
User Comment
FlashPix Version 1.00
Color Space sRGB
Exif Image Width 3072 pixels
Exif Image Height 2048 pixels
Focal Plane X Resolution 446/1536000 inches
Focal Plane Y Resolution 119/409600 inches
Focal Plane Resolution Unit Inches
Sensing Method One-chip color area sensor
File Source Digital Still Camera (DSC)
Compression JPEG compression
Thumbnail Offset 2548 bytes
Thumbnail Length 6656 bytes
Thumbnail Data [6656 bytes of thumbnail data]
- Canon Makernote
Macro Mode Unknown (0)
Self Timer Delay Self timer not used
Flash Mode On and red-eye reduction
Continuous Drive Mode Continuous
Focus Mode One-shot
Image Size Large
Easy Shooting Mode Manual
Contrast High
Saturation Unknown (2)
Sharpness Unknown (2)
Iso Not specified (see ISOSpeedRatings tag)
Metering Mode Partial
AF Point Selected Unknown (8197)

[snibbetsj]

How far from the subject were you? When you're at f8, the GN for this falsh is reduced to about 20 feet. If the subject is further away than that, it will be underexposed.

[Cadwell]

Failure to flash sync is one of the first signs of shutter mechanism failure on the 10D. I hope it's not that, but it could be.

[itsanobscureid]

How far from the subject were you? When you're at f8, the GN for this falsh is reduced to about 20 feet. If the subject is further away than that, it will be underexposed.

the subject was only 5ft max away so i don't thank its that ....


Failure to flash sync is one of the first signs of shutter mechanism failure on the 10D. I hope it's not that, but it could be.

I hope not too :( - well i think the cam is still covered with the extended warranty - any idea how i can work out if this is the case / or prove to the warranty folk that its faulty as other than this the cam seems to work perfectly ....

[Cadwell]

Easiest suggestion I can make is stick the camera in "P" (yes, "P") and take a shot of something reasonably close (@4ft) with the flash. Flash in AV and TV is fairly tricksy... basically if you are using flash in those modes then the camera is using "fill flash" - not full blown flash. If things look OK in "P" mode then both your flash and camera are working properly... you're not driving it right. If they don't look OK in "P" then one or the other has a problem.

[itsanobscureid]

ok ill try that when i get back from work, i take it i should put the flash in ettl mode?

i just hope to god its not the shutter - can you imagine trying to explain to some guy from dixons coverplan (i bought the 10D second hand and transfered the cover into my name - i'm not silly enough to actually buy from there) that although the cam works fine normally when a flash is connected the shutter is not syncing and therefore i need a new one ...

then again they might just give me a 20d as a replacement - you never know :)

thanks again for your help

[itsanobscureid]

just had another thought - getting paranoid here i know :) - just don't want to lose my camera
if there was a sync problem which indicated impending shutter failure would the same happen when using the in camera flash? or is that completely different from the external unit?

[Cadwell]

just had another thought - getting paranoid here i know :) - just don't want to lose my camera
if there was a sync problem which indicated impending shutter failure would the same happen when using the in camera flash? or is that completely different from the external unit?

If it's an impending shutter failure, the camera should have the same problems using the onboard flash.

[PacAce]

just had another thought - getting paranoid here i know :) - just don't want to lose my camera
if there was a sync problem which indicated impending shutter failure would the same happen when using the in camera flash? or is that completely different from the external unit?
If it is a shutter problem, the problem should manifest itself no matter what flash you use, internal or external.

[Edit: Oops. Didn't mean to step on you there, Cadwell. Sorry.]

[itsanobscureid]

ok guys thats a little more reassuring as i have had no problems with the internal flash as of yet - touch wood :)
im off home soon to try out what u've said - ill let you know how i get on

thx

[Cadwell]

[Edit: Oops. Didn't mean to step on you there, Cadwell. Sorry.]

No problem, Leo. Great minds think alike, eh? (I wouldn't even consider the other possibility ;) )