Problem With 550EX

[Paul Gerrard]

I have owned canon equipment since first starting Photography in the 70s, I added a 550EX to my collection and initially it was brilliant using the ETTL for close-up shots etc, Unfortunatley it has stopped working properly the flash will not sync with the camera although it fires ok.

I sent it to my local camera repair shop (Canon Trained). They told me it that the circuit boards inside required replacement and that the cost of replacing these would not be economiclly viable....

I was horrified, I treat all my camera equipment better than i treat my loved ones. How could this have happened????

Firstly has anyone had a similar problem with the 550EX

Secondly should i contact Canon directly to see if there might be a fundemental problem with the relyability of the 550EXs circuit boards, which they may have corrected in newer models of the 550EX..

Any help greatly appreciated

[etaf]

had my 550EX for a few years and no problems - but electrical equipment does fail - hence the business of extended guarantees.
It would be worth a call to Canon
but it usually is uneconomic to have these things looked at - an engineer spends an hour or two on the item + parts + overheads, your looking at an expensive repair.....
when you think the new 430EX is just £189, 550EX £249 and the 580EX £299

[tim]

Mine's a year or so old and works fine. Electronics fails sometimes, maybe it wasn't quite up to spec, maybe a little bump got to it. How old is it?