Speedlight 580EXII heating?

First I want to say that the 580EXII is a great flash. However during a recent photo shoot with my 7D of some fast action indoor cheerleading and dancing. I noticed that 1/2 through the shoot my flash failed to go off for quite a few fames. This was a very quick moving almost pararazzi type shoot where over 2000 frames were taken in the span of about 50 minutes so it was nearly continuous shooting. Of course I didn't have time to stop and look to make sure the red light indicator was ready.

1/2 way into the shoot my flash started to cycle through much slower and I wasted quite a few frames. Do you think this was due to overheating or did I just not have my flahs set correctly. I normally set it for full auto and let it go.

I still managed to get hundreds of great shots. But still i wonder if could have used a better setting.

Newb to this stuff so please ideas, no flames here.

from the first page of Chapter 1 of the 580EX manual...
http://www.eosdoc.com/​manuals/?q=580EXII*

• To avoid overheating and degrading the flash
head, do not fire more than 20 continuous
flashes. After 20 continuous flashes, allow a rest
time of at least 10 min.
• If you fire more than 20 continuous flashes and
then fire more flashes in short intervals, the
inner overheating prevention function may be
activated to make the recycling time about 8 to
20 sec. If this occurs, allow a rest time of about
15 min. and the flash will then return to normal.

2000 frames in 50 minutes, you might as well get a video camera, photography wise, time you edit 2000 frames!

90 seconds each frame minimum if your good ( damn good and fast ) at PP, 50 hours PP time.

Many threads within POTN, for lighting with speedlites, both on and off camera, the search engine will point the way

I typically sort through my favorites and keep about 10-20% of my pictures. Was lucky to shoot two great events this week one was a meet and greet with Oscar De La Hoya, the second a upclose show with the Washington Redskin cheerleaders. Captured every second. Gotta love it.

For a smidge over 27 years and since film wasn't always cheap, I learned to create what I want, or wait till the image nearest what I wanted, filled the screen.

Runway photog seldom acquire a studio session. Those around them know the spray and pray have, well less of an idea about what they want and is needed.

Attend a good fashion show, the ( good ) photographers there, wait till the model is in their zone. Count how many times hey fire off at that model.

Pose a cheerleader so she looks like a million dollars and she'll seek you out.
Learn there names to get there attention ( politely ), as for the rest, in time it will grow common place

Were talking apples and oranges here. Cheerleaders, they are moving very fast, they might be blinking, having an odd look on their face, have hair in the in their face, blocking some other girl,
or be looking away. They are not focused on me. Not to mention I have terrible lighting conditions indoors and 50 other people tripping over me also tring to look or get a picture.

My purpose is not to get that award winning image or make money, its to capture the moment and share it with others for free..

Taken directly out of the 580EXII user manual...

Seems to say the same thing as post #2.

apersson850 wrote in post #12050131
Seems to say the same thing as post #2.

Yeah, you are right. Well, post 2 mentioned the 580EX, but I didn't notice that it quoted the 580EXII manual instead! ...The 580EX which merely heats up to the point of burning itself out.
The 580EXII...which knows it is being thermally abused... the new protection circuity kicks in to FORCE the photographer to SLOW DOWN so that the flash does not burn itself out...which is what the OP was complaining about.

If it did burn, I think we would still see a complaint, just a different one.

Yeah the first poster was spot on. I'm absolutely sure the circuitry kicked in so I wouldn't burn up my flash, I was really ripping through a lot of frames.

Could have been a costly mistake, I'll have to cool it a bit or get a second flash for those long shoots and switch off half way.