I got burned by a Canon 580EX II flash

I was playing key and fill lighting over the weekend with two 580EX II flashes and accidentally discovered this.

Here what I did:
Mounted 1st 580EX II on a stand and placed it on camera left (key light)
Mounted 2nd 580EX II on camera and attached both to a tripod (fill light)
Fired first picture with both flashes on (no problem)
Then I placed my left palm right infront of the on camera flash head instead of disable it.
Fired second picture... Ouchhhhh.... It burned my palm skin and I could smell it.

I am wondering if any of you have experienced this before? I felt dumb for what I've done, so I went back to User Manual AGAIN and found NO WARNING or whatsover.

Then I Google it and found: http://afrotechmods.co​m …X_II_fun/580EX_​II_fun.htm

Maybe there's no warning because they don't expect you to block the flash with your hand.

Scatterbrained wrote in post #14536705
Maybe there's no warning because they don't expect you to block the flash with your hand.

does this mean they anticipate someone using a toaster under water?

They didn't anticipate the lack of sense in the American public, where they need to put warning stickers on soda machines warning folks not to tip them over and risk having the thing fall on them!

Wilt wrote in post #14537159
They didn't anticipate the lack of sense in the American public, where they need to put warning stickers on soda machines warning folks not to tip them over and risk having the thing fall on them!

Or trying to use your hair dryer while in the shower......

Scatterbrained wrote in post #14537399
Or trying to use your hair dryer while in the shower......

...or the lawsuit against MacDonald's, prompting the the fact that MacDonalds lowered its coffee temperatures, to 158 degrees, and now we all see the "CONTENTS HOT" warning on coffee lids.
http://en.wikipedia.or​g …v._McDonald's_R​estaurants

Flash units are known to warp lighting gels taped to the front of flash units.

I guess you can tell which company hires more lawyers ...

My Nikon SB-900 manual has 5 pages of safety information. Here's item #10:

"Do not fire the unit while the flash head is touching a person or object.
Such use can result in the person being burned, and/or their clothes igniting
from the heat of the flash’s firing."

I checked the manual from my 580EX-II and don't see any safety instructions other than to be careful changing batteries after "firing many flashes" because they could be hot.

Bob_A wrote in post #14537513
I guess you can tell which company hires more lawyers ...
I checked the manual from my 580EX-II and don't see any safety instructions other than to be careful changing batteries after "firing many flashes" because they could be hot.

Yeah, Canon also states that the Operating Environment for their cameras includes humidity readings only up to 85%, too. I can only guess that they never went to Singapore or WashingtonDC.

Lets see a flash head is producing near the intensity of the sun for a fraction of a second and you need a warning about the risks?

Last i checked magnifying glasses don't come with warnings about using them under direct sunlight either.

From past experience I know that if used a lot, those 580 EX II's can get pretty hot. So hot that the batteries also get hot and stop working until they cool off. I never thought to put my hand in front of the flash to block the light. Usually I turn it off when I don't need it. This helps the unit and the batteries cool down for a bit.

Ahh, I think you guys are going a bit over the top. Most people would not know a flash could do this but learn it along the way.

Best warning sign ever.

http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=tt5tnY_c09k

here's a video displaying what's happened here

don't go blasting and smoking everything though, because it does cause a bit of damage to your flash head. I once accidentally popped a flash on my jeans and it left a tiny speck of blue on the head

I did the same thing with a Metz 60 CT1 many years ago. I haven't done it since

Yep, gets very hot. Now you know. Only gotta stick your finger in the fire once and youll never do it again.

Bob_A wrote in post #14537513
I guess you can tell which company hires more lawyers ...

My Nikon SB-900 manual has 5 pages of safety information. Here's item #10:

"Do not fire the unit while the flash head is touching a person or object.
Such use can result in the person being burned, and/or their clothes igniting
from the heat of the flash’s firing."

I checked the manual from my 580EX-II and don't see any safety instructions other than to be careful changing batteries after "firing many flashes" because they could be hot.

Maybe Canon just assumes that people who buy Canon are clearly more intelligent than those who buy Nikon, so don't need all those "this is hot" type warnings.