Problem with 580 II

Hey guys,

Seems like lately my Canon 580 II flash has been over exposing my shots pretty badly. (BTW i bounce my shots in the same way i would my 430 light 95% of the time with absolutely no problem using my 430 in the same way).

I own both the Canon 430 II, which i used heavily for over 3 years with absolutely no problems and then decided to buy the 580 II thinking it would be even better than my 430.

This flash has rarely seen any use int eh 2 years since i have owned it since I have always prefer the look of the photos i get using fast L primes over anything flash can offer me.

Anyways, make a long story short. The last two times i used the 580 II during X-mas and New years at family gatherings, indoors, the results were horrible. The flash seems to over expose the photos i take extremely bad in ETTL. This is far from the case of the photos obtained using the 430 while using the same technique.

Another problem is that since this so called great flash was rarely used in the time since i purchased it, the warranty is long gone. So i'm on my own on this problem.

I sometimes seem to get a few good shots then BAAMM. 4 bright, burned out, super bright, and what seems like full power shots. Needless to say the photos i took during these two nice, memorable events had to be heavily PP'd with Light room, wich in some cases saved a few some what but most came out horrible.

What can be causing this? Has anybody else here had a similar problem, read of similar problems or know of something going on with the 580 II that is common with this flash? I really need your help here because i would really hate to have to spend 500 bucks on a new one and don't want to have to send it in. Very annoying to have to do that to me.
Also, do you think there is a way to revert it to factory settings to see if this helps.

Thanks for the great help in advance, Al.

P.S. You guys are great are resolving stuff like this for me in the past and hope this is another problem i can fix on my own. Thanks again!!

Usually, if you're getting full dumps from an E-TTL flash, it's an electrical contact problem. Make sure the flash is fully seated in the shoe and the contacts are clean. Also, weak or dodgy batteries cause problems.

I wish I had better news for you but you are going to have to send it in. As the above poster states it is a contact problem between the flash unit and the camera shoe. To verify this you will notice that when the flash is acting up you'll see the flash display go from ETTL to TL.

You can try cleaning the contacts on flash and camera with a pencil eraser but it's doubtful that will work given the history of these units. I've had mine in for this identical repair more times than I care to admit.

A couple of months ago I had to bring them back in again. This time they replaced the shoes on my cameras (2) and so far so good. If you do send it in keep in mind that there is a six month warranty on the repair so be sure to get it back in before that time if it ever happens again.

if you could do some controlled tests and post sample pics, I am sure we could all help. It would be good to see what the camera saw and what the camera used.

I had this exact issue with my 580EXII soon after I bought it (new). But it seemed to be related to both speedlite and camera because every time it happened, the shutter seemed to drag and the 580EXII fired at full power in ETTL. Oddly, it went away by itself after less than 10 occurrences. I fired over 100 test shots over a 24 hour period for testing and during or after, it didn't happen again. Sorry I can't be of much help.

As stated, a problem of good electrical contact with all of the pins in the hotfoot contacting all of the contacts in the hotshoe.

Trying mechanically 'working' the pins in the hot foot, in case one is stuck in a 'pushed in' position and preventing good contact. You can also try using a somewhat abrasive pencil eraser (some are not at all abrasive) to clean oxidation off the hotshoe contacts (not likely, since your 430 works OK on same camera) and hotfoot pins.

I firmly believe Canon has a fundamental design flaw in its ETTL electrical communications. With my camera and flash, the ETTL flash usually works on the camera hotshoe, but often does not work properly all the time with the Canon brand hotshoe cables (I tried two models) and also with other brands of remote cable hotshoes (I tried two more brands). I can mount the camera on a tripod, not move it around at all, and if I shoot 10 shots I will find one or two or more with overexposure due to bad contacts

What mode are you shooting in? M or AV?

If your flash is switching from ETTL to TTL on it's own you can fix it yourself for about $50. Canon came up with a mod foot design. You located in the states? Just call Canon USA parts.

Pre mod

There are 6 contacts in the hot-shoe, and 6 in the hot-foot. The most critical is the circuit Ground - inside the two rails on each fitting. The clamping can fail to exert adequate pressure to pull the two inside surfaces tight, and dirt can cause intermittent contact. This can reset the system to an indeterminant state. Especially when the flash is on-camera, and the camera is tilted down to look at its LCD. It is hard to clean.

With the 580EX II, the pressure is applied not by the clamp closure but by 4 small springs in its foot. The mechanism can stick and the springs fail. Result - firmly clamped mechanically; poor contact.

Thanks a lot guys for all the help and suggestions. I was thinking it had to do with the flash's metering electrical circuitry but i never gave the contacts too much thought since everything worked so good while i used my 430 flash and the fact that the flash was bran new and never got any use.
I'm going to now spend some time cleaning and paying more attention on the 580 contacts and spending some time cleaning them and making sure they are all making good contact.

I never gave much thought on checking the contacts on the 580 since the flash has seen extremely low use but then again, anything is possible.
I wouldn't say all the photos shot with the 580 come out with exposure problems but about 50 percent of them do, which is a pretty high percentage IMO, in comparison to 5 percent with the 430.

The 430 has really been an amazing flash to me and the only reason why i thought about buying the 580 was for the extra light it would emit plus the option of now using two flashes with the 580 triggering the 430.

I never thought i would have to go through this since just about everything Canon i have bought in the past 15 years, has worked flawlessly for me. I guess i knew my luck would run out one day, just wish it would have happened with something a bit cheaper. hehe. Oh well.

Thanks again guys and as usual, you guys are very, very helpful.

Cheers, Al

When we hold the camera to our eye, grease/skin oil transfers from eyebrow to hotshoe very easily. The critical part of the contacts seems to be the underside of the rails ('Gnd' element of the fire circuit) which by definition is also the hardest part to clean. I've taken to keeping one (actually, quite a few of them cos I keep "putting them in a safe place" - aka losing the little blighters) of those silly plastic tabs in my hotshoes whenever they aren't actively in use. That and a bottle of iso-propyl alcohol sparingly applied with cotton bud seems to keep problems at bay. Fingers crossed
http://www.ebay.co.uk …ain_3&hash=item​19d73a9cfc

Whortleberry wrote in post #15546970
I've taken to keeping one of those silly plastic tabs in my hotshoes whenever they aren't actively in use.

http://www.ebay.co.uk …ain_3&hash=item​19d73a9cfc

Be aware that most, if not all, of those cheaper hotshoe covers will disable the pop-up flash because the camera thinks it has a flash in the hotshoe.

msowsun wrote in post #15547380
Be aware that most, if not all, of those cheaper hotshoe covers will disable the pop-up flash because the camera thinks it has a flash in the hotshoe.

Perfectly true, Mike. However, OP was asking about using his 580EX II and not the pop-up. The disabling is very easily fixed if relevant by filing off the front left corner of the plastic tab (as you look from the camera back) as it is there where the microswitch is situated, under the spring leaf.