WHAT is causing these SHADOWS across my pictures???

I just got the rebel t3 about 2 weeks ago. So far i've taken like 300+ pictures. I'd say about 15 of them have this weird shadow across the front. No one seems to know what it is. My hands were NOT in front of the lens or flash. I don't have a lens hood or camera strap. And it was NOT ghosts, goblins, or gremlins (the most popular answers). Any help would be MIGHTILY appreciated!!!

http://www.flickr.com/​photos/47170269@N02/se​ts/

Many years ago a lot of copies of the original Digital Rebel, the 300D, suffered from the second mirror (the sub-mirror under the primary) becoming disattached and not swinging out of the light path properly. Your photos remind me of shots posted then.

its new ,dont mess with it , take back to the shop for a NEW ONE

A finger infront of the flash?

Set the camera to Bulb exposure, remove the lens, press and hold the trigger while looking in to the lens mount. Before you press the trigger button you see the mirror being down. When it goes up, check that the secondary mirror, mounted on the back side of the main mirror, also folds up and lies flat, flush with the main mirror. If it's hanging loose in there, you have the answer.

Don't touch the mirrors with your fingers. They are delicate.

Do these shadows show without flash, or while using an external flash?
Does the pop-up flash extends completly?

I believe that a curtain syncronization issue, would leave a dark band along the way - the shadows in your shots are not that way.
Take it to the shop/place you bought it from, and show the pictures. Canon itself might be able to help, as still is under warranty - call costumerr service

have you heard of poltergeist showing up in video clips and photos?

LD67 wrote in post #15807327
My hands were NOT in front of the lens or flash./[/URL]

I know you said your hands weren't in front of the flash but I have seen this before when my daughter first used our 500D. Being new to using an SLR (and I am making a wild assumption here that you might be too?! - Sorry if you aren't) she held the grip in her right hand but instead of cupping her left hand under the rest of the body and using her thumb and forefinger for zoom /focus duties, she took her left hand and gripped the zoom ring from the left with her forefinger on top of the lens and her thumb on the underside. This left her index finger, ring finger and pinky flapping around in line of sight between the pop up flash and the subject. The result was very similar to those you have experienced.

How do you hold your camera?

best of luck...

All those images appear to have been taken with flash and the shadows ruining them all look as if something is partially obstructing the flash. It could be any number of things (looks the same in some images, different in others)... a strap, a lens hood or the lens itself (in the case of a large lens), or a finger or two.

See: http://www.expertphoto​graphy.com …ds/2012/01/1-standing.jpg

This shows bad and good techniques holding an SLR camera, that I think is what alunh is referring to.

Basically, grip the camera with your right hand, cradle the lens or lens/camera (depending upon how large the lens is) upon your left hand. Keep your elbows tucked in against your torso. Stand with your feet about shoulder width apart.

Shadows like that are often caused by folks holding the lens from above, rather than cradling it on their hand. Held incorrectly from above, people are unaware their fingers are partially obstructing the flash (and possibly sensors or other things on the front of the camera). The correct holding method is also shown on page 38 of the manual that came with the camera.

I thnk it pretty unlikely, but suppose it is possible that something is loose inside the flash head, moving around and obstructing the shots partially. In other words, it might be a fault with the gear, instead of "user error".

If you intend to shoot a lot of flash, you might want to consider getting an accessory flash to use, instead of relying upon the one built into the camera. The built-in flash on any camera is pretty weak, in the worst possible place for redeye and ugly shadow effects, and it rapidly draings the camera's battery. All these are solved by an accessory flash, many of which allow you to tilt the head and bounce light or add a diffuser for nicer effects. Direct accessory flash can be improved even more by putting it on a flash bracket and connecting it with an off-camera shoe cord. This moves the flash away from the lens axis, which further reduces the risk of redeye and tends to put shadows down and behind subjects, out of sight (when done right). Built-in flashes might be helpful in an emergency, but I wouldn't rely on them regularly... accessory flashes do a far better job.

Oh, and I also highly recommend you consider using both a camera strap and a lens hood... both do a lot to protect your camera and lens.

Just pop the flash up and put the camera on the table and use timer to take a shot while not holding the camera at all. Do you still have this issue ?