Canon Flash Speedlite 430ex issue

Hi there !

I'm not quite sure if this is the right place to ask for help but I'm about to shoot myself right now.

I noticed today while I was trying to get a shot with my external flash that the picture won't come out with the light the flash "flashes". As stated, the equipment will flash, it does communicates with my camera, but the pictures would come out dark.

If you guys have any idea of what's going on or what should I do,I would really appreciate a response.

Thank you !

What camera body are you using and what are your settings?

Flah is all in Automatic (TTL - -mm) I reseated the camera settings thinking it was my camera but it didn't change anything.

My camera is a EOS Rebel 4ti

We need more information, please. Is the lens cap still on? Is the flash seated all the way into the hotshoe?

Shooting mode? Av, M, Tv, etc.
Aperture?
Shutter speed?
ISO?
And any other information you can provide about the shot. And finally, post the shot, please.

Make sure you're not shooting into anything reflective (e.g. a mirror / glass) while in E-TTL - the flash often gets fooled in these circumstances.

What are your settings ? E.g. if you're shooting at f/22 and ISO 100 in a coal mine, the flash probably isn't going to register at all. You're probably not shooting in a coal mine

I'd be tempted to put the camera in an auto mode and then take a shot. Then I'd put the flash in manual and keep taking shots while upping the power until you're at 1/1.

Hi Tefferz and welcome to POTN. The first thing that comes to mind is that perhaps your shutter speed is too high. The max S.S. on the 4ti is either 1/200 or 1/250. I've never used that model so I'm not familiar with it. But above that the flash will not synch and you will usually get dark images unless you have sufficient ambient light.

Hi all, thank you for your responses.

Here are the settings of the picture
Aperture 5.6
Speed 1/50
Iso 400
shooting mode manual
flash exposure 1/3

Attached is the picture i just took with the above settings

Please note that my room is fully white, im bouncing the flash into the cieling, which is also white.
I also tried directing the flash into the object with no luck.

I tried using the built in flash and the camera did pick up its light.

Content warning: script

Here's the link http://imageshack.us/p​hoto/my-images/59/vo1f.jpg/

I had what sounds like the same problem this weekend on my backup body, a 400D. Flash displayed only TTL instead of eTTL and wasn't synching correctly with the body. It ended up being a contact issue. For some reason the speedlight wasn't seated on the body correctly. Never had it happen before and it was pushed all the way in. Everything LOOKED correct but I noticed when I tried to wiggle the speedlight back and forth the TTL would flash to eTTL and off again. Removed the flash, mounted it again slowly and deliberately, issue went away. Even electronics have their off days I guess.

tefferz wrote in post #16071124
Here's the link http://imageshack.us/p​hoto/my-images/59/vo1f.jpg/

Thanks for the link but I really can't tell much from that. What were all of your camera settings? Those will be the valuable clues .

Sapearl,

The settings are posted above the image

evo5ive, I just tried desmounting it and mounting it again. nothing changed it shows now as ETTL as you mentioned but the picture comes out the same.

put the flash in M with the same camera settings and start adjusting the power.

Hm, i tried setting the Flash in Manual and the flash did not fire at all. Even after adjusting the power, I tried with different ones (1/1, 1/16 and 1/64). It works only in Automatic.

Did you take the lens cap off?

...try removing the flash batteries and replacing them. Maybe the little computer inside got confused and needs to be reset.

Push on the 'test' button on the flash at various powers to confirm that it's just a communication issue.