Canon 430ex II - af assist not working !

Ok.. So. My canon 430ex II wont fire the assist beam.
I set both the camera and flash Cfn to af assist on.
On my 5d mark iii I am on Manual mode with 1/160, f1/4, Iso: Auto +
- One shot AF
- Single shooting mode
- Single point AF
Flash function settings: ETTL, Zoom: Auto, HSS

On the 430ex ii I am on:
- ETTL, HSS,
Zoom: 35mm,
Ch: 1
Slave: A

The only way it will shoot the AF assist beam is if I set on my camera the "Automatic focus point" instead of Single focus point.
Does anyone know whats the issue ?

Don't set it up as a 'Slave'.

The 430 is in the camera's hot-shoe, right?

And how do I remove the slave mode ?
Edit: Flash is on the hotshoe, yes.

Hi, If it's a 'II' series 430 - it should leave slave mode automatically, on a shutter button half-press. If it's an orig. 430, then there is a physical switch 'Off // Slave' - turn to Off.

Test AF assist somewhere really dark - the system will only use assist if it's struggling to lock focus.

When I half press the shutter button, the display shows:
ETTL
the HSS icon
Zoom - - mm

And no AF assist beam in a dark room.

If I press and hold the zoom button, the AF assist flashes. But when I half press the shutter button, it disappears.
If I attach a Yongnuo Trigger on the hotshoe + the flash over the trigger, the af assist will work on both devices, trigger and flash, simultaneous.

OK that's odd.
Trebble check those CFns - but otherwise I'm struggling.

' .. If I press and hold the zoom button, the AF assist flashes .. ' My kit doesn't do that . . .

Yes, when I press and hold the zoom button, the AF assist flashes
And Im able to see Zoom 24mm ; Ch. 1 ; Slave A settings on the screen.
If I half press the shutter button, settings disappear. So does the AF assist.

I dont understand why it just works on "Automatic af point" mode, from the camera.
Also, if I select the Auto mode on the camera dial, the AF assist works.

' .. And Im able to see Zoom 24mm ; Ch. 1 ; Slave A settings on the screen .. '

Doesn't sound right.

Maybe trebble check / clean all 12 contact surfaces (5 + rail) x 2.
And try a reset on the 430 itself. (Batteries out - switch to 'ON' - press 'Pilot' fully (all while they're still out); then retry etc) Good luck.

OceanRipple* wrote in post #17501797
' .. And Im able to see Zoom 24mm ; Ch. 1 ; Slave A settings on the screen .. '

Doesn't sound right.

Maybe trebble check / clean all 12 contact surfaces (5 + rail) x 2.
And try a reset on the 430 itself. (Batteries out - switch to 'ON' - press 'Pilot' fully (all while they're still out); then retry etc) Good luck.

I cleaned both surfaces. I followed the steps and reset the flash.
All Cfn are on 0 = enabled. I also reset the camera Cfn. All are set on 0 = enabled.
Same behavior... No AF assist.

Update: On my other camera (550d) AF assist works just fine. Same flash.

I finally found out what was the problem.
These exact focus points DONT trigger the AF assist beam. I really dont understand why, but that was why it didn't work.
Canon can be really retarded. The flash manual doesnt say that.

I just tried it on my my 5D3 and you are 100% correct. When choosing any of those 4 focus points, the AF assist does not work.

Why would they need to do that? Or is it just some kind of glitch?

I dont know but this drove me nuts until I figured it out. Crazy thing is that those upper extreme points are my most used focus points.

Only reason I can think of for the AF Assist not to work with those points would be if the beam doesn't cover that area??

All a bit odd alright.