Help Please! (dark photos with flash)

Sublimejoe wrote in post #2398960
Still though, even at ISO 100 the picture should not come out that dark with the 430ex. I shoot mostly in clubs and smaller venues and I have never had this problem before. I put brand new Lithium batteries in the flash and no change. Ya know what I mean?

Where is the flash pointing?

Bill

Bill Ng wrote in post #2399146
This info is bogus ... I use my 420EX indoors all the time and I'm always shooting at ISO 100.

Bill

Thank you. I do the same all the time, and then all of a sudden it no longer works. The only time I raise my ISO is when I am shooting either indoors or outside at night.

Bill Ng wrote in post #2399152
Where is the flash pointing?

Bill

Flash was pointing straight in front of the camera, no bounce at all.

Something faulty in the hotshoe contacts is my best guess. Do you get a flash ready light in the viewfinder with the 430EX?

If you have double-checked to make sure the flash is properly seated and is in E-TTL mode, with good batteries, and you can't make it work, it's time to send it to Canon for warranty service.

I would not recommend selling it as is. The warranty is no good for the second owner.

If you need a flash for your upcoming trip, you may need to buy another one.

Curtis N wrote in post #2399260
Something faulty in the hotshoe contacts is my best guess. Do you get a flash ready light in the viewfinder with the 430EX?

If you have double-checked to make sure the flash is properly seated and is in E-TTL mode, with good batteries, and you can't make it work, it's time to send it to Canon for warranty service.

I would not recommend selling it as is. The warranty is no good for the second owner.

If you need a flash for your upcoming trip, you may need to buy another one.

Yeah, if this flash works correctly on another body .... something funky is happening here. Either the flash is going off before the shutter or after it, but there it is definitely not firing while the shutter is open.

Bill

Bill Ng wrote in post #2399540
Yeah, if this flash works correctly on another body .... something funky is happening here. Either the flash is going off before the shutter or after it, but there it is definitely not firing while the shutter is open.

Bill

Yeah, something has got to be wrong with the whole on board flash/Hot shoe mechanism.

I sold the body as is. My 20D will be here Monday.

Thank you all so much for your help!! I know where to go next time I am having an issue (which hopefully won't be anytime soon hahah)

Peace Guys.

Joe, in the first picture, the flash did not fire at the same time as the sensor grabbed the image. Had you had any amount of flash at all it would have been visible as a reflection in the picture on your corkboard.

If you say you remember seeing the flash, then it is no longer properly syncronized with the camera.

I would check the error code 05 first!

The information I provided isn't "bogus." There are a limited number of things that could create that situation he presented. Based on his EXIF data, some of those could be ruled out. Specifically, aperture size, shutter speed, and battery power.

That leaves his ISO settings. Correct?

ISO100 is fairly fast for indoor picture with little to no ambient light. If you think back to the days of film, a higher ISO would always have been recommended.

Disputing this fact seems rather pointless to me. However, if you believe me to be in error, please feel free to post some shots taken in a windowless room with your camera at 1/60 and F4... using ISO100.... and a 420 EX with no FEC.

To get back on point, I think this problem would easily be solved by bumping up your ISO to a more suitable option (such as ISO200).

And SublimeJoe.... you CANNOT compare the picture taken with your 430 and the one taken with no flash because you used different shutter speeds (1/60 vs 1/15 - big difference!)

Put on your 430 and try using ISO400 and post those results. I think this problem will magically resolve itself.

cdesperado wrote in post #2400621
ISO100 is fairly fast for indoor picture with little to no ambient light. If you think back to the days of film, a higher ISO would always have been recommended.

With direct flash and a 430EX, ISO 100 is plenty. At f/4, the built-in flash should illuminate to over 10 feet, and the 430EX should illuminate around 25 feet depending on how it's zoomed.

Look at the first two shots again. Both were taken at 1/60, f/4 and ISO 100. The built-in flash worked. The 430EX didn't. Don't make this more complicated than it is.

cdesperado wrote in post #2400621
The information I provided isn't "bogus." There are a limited number of things that could create that situation he presented. Based on his EXIF data, some of those could be ruled out. Specifically, aperture size, shutter speed, and battery power.

That leaves his ISO settings. Correct?

ISO100 is fairly fast for indoor picture with little to no ambient light. If you think back to the days of film, a higher ISO would always have been recommended.

Disputing this fact seems rather pointless to me. However, if you believe me to be in error, please feel free to post some shots taken in a windowless room with your camera at 1/60 and F4... using ISO100.... and a 420 EX with no FEC.

To get back on point, I think this problem would easily be solved by bumping up your ISO to a more suitable option (such as ISO200).

And SublimeJoe.... you CANNOT compare the picture taken with your 430 and the one taken with no flash because you used different shutter speeds (1/60 vs 1/15 - big difference!)

Put on your 430 and try using ISO400 and post those results. I think this problem will magically resolve itself.

First, ISO 100 isn't "fast". It's slow. If you use the wrong terminology you'll confuse the unwary and raise eyebrows among those who know.

Second, as mwilli noted, there should have been reflections from the 430 like there were from the pop-up flash had the flash been syncing with the camera properly. ISO has nothing to do with that.

Third, if he'd shot at ISO 400 with the 430, he'd have gotten the same results as with no flash not because the flash worked better with the higher ISO, but because ISO 400 and f/4 1/60 is the same exposure as ISO 100 f/4 1/15. He'd have been using the same available light settings.

Sublimejoe wrote in post #2398861
Yeah, it would appear that way. Like I said though, I tried it on my bosses 20d and it works perfect. Also, Error Code 05 is showing on the body. Anyone have any idea what that may be?

that means curtis is right about the contacts... the camera is trying to open the built in flash when something is blocking it (the external flash). normally, the camera will know that the flash is there, even if it's off. i suggest you take some nice 90% isoproyl alcohol and clean of the contacts. if it still doesn't work, then there's a chance that it's either some messed up settings or a broken shoe

I always bounce my 580 (in low light). I use manual, ISO 200 (100 usually underexposes on my 20D and 5D), Aperture WIde Open or Stopped down 1 and a shutter speed between 1/125 and 1/200. I idn't look at the data, but could the flash compensation been lowered on the body eventhough the flashes setting was even??

It was set at zero.. I just checked. It was in Program mode. I don't use that setting, so I don't know. I'd say it was the ISO at 100?? Guess it doesn't matter since you got rid of it.

I guess it's a moot point now since the OP sold the camera.

You're right Jon... I was exhausted when I wrote that. I meant ISO100 was slow, not fast. Sorry for any confusion.