Off Camera Woes, Need help

Here is the set-up; XTi, CyberSyncs, Vivitar 285 HV, Flash Zebra mini-plug to Vivitar PC connection. Shooting in manual mode between 1/160 and 1/200 sec.

First problem, occasional misfires. If I use the test button it fires every time but when on camera I get intermittent misfires.

Second Problem, flash fires, camera makes sound like picture is taken but the picture is black, no image. No problems in normal shooting without flash. This does not appear to be a sync issue since speeds are OK and the whole picture is blank.

The contact on the CyberSync transmitter doesn't seem to have much springiness to it so I am a little concerned there could be the issue but since some images are black even though the flash fires I am also concerned it could be a camera problem.

Any ideas?

I just checked my transmitter and there isn't much play in that center contact.

Is the receiver on?

Can you move the transmitter forward and back in the hotshoe - is the hot shoe not tight?

Have you tried slower sync speeds? 1/60?

Dave,

Yep, receiver is on, sometimes it flashes and sometimes it doesn't. Since the test button fires every time I think there is something fishy with the connection but just can't determine what it is. I have used a slower sync speed too and the same results.

Thanks for checking your center contact, that makes me feel better but I CAN wiggle the transmitter in the shoe just a tad, is yours real tight?

Mine is so tight it scares me when I try to get it off. But all you need is constant contact with the side rails and the center pin.

Like Dave said if you get a black frame try a really long shutter speed, try 1/10th even. Most likely it's an electrical contact issue.

If this was a cheap eBay unit, the first thing I would suspect is low battery power. It seems to make them respond way too late. It could be either in the transmitter or the receiver. If this is the problem, the obvious answer is to change batteries. I would be suspicious that the CyberSyncs might work the same way.

Dan, I had similar problem when I got my cybersync. The center pin on the Tx gets stuck in low position so it doesn't make nice contact with camera hot shoe pins. Just take a small screw driver or some metal pin and go around the center pin on the cybersync tx. after doing this you will be able to push on the center pin and when released it will come back.

I agree with the ones about the shutter speed. Is the flash in ETTL mode? I don't use ETTL off camera.

Thanks all, Jim M I stopped in and picked up a new transmitter battery on the way home and will see if that helps. bobbyz, I'll run an exacto knife around it a few times lightly to see if I can get more contact pressure, and Danger, no it is a Vivitar flash and doesn't support ETTL but will try a slow shutter speed.

Thanks all, any other ideas keep'em coming!

What a great group to be part of...

Danger Mouse wrote in post #6494681
I agree with the ones about the shutter speed. Is the flash in ETTL mode? I don't use ETTL off camera.

285s aren't an E-TTL flash.