Another 580exII failure (underexposing)

That reflective chip bag could possibly be the culprit in this photo (at least something to consider). Have you tried shooting into a mirror or reflective surface to see if the flash is even firing?

jra wrote in post #9932356
That reflective chip bag could possibly be the culprit in this photo (at least something to consider). Have you tried shooting into a mirror or reflective surface to see if the flash is even firing?

I sure wish this was the case. I just dropped off the flash at my favourite camera shop for them to ship it for me.

I would say its an easy 70% of my photos underexposed. 100% is the issue in the flash

no reflective material in sight. The little one just starting to be a menace. I did a set of her crawling and majority all underexposed with a spit of light.

Well that stinks....I was hoping it was something simple you may have been overlooking. Sure seems like some bad luck to have two units go bad with the exact same issue

I did notice in your tag line that you have FlexTT5s.. I hope that we don't find out that these are hosing the 580exiis in addition to the many other problems reported.

AlanU wrote in post #9932535
I sure wish this was the case. I just dropped off the flash at my favourite camera shop for them to ship it for me.

I would say its an easy 70% of my photos underexposed. 100% is the issue in the flash

Hello,

I'm not trying to belittle you, but reading the EXIF data the camera says that the flash fired in compulsory mode and not in ETTL. That means that there was no preflash unless you were shooting in TTL, so any flash you saw was the main flash.

Are you sure you're just not waiting for the flash to recharge fully (red light means it's ready, green means it's ready for a quickflash)?

TheBurningCrown wrote in post #9932592
Hello,

I'm not trying to belittle you, but reading the EXIF data the camera says that the flash fired in compulsory mode and not in ETTL. That means that there was no preflash unless you were shooting in TTL, so any flash you saw was the main flash.

Are you sure you're just not waiting for the flash to recharge fully (red light means it's ready, green means it's ready for a quickflash)?

But shooting in TTL mode (and not ETTL) would result in a severely OVER exposed shot, as there is no mechanism within the body to tell the flash when to STOP outputting light, during the exposure which is how film camera TTL operates

TheBurningCrown wrote in post #9932592
Hello,

I'm not trying to belittle you, but reading the EXIF data the camera says that the flash fired in compulsory mode and not in ETTL. That means that there was no preflash unless you were shooting in TTL, so any flash you saw was the main flash.

Are you sure you're just not waiting for the flash to recharge fully (red light means it's ready, green means it's ready for a quickflash)?

I'm belittled

Seriously the flash is in E-ttl mode so I thought ettl had a preflash for metering purposes. I was NOT in TTL.

So my description is incorrect. If I reiterate I should say my main flash only gave me an extremely weak flash.

Flash was fully charged. I tested my Rayovac hybrids, Sanyo Eneloops, Powerex imedions, Energizer 2450Mha etc etc. Even both of my CP-e4 clones did not make any difference. I know my gear so I know the flash is bunk.

What brutal is I've never gone into thermal shutdown or anything that would call for serious consecutive shots. Unit never dropped either. Its so odd that have had 2 units with the identical problem. Oddly talking to my friend at the camera store theres a pro photog that has had identical problems as mine (2 of his 580exII). Sick thing is he sold them knowing they were bad.

AlanU wrote in post #9932690
Oddly talking to my friend at the camera store theres a pro photog that has had identical problems as mine (2 of his 580exII). Sick thing is he sold them knowing they were bad.

One of those eBay ripoff scum bags!

AlanU wrote in post #9932690
Seriously the flash is in E-ttl mode so I thought ettl had a preflash for metering purposes. I was NOT in TTL.

My bad! Reading the EXIF incorrectly!

AlanU wrote in post #9932690
So my description is incorrect. If I reiterate I should say my main flash only gave me an extremely weak flash.

It's really odd that two units should fail on you...hmm...

Wilt wrote in post #9932719
One of those eBay ripoff scum bags!

Yes. Bad karma and a rain cloud will follow him. I would never do such a thing. I'd rather get satisfaction smashing the flash with a hammer and then getting my dog to do his business on the flash. Recouping money from an innocent buyer is simply down right wrong.

If my flash is NFG and cost too much to fix I will buy another new 580exII. I just like the dial rather than the buttons on my 430exII. Still 2 of these flashes failing like this is crazy. So far all 3 in total I've owned were purchased brand new.

TheBurningCrown wrote in post #9932769
My bad! Reading the EXIF incorrectly!

It's really odd that two units should fail on you...hmm...

No worries......

Yes I say "hmmmmmmmmm" also. Such as life I say......

One problem that would travel with the flash would be a sticking spring-loaded contact pin in the flash foot. That, and a film of dirt, could cause bad communication between camera and flash.

Alan, if you have a third flash fail on you I bet the culprit isn't the 580 EX II but has to be one of the cameras, cords, external battery packs or transmitters hooked up to it shorting it out.

There certainly haven't been a ton of threads on POTN complaining about failing Speedlites, but there are a couple that are pretty similar to what you are experiencing. Just odd that you'd have two die the same way.

By the way, does the pilot lamp turn green then red to indicate that the flash is ready? If it doesn't get to the red state and you have fresh batteries in it the capacitor may be hosed. Also, what brand external battery pack are you using?

Hey Bob,

Thanks for chiming in again. The pilot light does operate like it should. All of my batteries are freshly charged too so power isn't the issue.

I'm using the SF18 Yongnuo battery pack(x2). I've always followed the instructions of installing the cord then turning the "on" switch.

Hey Alan,
Just throwing (this) out there. Sounds like a loose shoe.
If you attempt to open any flash be aware of any risk involved.

Michael Bass might be able help you as well if your hesitant on opening it up on your own.