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Archive 2009 · 580ex II master mode does not appear to work

  
 
markhbfindlay
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · 580ex II master mode does not appear to work


Hi

I am new to the forum. I have had a 420ex flash for some time and have now obtained a 580exII. I would like to use the 420ex as the slave to this. I have tried to follow the manual and set the 420ex to slave using the switch, Ch to 1 or 2, group to A. On the 580 I set the mode to ETTL, Master, Ch to 1 or 2 to match the slave. But the slave just refuses to fire.

Other things to note: I tried turning the master unit flash to OFF per the manual, but it still flashes!

Camera is a 40d and the master is sitting on the camera. I have tried taking shots and using the test (pilot light) button, but these make no difference.

Is the 580 faulty or have I missed something?



Jul 12, 2009 at 11:57 AM
jerrykur
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · 580ex II master mode does not appear to work


Turn the master back on and try pressing the test button on the 580 EX II WITHOUT the unit mounted to the camera. What should happen is the 580 should flash and a second later the 420 should flash. If this does not occur you have something is set up incorrectly and need to recheck your settings.

If it does work then re-seat the 580 on the 40D. The 580 EX 2 has issues with the shoe coming loose and not making contact. You make need to tighten the screws on the shoe.



Jul 12, 2009 at 06:54 PM
Wrei
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · 580ex II master mode does not appear to work


I am new to Canon Wireless (this week), so I will tell you what I have found:
1. Make sure the master and slave have line of sight to each other; outdoors, this can cause the slave to not fire more so than inside. Indoors, the wireless will bounce around the walls and signal the slave, but line of sight helps.
I have a 430EX II. When I select slave, the IR sends a red pulse out about every 2 seconds while in slave mode. This tells me I am in slave, however I do not know if this is true for the 420EX. I have read that the 420EX will only operate in ETTL mode and not manual as a slave.
I assume the batteries in the 420EX are good. Today I set up my 580/430 as master/slave and everything look good, exept I forgot to check the 580 battery, and it did not fire.

2. With the 580 master selected to not fire, it will still fire a pre-flash. The flash fires prior to the shutter movement; thus not stobed while the shutter is open.




Jul 12, 2009 at 07:00 PM
markhbfindlay
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · 580ex II master mode does not appear to work


Hi

Thanks for the replies. I have tried removing the 580 from the 40d, but still get the same result. The 420d does not fire. With respect to Wrei's point 2, I knew about the pre-flash, but when I mounted the 580 on the 40d, it flashed when I took the shot (i.e. not a pre-flash), even though the LCD panel on the 580 indicated that the flash was off. The LCD panel seems to lie through its teeth!



Jul 13, 2009 at 10:30 AM
cgardner
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · 580ex II master mode does not appear to work


With Canon flash the Master always defaults to Group A, so when attempting to do A:B ratios the slave should be set to Group B. Then Ratios must be turned on via the zoom button.

If the flashes are configured correctly if you press the pilot lamp on the Master (i.e. the ready light) the Master will flash briefly, then the slave will flash about a second later. That's designed so you can test whether the Master / Slave communication is working.

There is no IR communication with a 580exII. Commnands are sent to the slave via VISIBLE pre-flashes from the main flash head after the shutter button is fully pressed. There are several command / metering pre-flashes but they occur so rapidly they seem to merge as one with the main flash unless you are in front of the camera looking at both lights.

The sensor for the slave is on the front of the unit, the small gray lens above the large red one. Thus the front of the slave should be oriented towards the Master, then the flash head of the Master should be turned to illuminate the subject.

The intermittent pulsing of the red light on the slave is produced by the AF assist lamp. It has nothing to do with the firing of the flashes it simply functions as a ready light so you know when the slave is ready to fire again. It stops blinking when the flash fires, then starts again when the flash is recharged enough to fire again. There's no way to turn it off, but if it becomes annoying it can be covered with black tape without affecting the flash performance in any way.

If everything is configured correctly and there are problems the first thing to check are the batteries. Often one cell out the the four will fail. It might test OK in a voltage tester and power the display, but fail under the load of recharging the capacitors. The best way to check is with a fresh set of alkaline batteries.

When you say you are turning the Master "off" it not clear which off you are referring to: there are two different connotations with a 580ex. One is in regard to whether or not wireless control is active. When a single flash is used on camera wireless is set to "off". On the older 580ex there is a three position OFF- MASTER-SLAVE switch on the base. There's also a function set via the zoom button when in Master mode which will disable the main flash of Master. It will still fire the pre-flashes to command the slave(s) but not contribute to the exposure of the image. When main flash is enabled the flash icon on the Master LCD shows three rays of light coming out of it. When main flash is disabled the light rays disappear and the Z symbol beneath it blinks.

Click the WWW button and look in the TOC for my Canon flash tutorials.

Chuck







Jul 13, 2009 at 01:46 PM
markhbfindlay
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · 580ex II master mode does not appear to work


I'm totally confused now. I just want the master slave thing to work and then I might try and fathom out the ABC stuff. I've now got the 420ex with it's front side (with the sensors facing the 580exII. The problem seems to be that the 580exII doesn't fire any preflash. At the moment it says

ETTL Mzoom 24mm
(flashing flash diagram) CH MASTER RATIO
Z 1 A:B
________________________________________
8:1 4:1 2:1 1:1 1:2 (etc)

Try whatever I like there are no preflashes and the 420ex doesn't flash. I think the 580exII may be faulty as it just doesn't seem to do its master thing. Perhaps it's an abolitionist?

One other thing - I'm testing it off -camera as one of the other contributors suggested, using the pilot lamp to fire the flash.



Jul 13, 2009 at 04:02 PM
cgardner
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · 580ex II master mode does not appear to work


There have been more defect issues with the 580exII than any previous model so it not beyond the realm of possibility that you have a defective unit. If you just bought it and its defective Canon will fix it under warranty.

If you are seeing the 8:1.... 1:1 ... 1:8 you've enabled the A:B ratios on the Master.

Have you tried testing with a set of new Alkaline batteries? Also, what do you mean by "flashing flash diagram" is the entire LCD display flashing on and off? Or do you mean the Z indicator is blinking, which would indicate you disabled the main flash on the Master.

You might try following the steps in my tutorial: LINK Its based on the 580ex, but the only difference is in how the flash is put into Master mode via the menu instead of the switch.



Jul 13, 2009 at 04:19 PM
BrianO
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · 580ex II master mode does not appear to work


markhbfindlay wrote:
At the moment it says

ETTL Mzoom 24mm
(flashing flash diagram) CH MASTER RATIO
Z 1 A:B
________________________________________
8:1 4:1 2:1 1:1 1:2 (etc)


Since you said you don't want to use ratios yet, you should turn that function off.

However, since it is currently set, was your 420EX by any chance set to Group C? If so, it won't fire if the Master is set to A:B; it'll only fire if the Master is set to A:B:C.

Also, Group C is meant for a background light, and will not expose properly if used as the main light.

(I know in the OP you said you set Group A, but it may have got bumped or something.)



Jul 14, 2009 at 12:50 AM
markhbfindlay
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · 580ex II master mode does not appear to work


After further fiddling around with it, took the 580 back to the shop - comparing it with a new one it clearly worked intermittently if at all, so had to pay the extra £100 for a new one. Will test this out further this evening or tomorrow.

Thanks for all your help and suggestions. I will try looking at the ABC thing later.



Jul 14, 2009 at 01:42 PM
Wrei
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · 580ex II master mode does not appear to work


We are just as interested in the cause of your problem as you are Mark, keep us posted on how this turns out!
Thanks, Ray



Jul 14, 2009 at 02:20 PM
markhbfindlay
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · 580ex II master mode does not appear to work


Well, it does work - it fired and also caused the 420ex to fire. The 420 seems to have the limitation that it only fires with full power in slave mode. Is that something you can fix with the ABC groups?


Jul 17, 2009 at 11:31 AM
weddingypp
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · 580ex II master mode does not appear to work


The 420EX doesn't have a manual mode,but it will flash at ETTL,That means the 580EX and the 40D will decide and calculate the 420EX flash power.


Jul 17, 2009 at 01:28 PM





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