Canon 580EX II

[kohck]

I have a canon 580EX II.

Some questions:
1) The flash unit cannot tell us how much battery is left on the flash (Unlike the camera which can tell you the amount of power left with its battery icon). How can i know how much power is left on my flash unit.

2) I notice the flash unit's display blanking out occasionally. Is this due to lack of power?

3) When i put on the flash unit on the hot shoe, does this meant that it should automatically flash everytime i take a picture. i cannot find a flash button that can always switch on the flash manually. This is because sometimes my flash unit did not flash. Is this due to lack of power or the setting itself?

Please advise.

[hammie]

1) Once u notice the charge up start to slow down. Batt is weakening. Once the pilot light is not lit. No batt

2) Auto power off to save batt. Click the shutter once, it will on back

3) As long is on ETTL. It will auto flash unless on AV and TV. It will provide fill unless the detected range is above the EV it needs to start the flash. If you are using Alkaline, most likely the batt wont charge up fast enough for the next. The transparent green/red is the pilot flash. Press it and it will fire a test fire.

[Headshotzx]

1) Hammie is correct ^

2) Hammie is again correct ^

3) Hammie is mostly correct. However, I too experience some problems when shooting with flash sometimes, and other clubsnappers have helped me track down the problem which lies in the flawed design of the hot-shoe contact. If you see that the pilot light is red but you shoot and no flash fires, that's the problem.

Cheers
Zexun

[kohck]

Hi Hammie, thanks for the answers.

I am using rechargeable battery(2700 mAH Ni-MH battery) . My questions:
1) will a rechargeable battery loss it charge faster than a normal battery.
2) is it less powerful? is 2700 mAH powerful enough?

To see if the battery is going low batt, is there a earlier way to notice it beside using the charge up method? Also, what do you meant by charge up?

What do you meant by alkaline battery? is it the normal battery?

i shoot portrait sometimes and use AV often. how do i ensure that it will always flash? i need to use fill flash for my portrait and it is important it flash all the time.

Originally Posted by hammie 1) Once u notice the charge up start to slow down. Batt is weakening. Once the pilot light is not lit. No batt 2) Auto power off to save batt. Click the shutter once, it will on back 3) As long is on ETTL. It will auto flash unless on AV and TV. It will provide fill unless the detected range is above the EV it needs to start the flash. If you are using Alkaline, most likely the batt wont charge up fast enough for the next. The transparent green/red is the pilot flash. Press it and it will fire a test fire.

[Headshotzx]

Originally Posted by kohck Hi Hammie, thanks for the answers. I am using rechargeable battery(2700 mAH Ni-MH battery) . My questions: 1) will a rechargeable battery loss it charge faster than a normal battery. 2) is it less powerful? is 2700 mAH powerful enough? To see if the battery is going low batt, is there a earlier way to notice it beside using the charge up method? Also, what do you meant by charge up? What do you meant by alkaline battery? is it the normal battery? i shoot portrait sometimes and use AV often. how do i ensure that it will always flash? i need to use fill flash for my portrait and it is important it flash all the time.

1) No, rechargeable batts retain their charges better for a short period of time (say, a day or 2 before your shoot)
2) 2700mAH is enough. Batts will not affect power, they just affect how long you can shoot, and whether you can burst or not (recycling time)

Regarding how to see if batt is dying, there's no other way. So I'd bring at least 8 spare batts to any shoot per flash unit. What he means by charge up is, after you shoot one shot, if it normally takes 1 sec for the pilot to go from dark to red, and now it takes 3 secs, your batt is running dry.

Alkaline batteries are the cheap S$1 for 4 ones.

If your flash is turned on and put on the hotshoe and it isn't low on batt, it will always fire.

Cheers
Zexun

[kohck]

hi Headshotzx,

so with the flash unit on, it will always flash, regardless of whether i am on AV, TV or M. is this right?

i should be using rechargable battery then..... it just that it seems that rechargeable battery (I use Sanyo 2100 mAH Ni-HM and made-in-china 2700 mAH Ni-HM) do not retain the charge for more than a month after charging. also, if you do not use it for a long time or if you charge it too many time, it will not be able to retain much charge in ht ebattery.

Originally Posted by Headshotzx 1) No, rechargeable batts retain their charges better for a short period of time (say, a day or 2 before your shoot) 2) 2700mAH is enough. Batts will not affect power, they just affect how long you can shoot, and whether you can burst or not (recycling time) Regarding how to see if batt is dying, there's no other way. So I'd bring at least 8 spare batts to any shoot per flash unit. What he means by charge up is, after you shoot one shot, if it normally takes 1 sec for the pilot to go from dark to red, and now it takes 3 secs, your batt is running dry. Alkaline batteries are the cheap S$1 for 4 ones. If your flash is turned on and put on the hotshoe and it isn't low on batt, it will always fire. Cheers Zexun

[Headshotzx]

Originally Posted by kohck hi Headshotzx, so with the flash unit on, it will always flash, regardless of whether i am on AV, TV or M. is this right? i should be using rechargable battery then..... it just that it seems that rechargeable battery (I use Sanyo 2100 mAH Ni-HM and made-in-china 2700 mAH Ni-HM) do not retain the charge for more than a month after charging. also, if you do not use it for a long time or if you charge it too many time, it will not be able to retain much charge in ht ebattery.

Yes, if the flash is on, it will flash when you click off a shot.

I personally use 2100mAH Sanyo Eneloops and Powerex Imedions, and I find them to be alright. I might up it to Sanyo and Powerex 2700mAH batts next time if I get a wired battery extender if I get more into event photography, but as it is, 4x Sanyo Eneloops are good enough.

Do not expect them to perform that well after a month of idling. My personal practice is to charge them before and after every shoot.

Cheers
Zexun