jean_bernard Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 I recently received the 580ex II speedlite for my Canon 20D.When I started using it, I observed that the flash was set on M Zoom (manual)and displayed constantly a 14mm focal whatever the lens I used (28 and 50mmprimes). Nevertheless, the Auto Zoom function appeared briefly yersteday withthe right focal length after having turned on my speedlite first and then thecamera. I tought it was the normal procedure. But since yersteday, the flash isdisplaying M function, no way to change it! Please Help ! I read the user guideand I am wondering what else to try before sending it back to the reseller.Thanks for your help and answers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinsouthern Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 Jean, The 580 EX II has a number of "gotchas" - the first is "if it's set to be in master mode then the flashhead will zoom to the widest position" - this is because in Master mode it transmits wireless commands to slave flashes using pulses of light from the main flash tube - and since slave flashes almost by definition wouldn't be in the shot (flash has no way of knowing where they are), the flash needs to cover the widest possible area - so it zooms all the way out and stays there. It's my best guess that unless the unit is faulty then this is what has happened. I suggest going through the manual and following the procedure to make sure master and slave modes are turned off and trying again. Page 36. Cheers, Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean_bernard Posted October 20, 2007 Author Share Posted October 20, 2007 Colin, Thanks for your answer. I tried to modify the parameters (Master/Slave) but there was no change. Hope that someone else may have another idea, thanks in advance ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
les Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 In any mode (except slave - I haven't tried that yet), when the Zoom is showing M (and 24mm, not 14mm, I think) - press Zoom once (the Zomm setting starts flashing) and then turn the wheel ANTI-clockwise. This switches the flash to Auto-Zoom and it reads the focal length from the lens. I agree that the flash gas some "gotchas" - but at least some of them are caused by different default behaviour, set when switching the flash modes etc. Canon, following the usual trends, once again tries to create a wonder "black box" which tries to out-think the photographer. All in the name of convenience, of course. The problem is, IMHO, that it is rather difficult to remember the huge number of "defaults", dependent on camera mode, flash mode, phase of the moon etc. I would be much happier beung able to define what I want, rather than constantly having to override the "default" behaviour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
les Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 All in all, I like the 580 EX II better than 550EX, the ergonomics is better, the interface is better - but I am not entirely sure that the new shoe lock is a good idea. I guess one has just to get used to it. But - I know that 550EX will not, all of a sudden, revert to TTL and blow the exposure. Which makes is my first choice when shooting... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron_viehe Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 Jean, I think that if you have the 580ex flash built in diffusion panel pulled out and over the lens it reads 14mm and blinks. Regards , Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinsouthern Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 Leszek, I'm afraid that I disagree. I agree that it can be confusing, but at the end of the day it's a high-performance piece of equipment and if it's to have the tools that professional tools need then - unfortunately - that means options and decisions. One solution is give up - the other is to grab the bull by the horns and master the beast. The biggest irony I find is that in many cases (aimed at the more experienced here) people in essence tell the flash to do something that they don't want ... ... and then wonder why they didn't get the result they were seeking. I suspect that this will continue until they integrate a mind-reading module. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
les Posted October 21, 2007 Share Posted October 21, 2007 Colin, I'm afraid that I disagree ;>D The flash should work straight out of the box. It doesn't, and the reason is unclear. Its behaviour appears to be random, and while there may be a physical reason for that (CFs not set, or some dirt on the pins) - then the manual should clearly say so: prior to first use - reset all CFs and clean the pins thoroughly. It doesn't: and the flash reverted to TTL again - after switching from Master mode to On-camera flash mode. I do not think that this has anything to do with "grabbing the bull by the horns": it appears that the flash has a bug... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean_bernard Posted October 21, 2007 Author Share Posted October 21, 2007 Guys, thanks for your answers. I tried to push Zoom (focal remains on 14mm and not 24mm), to figure out if the flash was well plugged.... Again, I found nothing in the user guide explaining this strange behavior. My only thought is that there may be a problem with the connection (even if flash works), a bad communication between the 20d and the flash (even if I upgraded firmware to 2.0.3) or a bug in the flash (in this case I will send it back rapidly). Any other thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean_bernard Posted October 21, 2007 Author Share Posted October 21, 2007 Just find a post over French forum where an user had a similar problem. http://forum.hardware.fr/hfr/Photonumerique/Accessoires/flashs-sujet_198_71.htm After sending it back to canon the guy received the same flash which was then functional. No comments from Canon... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinsouthern Posted October 21, 2007 Share Posted October 21, 2007 Leszek, Perhaps we're talking about 2 different things? It certainly should work "out of the box" - if it doesn't then we're probably talking malfunction. If it's happening over and over again then perhaps we're talking quality control ... ... I took your initial posts to be commenting on the complexities of the beast (which is quite different from malfunction (fault). Mine worked out of the box when I got it - and has continued to do so ever since. Cheers, Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean_bernard Posted October 21, 2007 Author Share Posted October 21, 2007 Guys, I finally found the problem ! The diffuser panel was not fully pushed inside (until the click). In fact, when I tested it the M mode 14mm was enabled and then constantly displayed until now even if I considered it as turned off. This looks trivial but was really a nightmare ! Hope that this bad experience and user comments may help someone else. Regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinsouthern Posted October 21, 2007 Share Posted October 21, 2007 ... just like Ron said :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryan_lanne Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Whilst this response is a few months later.. I'd just like to say a big thanks for the solution. I recently bought the speedlite, and was tearing my hair out at the zoom setting. I also logged a call with Canon just before coming across this solution. What a crazy feature! What are you going to do if the diffuser breaks off? and what if you WANTED to be able to change zoom settings with the diffuser - just for creativity? Really Canon, you should do better than this. - Rant mode off. Once again, thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric_dervinis Posted December 27, 2008 Share Posted December 27, 2008 <p>Thanks to Jean and all,<br> Same Zoom Manual gotcha was driving me nuts. The Diffuser was not clicked back into place. I found this thread via a quick Google search -- you saved me hours of head scratching.<br> While I ageee that the default values can be difficult to work with, a better manual would help. Canon should employ outsiders to test the manual and add the obvious troubleshooting questions, like this one.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmind Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 <p>Same problem yesterday during an engagement shoot. Luckily I bounced most of the time or it could have been a disaster. I guess I missed this feature in the manual.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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