Dead Batteries 430EXII

<p>Helo All<br>

I have three 430EX II and one 580EXII speedlites.<br>

I use the 580 as the master and the 430s as the slaves.<br>

I have been in the habit of leaving the batteries in all my units between jobs - sometimes for several days at a time. Although I always turn the power switches on all speedlites to "off" -- when I go to use them again I find that some of the 430s have dead batteries while others don't. The 580 never does. I have tried all the obvious things like swapping the batteries, new batteries etc - and it makes no difference.<br>

I am thinking that some of the 430s are turning off automatically while others are staying powered on waiting for a master signal.<br>

Is there some custom function that controls how long the 430EX waits before totally turning off or that controls the automatic shut down? If so how should it be set for maximm battery life?<br>

Thanks </p>

<p>What type of batteries and how old? Most common rechargeables (Ni-MH) will self discharge and this gets worse with age/use. Try leaving the batteries out of any flash to see if you get the same draining effect.</p>

<p>I leave lithium AA in my 430EX and they seem to last forever.</p>

<p>I have a 580 EX II and it will drain fresh batteries overnight if I leave them in the flash (with the power turned off). Best I can tell, this is a random problem--some flashes have it, some don't. No idea what's going on, but I've tested this several times and it happens every time.</p>

<p>If it's turned off with the power switch, then it should be off, with very low or zero drain on the batteries; if the flash is draining batteries even when turned off, it's abnormal. Alkaline batteries have a shelf life of a few years with no drain, and Li batteries have a shelf life of several years. Traditional NiMH self-discharge at up to several percent per day; the newer ones that come in packages saying they're pre-charged lose no more than a few percent a month.</p>

 

<p>Of course, the simplest non-technical solution to a flash unit which drains batteries even when it's turned off is to take the batteries out when you put it away for a few days*. Alternatively, if you're using the flash a lot, rechargeable batteries make a lot more sense than single-use batteries, from both cost and environmental perspectives, so pop 'em in the charger: the night before a shoot if they're traditional ones that self-discharge rapidly, or any time between the end of the last shoot and the start of the next if they're the type that will hold a charge. (The traditional ones still tend to have the edge in both capacity and current, so you get more shots between charges and the "flash ready" light comes on sooner, but the pre-charged ones are catching up in both areas.)</p>

 

<p>*: As someone who grew up in the days of zinc-carbon batteries, which frequently leaked corrosive goo into your flashlight or radio or tape player or whatever, I have long been in the habit of removing batteries from devices when they're not in use. And even though today's batteries rarely leak, that doesn't mean leaks are impossible. It doesn't take long to pop the batteries out, and then you've guaranteed that they won't leak while the device isn't in use. And you'll still see the manuals for a lot of battery-powered devices telling you to remove the batteries when the device isn't going to be used for a while. I think it's good advice.</p>

<p>Thanks all, some additional info:<br>

I am using Sony 2500 mAH NIiMH batteries. I have tried all the obvious like swithching different batteries into different Speedlites etc.<br>

I suspect the issue is in some way connected to some custom function setting - possibly having to do with how a Speedlite in slave mode "waits" for a command from the master.<br>

I have asked Canon Canada support for help on this but as yet have received no usefull except for a list of the three custom functions. VERY disappointing.<br>

Its interesting to note that in a pro shoot-off between Nikon and Canon published in the Oct 2010 issue of UK magazine Digital SLR Photography, various Speedlite problems (including poor support specifically on Speedlites) were cited as the deciding factor to put Canon the loser. </p>

<p>After all of this and much experimentation, I have concluded that the root cuase of this problem was that some of Sony 2500 mAH NIiMH batteries (all of which I had putchased new) were "weak" i.e. while they seemed to function when first charged, certain units self discharged much more quickly than others.<br />I purcahsed some of these batteries at a camera store and others on eBay. I suspect that the units that suffered this problem, were ones that were factory rejects or possibly even counterfeit. I cannot say whether the sub-standard units were those that I purchased at the camera store or on eBAY.</p>

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