Is your 420ex loud when you first fire it up?

My newly purchased 420ex (adorama) has 2 problems i was concerned

about and wondering if this was out of the ordinary. 1. The battery

compartment door is shabby doesnt open or close easily. But does

after finessing 2. When i initially turn on the flash it makes an odd

sound that i think is the flash head charging or whatever. The sound

that you get normally from flash heads, in my experience is a high

pitched thing, until fully charged, then silent. So this, the noise

from the 420, is louder and not very good soundin' (dont know how to

describe this noise:() Anybody Else experience this. I have never

used speedlites and so maybe this is something more common to them? I

just dont want to send this bay back and wait longer, it does in fact

take excellent exposures. Thanks for any help in advance,

Scott

I just fired up my 420EX and yes, it makes some wierd sounds. It makes two or three very brief buzzing sounds, and then the 'normal' high frequency, rising pitch charging sound (it sort of warbles a bit at first). In comparison, the 580EX is silent. I normally use the 580EX and only fire up the 420EX for remote control multi-flash setups and keep it around as a backup to the 580EX.

Scott,

 

I also us the 420 EX, and the sounds you are describing are normal. Once you turn it on, you should be hearing two things:

- the high-pitch sound is the flash charging

- the loud mechanical sound is the flash's zoom adjusting to either the current lense setting, or the default 50mm if angled or off the camera.

 

With a zoom lense and the flash on the camera, zoom in and out quickly, and you should hear a similar sound to the one you hear when you turn it on.

As for the battery compartment door, that is just how it is designed. Over time, it should smooth out a little, but just be careful and take your time with it.

 

Hope that helps any! ~ Jared

Ditto the noise, and I first thought my battery door was broken, but I guess it's just poorly made, it works

Oh Man, that is sooo good to hear! I Have been scraping together pocket change to get a flash compatible with the 20d i just purchased and thought i had a lemon. The guide # system i had to use with the other flashes on manual is hard to get a feel for in certain situations for me. Thank You soo much for your quick responses! This site has been an excellent source of answers for my many questions. You all are Great. maybe one day ill learn just enough with this digital stuff to contribute to the pot, until then.. Thanks.

Scott

http://www.geocities.com/nsr250rider/classic_tan.html

 

does the charge cycle sound like this?