davemmm

Thanks Mark. I've filed a tech support case with Canon UK, and should get a response early next week.

I wouldn't be surprised if the cost is parts and labour for a whole circuit board, but if it comes in around 50 to 60GBP, that's still a saving over the 170GBP cost of a new 430EX.

 

I'll update this thread with my progress so that it's useful for the next person with this problem.

Unfortunately I bought the flash in 2005, and Canon only do a one year warranty.

 

Has anyone had this fault repaired? I don't have the ability to reduce the flash power in manual mode either, so

it would seem the circuit which controls flash power is busted.

I've just gone digital and upgraded to a shiny new EOS 40D. I was trying it out with my 430EX, and it was

producing beautifully exposed flash shots with E-TTL II.

Without warning though I started getting big flashes and dark muddy pictures when I pressed the shutter button.

It appears that when the E-TTL pre-flash should be firing, the flashgun is dumping all its power into the tube, and

then having nothing left for when the camera needs to fire the second flash burst to illuminate the actual exposure.

 

I tried resetting all my 40D settings in case I'd changed a setting somewhere that I didn't understand. It's

definitely a problem with the 430EX as the same problem occurs on a 400D and a 30E.

 

Searching through the archives, some other people have had the same problem, but it doesn't seem to have been

resolved.

There's definitely communication between the camera and flashgun as the 430EX is displaying ETTL in the LCD,

adjusts the zoom of the flash with the lens, and displays the icon which shows it knows it's on an APS-C sensor body.

 

I've tried rubbing the flashgun contacts with the eraser on the end of a pencil, so I don't think it's a dirty

contacts issue.

 

So...

 

Has my new 850GBP camera bust my lightly-used 199GBP flashgun and fried the electronics to a crisp? Is there

anything I can do to fix it myself? Is this something Canon UK can fix for a reasonable fee?

 

Thank you in advance for any help or advice - I'm very upset at the prospect of being stuck using pop-up flash

(or as that's not very good, no flash) until I can afford to replace my flashgun, which won't be for quite some

time given the financial drain of my new 40D.

Hi there,<br>

I'm using a Minolta DiMAGE Scan Elite 5400 to scan Fuji superia colour negatives.

Some of the scans turn out fine, but on some there's an unpredictable colour

cast Often it's magenta - like this bench:<br>

<img

src="http://beoko.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=811&g2_serialNumber=22">

<p>

The cast is inconsistent, and can vary from frame to frame on the same roll:<br>

<img

src="http://beoko.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=574&g2_serialNumber=2">

<br>

<img

src="http://beoko.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=577&g2_serialNumber=22">

<p>

Same flower, same roll of film, same camera, same scanning settings, but a big

difference in colour.<br>

I've not told the scanner software to make corrections, just do auto-exposure. I

did think it was a monitor calibration issue, but when I saw the flowers I

decided it probably wasn't.<br>

<p>

I'm using a Custom Wizard on the Minolta software to scan the film in strips of

4 and assign serial numbers to each frame, and adjust exposure & focus

automatically. Should I be doing image correction at the scanning stage?<p>

Any help is greatly appreciated. For more examples, take a look at the <a

href="http://beoko.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=191">carnival pictures in my

gallery</a> - they don't have the same 'pop' as the machine prints I got from

the developers :(<p>

 

David<p>

<a href="http://photo.beoko.com">photo.beoko.com</a>

I think the "Nikon penbrush" that Frank refers to is a rebranded <a href="http://lenspen.com">LensPen</a><p>

I've been using one of these for some time, and have been delighted with how it removes any grime from misplaced fingers or residues of anything that might have splashed onto my lens' front element.<br>

The fact that Nikon rebrand it is a good indication that it's an effective, trusted and non-damaging way to clean your lenses.<p>

Always remember the two steps:<br>

1. Use the brush to remove <b>all</b> the dust - if you don't, application of the LensPen will result in you making long, deep scratches in your lens coatings<br>

2. Give the cap on the LensPen a half-turn before removing to refresh the tip before following the instructions to remove all the smears.<p>

 

Getting hold of a LensPen should be quite easy, they're widely available both with the original branding and rebranded by individual stores. Their DigiKlear pen for removing smudges from LCD screens is also highly recommended.

...mmmm Kahlua!<p>

Sorry, what were we discussing here?<br>

Oh yes, lenses - I'd chew off my left foot for any one of the lenses mentioned by Ken. Oh for a salaried job!

The Elan7/Elan 7e (EOS 33/EOS 30E) is a joy to use, and will have pretty much all the controls for 'proper' photography with manual adjustments easily to hand. It's fairly solid, though nothing like a 1-series. Also unlike a secondhand 1-series, it won't have seen extreme pro usage/wear & tear, and will be quieter and lighter - easier to carry means a higher likelihood of taking more pictures. The Rebel series are fine for what they are, but plasticky doesn't begin to describe them.<p>

As people rush to digital, many are ditching their EOS 30's, and I know my local camera store is having some trouble shifting them. They've got 10D's and a 20D stacking up in the window [i blame the 5D personally], next to a 30E + grip for GBP199 in the same condition that I bought a 30E 2 years ago for GBP299 (they were selling new for GBP439) <br>Have a look around, and see if you can haggle to free up some window space - buy a bag for it at the same time maybe...

The MK I is generally acknowledged to have better build quality than the MK II... but rather than waste time searching around for a tough Mk I, why not get a MK2 with the same optics, for a lower price... and know you'll be getting a pristine set of unmarked optics rather than playing the ebay gamble?<br>

Second, you can chuck it around knowing that genuine Canon EF lenses don't come any cheaper. If you do manage to break it (unlikely) you can replace it with another new one, for about the same price as your one secondhand MK I.<br>

The Mk I won't blow you away with it's build quality, focusing speed or the noise of its focusing... but the same applies to the MkI, plus it'll have wear and tear.<br><b>

Get a MkII today and take some pictures. You won't be amazed, but you won't be disappointed.</b>

I've been able to get hold of Reala 100 to try out with one subject who can't make it next week, so I'll be doing a test shoot this afternoon before doing the bulk next week. The sales assistant assured me I wouldn't be disppointed, as he'd used it successfully for weddings with excellent results - we shall see...<br>

I've got an atrium space with a high glass ceiling and predominantly white walls as well as my flashgun, so it should work out OK.<br>

Thanks for all your advice, I may report back in a week or so - any last minute tips?<p>

Thanks again,<br>

David

I should probably qualify the 'artificial lighting' in my original posting. Office/lab fluorescent filling in shadows, maybe something tungsten like a desklamp if I'm lucky, plus windows or skylights.<br>

The more I explain, the less I want to take it on!

This is great stuff - thanks.<br>

I wouldn't dream of using direct flash, I'll be bouncing it off something white (the multimillion pound building's pretty new, so nice clean white walls)<p>

If I stick with the auto metering of my EOS 30, will the pro emulsions give me some leeway in exposure, or will they punish me for daring to use them? I know full auto's lazy, but I really don't want to experiment too much on someone else's time<br>

If I can't get the 400nph or 400uc (hopefully not a problem as I'll be looking in London), what alternatives might people suggest. Are the pro 'portrait' emulsions a good idea, [i see Reala was mentioned] or beyond my abilities?<p>

Thanks again for all your help.

Thanks for the fantastically rapid response. The moodiness is quite a vague idea, but he's after a fairly tight-cropped face shot with powerful eyes-type of thing. I wouldn't take it on if I was being paid, but as they're doing it on shoestring, and it's me or nothing, my shots will be quite literally better than nothing, and somewhat cheaper than a professional.<p>

What emulsions are 'kinder' to imperfect skin. Or would a little work in the digital darkroom to remove them after be better?

Sorry to jump in with a plea, but I'm in a slightly difficult

position.<br>

I've been asked by a charity I volunteer for to take a set of

portraits of scientists whose work they fund.<br>

I've emphasised that I'm doing this in a voluntary capacity, and that

I have only limited experience of portraiture.<p>

I'm used to using Fuji Superia 200 or 400, and would prefer to play it

safe by sticking to what I know. I'll probably have a maximum of 30

minutes with each sitter, and being scientists they may not be the

most extrovert subjects.

The guy who's asked me to do these woudl quite like moody b&w shots.

I've suggested colour negatives and digital post-processing might be

better for familiarity, versatility in case they want to try colour

printing in the future, and also speed and cost. I'll be using a

minolta dimage 5400 scanner to do the digital conversion.

I have a dedicated canon 430ex flashgun, which I can move off camera

by up to 60cm, and possibly natural or artificial lighting.<p>

I know this is really vague, but unfortunately I have no more

information myself, and will be doing the shoot in less than 7 days'

time.<br>

Should I stick with what I know, if so, which speed of superia woudl

be most appropriate, or do I need a different emulsion entirely?

Bristol cameras prices can be excellent - and unlike pixmania, they're UK-based, so a certain UK high street photo shop we're all familiar with will match their prices (begrudgingly) This is how I bought a brand new 430EX weeks after launch for less than what the monopoly store was charging for a 420EX.

Useful to know if you don't happen to live in the South West...

Hi everyone.<br>

I'm a fugitive from the EOS forum, but might become a regular here

once I've got this problem sorted...<p>

I'm in the market for a 35mm film scanner. I shoot mainly colour

negative, with the very occasional foray into black and white.<p>

I've asked around my [usually very good] local camera shops but their

advice seems to hinge on the limited range they are selling - if they

don't sell it, they will rubbish it.<br>

 

My choices are:<br>

<b>Minolta Dual Scan IV<br>

Primefilm 3650 Pro (or another Primefilm scanner with ICE)<br>

An Epson flatbed scanner with a transparency adapter and Digital

ICE</b><p>

 

To save time and the 'well, what will you be using it for' questions,

let me first say I fully understand what Digital ICE is, and how it

works. I will be scanning mostly negatives from the past 5 years, but

potentially I could also be scanning my mum's old slides and negatives

at some point (stored reasonably carefully)<br>

I would like to take the scanned images and do cropping, retouching

etc. before printing and also high quality pictures on a website, as

well as making my images more accessible through digital archiving.<p>

My questions boil down mainly to the following:<br>

1. Is it worth getting the Minolta for the 'superior optics' I have

been told it will have over the PrimeFilm, despite the lack of ICE and

the lower resolution.<br>

2. Are the problems with the Minolta's loading tray jamming as bad as

have been reported online? Does the PrimeFilm produce decent quality

images?<br>

3. Can one of the new Epson flatbed scanners with transparency

scanning features compete with a dedicated transparency scanner? I

already have a flatbed, so don't need the versatility, so this isn't a

selling point.<br>

4. Can anyone explain the different ways scanner resolution is quoted?

3600 dpi? 3600x3600dpi? 7200x3600dpi? This had most of the sales

assistants who are knowledgeable photographers of many years'

experience foxed. And how do I compare the resolution of the decicated

units vs. a flatbed?<p>

Sorry this is so long, hopefully a scanning guru will emerge as my

saviour.<p>

Many thanks for your help.<br>

David

As mentioned above, the elan 7e/30e is an excellent camera. However, it doesn't like films longer than 36 frames. when it senses that 36 frames have been taken, it rewinds automatically, even though other camera bodies (Canon Rebel 2000/EOS 300) wil usually get 37 frames out of rolls the same length. If you use bulk film to avoid changing film quite so often, you may be disappointed with the elan 7e

<b>What to do:</b><br>

Switch the lens to manual focus, the film advance to continuous, the exposure mode to manual, dial in 1/4000, f/22 or whatever the smallest aperture is for your lens, stick the eyepiece shutter (that funny bit of rubber on the strap) on, and flick back to the point where you were in the film before.<p>

<b>What not to do:</b><br>

Mix up the exposed film (with the leader out) with an unexposed film (with the leader out). Yes I did this with my EOS 30E (Elan 7e) last week. Remember folks, if you're going to juggle films, have a sharpie ready for when you take out a film on CFn.2 Free advice - happy shooting!

I'm incredibly happy with ECF, and like Puppy Face, would be loathe to do without it. It works at least 95% of the time as long as you hold the camera to your eye in a consistent manner - changing the angle between your face and the back of the camera will lead to frustration.<p>

Remember, if you use ECF, calibrate, calibrate, calibrate. The price difference to get ECF is not much, and if you don't like it, you're not stuck with it. You may get hooked though - you have been warned. It might even discourage you from upgrading to digital until Canon fits ECF :-O<p>

THe Elan7e/EOS 30 is a wonderful camera IMHO, it just 'feels right' to me. Also, you may find shops stocking a new 30/7e at a reduced price to clear since the introduction of the near-identical 30v/7ne - well worth looking out for

As mentioned on this forum, I recently bust my Sigma EF-430 ST. through stupidity rather than any build quality issues, and I'm planning to replace it with a Canon flash this time around.<br> The reason for this is Canon accessories usually work better with Canon cameras - at times my Canon camera wouldn't talk to my Sigma flash, and any Canon features such as E-TTL will work better when both body & flash were designed by the people who invented them, rather than the flash implementation being the result of reverse engineering.<p>

Henrik, are you certain that you need the features and power of the 580ex? Or would a 420ex or the new 430ex be a better match for your 350D and your wallet?

Hmm, some interesting points about the wide angle diffuser & catchlights.<p>

The 430-ST had a 'wide panel' which clipped over the head and increased coverage to 18mm - is there no wide option on the 420? I am rather fond of my Sigma 17-35... I used a Sto-fen omni-bounce on the 430-ST 95% of the time, and would plan to get one for its successor - would this get me the wide coverage and catchlights too?<p>

Someone quoted a price of $110 to $150 USD for a good used 420. In the UK, an excellent-quality 420 is 120GBP, so about $215USD. Ouch.<p>

I don't think waiting for the price of a new 430 to come down in a yera or so is realistic - no flash pictures for a year? I don't think so.<p>

I won't go to a digital body for quite a while yet, I probably won't be in a position to afford the switch until the 5D's successor is announced :D<p>

So in short, the 420 won't disappoint?

Hi everyone<br>

Recently I did a very stupid thing with my EOS30E [Elan7e], involving

balancing it on a bench, from which it subsequently fell. The body,

grip and EF50 1.8 attached at the time are fine, but the Sigma EF-

430ST flash also attached was ripped off, and is now junk, as it

can't be fitted to the hotshoe.<p>

I had been considering an upgrade to the 420EX when funds allowed, as

the Sigma unit doesn't support E-TTL, and was often not recognised by

the camera. However, the announcement of the 430EX has muddied the

waters slightly.<p>

As I see it, these are my options:<br>

1. I could buy a secondhand 420EX now, and get back shooting with

flash ASAP. At the moment, there aren't many round secondhand -

Jessops, the UK's big photo retailer only has one 420 on its used

equipment database.<br>

2. I could wait for a flood of 420EX's onto the secondhand market

after the 430EX is released and well-heeled users and digital users

upgrade, thus bringing the price down (do people think this will

happen?)<br>

3. I could save the pennies for quite a while longer, and get a shiny

new 430EX and then get all the shiny new features.<p>

As I understand it, the 430 offers a slightly higher power [very

slight], E-TTL II [not supported by the EOS 30], colour balance info

[irrelevant on film], and better handling/controls [LCD screen, looks

much nicer than the 420's controls].<p>

Which gun do people think would be the best buy? The 430 looks very

nice, but also very pricey. Would the 420 be adequate? 550's & 580's

are out of the question, by the way.

When I tried to sell my 1000F, I was told there was no point selling as they would unlikely to be able to sell it. They suggested GBP20 for the camera with 35-80 lens, but this was a goodwill gesture. I kept the 1000F, and now use it with b&w film while shooting colour on the 30. You're unlikely to find many buyers for the 1000, with the 300 going for ~100GBP secondhand. And to think that a few years I bought the 1000F for 149!

I upgraded from the 1000F to the 30E, and have been delighted. So many more options, much better build quality, more accessory options (remotes, grip, E-TTL) pick it up and you'll fall in love.<p> Takes a little while to learn, but get hold of the manual, it's worth the time investment.<br> You won't get better pictures necessarily, but you may get pictures that you might not have been able to get otherwise. If you feel the 1000F is cramping your style, and you don't want to go digital, a secondhand EOS 30E is an excellent replacement, particularly as people have been dumping them in favour of 20D's etc.<p>

I say go for it!

One way to find out:<p>

1. Leave computer<br>

2. Go outside<br>

3. Take pictures with 20D<br>

4. Repeat steps two to three until you have created thousands of beautiful images and either your shutter has died or you have shuffled off this mortal coil<br>

5. Come back to your computer, and let us know how many shutter activations you got<p>

In summary: does it really matter? the shutter is fragile, but pretty durable too - enjoy it :D

Not a digital shooter, but having upgraded from a 1000F [Rebel S] to a 30E [Elan 7e], I can understand the desire to upgrade to something a bit more 'pro'<p>

However, with the end of the 20D's sales cycle in sight, a bit of patience will serve you well. The fast 50 1.4 will let you get shots in lower light, without needing a higher ISO.<br>

It's not quite as true for digital as it is for film, but better lenses will give you better quality photos [i won't say better pictures, as that's down to photographic skill], in a way that a more feature-laden body never will. Bodies give you more options, but not necessarily better quality.<p>

One question I'd like to ask Puppy Face - "EFC" ? do you mean FEC, or that feature which is notably absent from the digital line-up, ECF? Because if the 20D's successor has ECF, that'll be a camera I'll really hanker after. Won't be able to afford it, but... wow.