Breaking News: Canon Repaired My Flash! Part 3

I back got my 580EX II today from the Canon repair center, all fresh and fixed! Turns out the flash PCB (or flash printed circuit board) needed to be replaced, a service that cost me $150. I blogged a few weeks ago about how stressful it was to have my one and only flash die a few days before my first wedding assignment.

In spite of the expense, I think I still came out good considering how much a new flash cost would have cost me right before the wedding. Now I have two!

I had tried connecting a Quantum Turbo 2X2 battery pack to my flash to give it more and faster recycle times. But something happened when I connected to the two devices: the flash pilot light button flickered rapidly and then died out. I couldn't get the flash to work from that point on. I still don't know if the battery pack caused the malfunction or if that flash already had one foot in the grave. I'm starting to think the flash was faulty since my friends at Denver Pro Photo said Quantum gave the battery pack a clean bill of health and the store sold it a few days later.

Here's proof that getting those service warranty agreements are a good thing. I routinely get those things whenever I buy photo equipment now, but I didn't a year ago when I first started buying items. And I didn't get one for my flash. If I would have, the service would have been covered under the program for free! And to make matters worse, I have no idea where the receipt is for the flash, so I had no way of proving to Canon that the flash was still under warranty.

All kinds of cuss words! But I'm happy to have a new flash so I can start experimenting with triggering multiple strobes.

Breaking News: Quantum Battery Blowout or Faulty Speedlite? Part 2

Earlier this week, I posted up about my Quantum Turbo 2X2 battery charger and the short circuit it may have caused in my 580EXII Speedlite. I am very thankful for the staff at Denver Pro Photo who quickly refunded my money for the questional battery charger as well as the sync cord without any argument or hassle.

They tried using the pack on a Nikon flash, and it worked well. It could also be possible that my flash was faulty; I have yet to hear from Canon about whether my own flash can be revived. Staff confirmed using a third-party product could cause a malfunction, however other wedding photographers have used the Quantum product the same way I hoped to use it without any issues.

Either way, I feel more comfortable now knowing that I got my money back and a new Canon-appropriate CP-E4 battery pack will be arriving soon. Maybe this is just a way for Canon to get people to only buy other Canon products instead of relying on third-party items, and maybe my Speedlite was faulty to begin with. I just hope the Quantum dealers might be willing to offer Denver Pro Photo some type of compensation for their time and efforts as well. As long as I have SOME flash to work with during the wedding, I will be more at ease.

Breaking News: My Flash Died!!!

My Canon Speedlite 580EX II died a premature death yesterday. What was the culprit? My new Quantum Turbo 2x2 external battery pack! Thank God I tried this new system out at home before my wedding shoot this coming Saturday. If my flash would have died while on location, I may have had a heartattack.

For the life of me, I'm not sure what happened. Per the instructions, I charged the battery pack for three hours before using the Quantum Turbo Flash Cable "CZ," which is supposed to be the correct cable to connect the Canon 580EX II to the Turbo. I plugged it in, and the green "pilot" button on my 580 flickered rapidly and then went out! I didn't realize the 580 was dead until I disconnected the cables and then tried to use normal alkaline batteries to fire it up. Nothing happened, save for burning my own fingers, because the batteries were scorching hot when I took them out of the flash.

My flash was out like a light, and my wedding assignment was just six days away! ALL KIND OF CUSS WORDS!!!!!

I went to sleep, and the next morning I tried to put another set of fresh batteries in the flash, hoping it had all just been a bad dream. No dice. I frantically called Canon only to be told that using non-Canon external power packs can cause malfunctions. No, really! You think???? To make matters worse, I couldn't find any of the paperwork or receipts for the flash to proove it was still under warranty. Sigh.

Luckily for me, my buddies at Wolf Camera had a 580EX II behind the counter. They reserved it for me, and I picked up a new one today. The service reps there think the Turbo may have shorted out the flash. Wolf will also send my old flash into Canon for repairs estimated to cost me $150, if they can repair it at all. You can bet I bought a service plan for the new one on top of the Canon warrantee, and I placed all the paperwork and receipts in a safe place.

Canon makes its own battery pack, the CP-E4 which uses eight size-AA alkaline or Ni-MH batteries, as well as AA lithium batteries. A customer service rep at Mike's Camera said they don't even sell battery packs like the Turbo 2X2 anymore since the lithium batteries are so strong. Good Lord, I hope the Denver Pro Photo shop where I bought the Turbo will allow me to return it...as I paid more than $500 for this piece of equipment. I'm too scared to try to use it again on my new flash. What do you think went wrong and has this ever happened to you?

Get the Jone Done: Using My Studio Lights on Location and Battery Woes

Thank goodness Jason brought his studio lights to the wedding expo earlier this month! As I continue editing those photos, I was nearly distraught to see that hardly any of my shots of the actual fashion show were too my liking. As the light source in the high-ceiling, windowed space changed from afternoon sunlight to evening dark, it became increasingly difficult to adjust my exposures.

By the time the models were on the runway, I had to use full flash to have enough light. Because my flash was on my camera hot shoe, I have those annoying shadows. Hopefully my new Stroboframe Quick Flip flash bracket will help. The shadows should be all but eliminated now that I can mount my flash atop the camera.



Honestly, I think the only good shots I got out of the expo was when Jason and I took the models aside and set up a portrait area with his hot lights. Only then did we have adequate light to really be able to bring out the details in the exquisite wedding gowns showcased during the event. From now on, I think I need to get used to lugging my own lights to sets too. I think natural light is always great when you have access to it, but there is definitely a craft and an art form to learning how to use hot lights effectively as well.

I think my Alien Bees will be my best bet for on location lighting. I've seen other photographers set up a shooting area with just one powerful strobe. I will invest in an Alien Bee Vagabond II Portable Power System. If power lines aren't available for my AB1600s, I can use the Vagabond battery powering unit, which offers faster recycle times.




I also purchased a Quantum Turbo 2x2 Battery Power for Digital Cameras and Flash. I can't tell you how tired I am of having rechargeable batteries drain out during a shoot, not to mention how much I must have spent on buying batteries! It had gotten to where I was buying a new pack every time I went to the grocery store because I was always anxious about running out of juice during a shoot.

I replaced the batteries four times in my flash during the wedding expo, and each time it was annoying and threw me off my game. The Quantum Turbo should give me enough power to shoot more than 500 flashes. But I also like knowing I can power my camera with it too if I need it, although I don't seem be having the same problem with my camera. The Canon BG-ED3 Battery Grip keeps me shooting for days before I need to recharge the two Canon NB-2LH batteries that fit snugly inside.