Canon 550D and external flashes

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davholla

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I have a Canon 550D and external flashes of various models Yongnou etc used to work.
The flashes still do work with a Canon 90D.
However with the Canon550D they don't
a) it says external flash not compatible or power turned off
b) the flash sometimes flashes and sometimes doesn't -the power is very variable which obviously is not good.
The camera flash does still work

Can anyone suggest a fix?
Thanks in advance
 
First thing is to ensure that the flashes have a low trigger voltage and will not harm the camera.

I think the flash will fire without any TTL control, my youngster has a 550D, he's not here, and he does not use it since he got a 100D, but when he comes home later tonight I will try it.
 
Sangoma said:
First thing is to ensure that the flashes have a low trigger voltage and will not harm the camera.

I think the flash will fire without any TTL control, my youngster has a 550D, he's not here, and he does not use it since he got a 100D, but when he comes home later tonight I will try it.
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I have used these flashes in the past without problems. I should have said that it all started after I removed the dual flash to go on holiday - I wonder if something got slightly damaged in the process but nothing visible.
 
In the menu, you just need to set flash firing to on.
You don't need to (and can't) access the external flash settings menu unless you have a Canon compatible flash.
The only pin that is then active is the centre trigger pin, and the flash (if it is working correctly) will fire on full power, or whatever it is set to on the flash itself.
 
Sangoma said:
In the menu, you just need to set flash firing to on.
You don't need to (and can't) access the external flash settings menu unless you have a Canon compatible flash.
The only pin that is then active is the centre trigger pin, and the flash (if it is working correctly) will fire on full power, or whatever it is set to on the flash itself.
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Thanks for that. However even with a Canon compatible flash I can't change the settings and more importantly doesn't fire.
But the same flash works on a Canon 90D - and used to work on the 550D
 
davholla said:
Thanks for that. However even with a Canon compatible flash I can't change the settings and more importantly doesn't fire.
But the same flash works on a Canon 90D - and used to work on the 550D
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What is the model number and make of the flash?
 
Just a thought was it switched on when you took it off? that might short out something. Have you tried a different flash to test the camera, and does the built in flash still work?
 
swanseamale47 said:
Just a thought was it switched on when you took it off? that might short out something. Have you tried a different flash to test the camera, and does the built in flash still work?
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I think it was but I can't remember now. I have tried 3 flashes and they are the same. The built in flash works fine.
 
swanseamale47 said:
Just a thought was it switched on when you took it off? that might short out something. Have you tried a different flash to test the camera, and does the built in flash still work?
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Shorting the hot shoe contacts should not cause any damage,
If the external flash trigger circuit is damaged (the final part of it that connects to the hot shoe) it will not prevent the internal flash from working.

The most common cause of damage to the external flash trigger is using a flash that is not suitable, usually an old flash that would probably have been made for a film camera.
This may not damage every camera, and it may not cause the damage the first time it is used, it may happen at any later time after several OK uses.
(The YONGNUO YN24EX is OK :) )

Unless the hot shoe contacts are very dirty, that is not usually a problem, as there is quite a lot of spring pressure on the contacts, and they connects with a wiping motion.
 
Is it that the switch on the hot shoe is stuck, or some part of the hot shoe is loose.

This used to be a commonly discussed problem, but not something I’ve come across for a while.
 
Phil V said:
Is it that the switch on the hot shoe is stuck, or some part of the hot shoe is loose.

This used to be a commonly discussed problem, but not something I’ve come across for a while.
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Good point.

The camera flash is still working, easy way to see if the switch is working is to open the flash, take a shot and confirm the camera flash fires, then cut the point off a cocktail stick and slide the blunt end into the right side (looking from the back of the camera) of the hot shoe, ensuring it is properly in the groove, then take another shot.
The camera flash should not fire, if it does, make sure the cocktail stick is in the groove depressing the switch arm down and try again. If the camera flash still fires, the switch is not operating correctly.
 
Sangoma said:
Good point.

The camera flash is still working, easy way to see if the switch is working is to open the flash, take a shot and confirm the camera flash fires, then cut the point off a cocktail stick and slide the blunt end into the right side (looking from the back of the camera) of the hot shoe, ensuring it is properly in the groove, then take another shot.
The camera flash should not fire, if it does, make sure the cocktail stick is in the groove depressing the switch arm down and try again. If the camera flash still fires, the switch is not operating correctly.
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Thanks I did that and it fired without the stick and didn't with it. So the switch is not the problem.
 
davholla said:
Thanks I did that and it fired without the stick and didn't with it. So the switch is not the problem.
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It does look like the trigger circuit is most likely faulty then.

It might be wide to check the flashes you have used on it, as although they may have worked on other cameras, they may still damage another camera they have worked on previously if they are not suitable.

The 550 problem could be related to an unsuitable flash, or it could just have happened, there is no way to tell, however it would be good to know your flashes are not the problem.

I'm sure you know you can test a flash fires without a camera by just shorting the centre pin to the spring contact in the hot shoe groove with a bent paper clip.

If you list the make and model of the flashes, I can look if they are on an old list I have, or I can tell you how to check them, if you are interested.
 
Sangoma said:
It does look like the trigger circuit is most likely faulty then.

It might be wide to check the flashes you have used on it, as although they may have worked on other cameras, they may still damage another camera they have worked on previously if they are not suitable.

The 550 problem could be related to an unsuitable flash, or it could just have happened, there is no way to tell, however it would be good to know your flashes are not the problem.

I'm sure you know you can test a flash fires without a camera by just shorting the centre pin to the spring contact in the hot shoe groove with a bent paper clip.

If you list the make and model of the flashes, I can look if they are on an old list I have, or I can tell you how to check them, if you are interested.
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Actually I don't know how to do that.
The main flash I use is YONGNUO YN24EX E-TTL Macro Flash Speedlite
According to the Amazon website -
"Compaible Cameras: For Canon 1Dx, 1Ds series, 1D series, 5DIII, 5DII, 7DII 5D, 6D, 7D, 80D, 70D, 60D, 50D, 40D, 30D, 20D, 750D 700D, 650D/T4i, 600D/T3i, 550D/T2i, 500D/T1i, 450D/Xsi, 400D/Xti, 350D, 100D, 1100D, 1000D, 1200D."
So there shouldn't be a problem with it.
 
davholla said:
Actually I don't know how to do that.
The main flash I use is YONGNUO YN24EX E-TTL Macro Flash Speedlite
According to the Amazon website -
"Compaible Cameras: For Canon 1Dx, 1Ds series, 1D series, 5DIII, 5DII, 7DII 5D, 6D, 7D, 80D, 70D, 60D, 50D, 40D, 30D, 20D, 750D 700D, 650D/T4i, 600D/T3i, 550D/T2i, 500D/T1i, 450D/Xsi, 400D/Xti, 350D, 100D, 1100D, 1000D, 1200D."
So there shouldn't be a problem with it.
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Yes, that one is OK, sorry, my mistake, I thought you mentioned you had tried other flashes on it as well.

It is possible to test whether the hot shoe trigger signal is working, though not hard, the needed items would not be in an average home, but if the flash is working, but it does not work on the camera, and the camera's flash works, I think it can be said the camera has an internal fault.
 
Sangoma said:
Yes, that one is OK, sorry, my mistake, I thought you mentioned you had tried other flashes on it as well.

It is possible to test whether the hot shoe trigger signal is working, though not hard, the needed items would not be in an average home, but if the flash is working, but it does not work on the camera, and the camera's flash works, I think it can be said the camera has an internal fault.
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I did try other flashes but only after the original issue started. I think that were compatible as I bought them years ago when I only had a 550 and 350.

Sadly I think you are right that the camera has a problem, oh well it has been use quite a lot so these things happen. I strongly suspect fixing it is not economic.
 
davholla said:
I did try other flashes but only after the original issue started. I think that were compatible as I bought them years ago when I only had a 550 and 350.

Sadly I think you are right that the camera has a problem, oh well it has been use quite a lot so these things happen. I strongly suspect fixing it is not economic.
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All is not lost, I quite often use other flashes that are triggered by a device that fits on the flash hot shoe, and detects the flash from the camera to trigger the flash it is attached to.
They used to only cost about £5 each.
They don't work if the camera flash flashes more than once to reduce red eye, or to assist focus.
 
Thanks but the flash I use is a dual flash and I am not sure if that would still work or rather if it would still fit on it.
 
I have had problems with some speedlites where they don't slide onto the hot shoe of the camera easily. Take the time to make certain that the speedlite is sliding fully into the hot shoe of the camera and then tighten the hand wheel to secure it. The most important connection is the center pin and contact, as they are the trigger connection. The return connection is the metal frame of the hot shoe, so both need to make good contact. The rest of the contacts are for TTL, speedlite focus, etc.

Charley
 
CharleyL said:
I have had problems with some speedlites where they don't slide onto the hot shoe of the camera easily. Take the time to make certain that the speedlite is sliding fully into the hot shoe of the camera and then tighten the hand wheel to secure it. The most important connection is the center pin and contact, as they are the trigger connection. The return connection is the metal frame of the hot shoe, so both need to make good contact. The rest of the contacts are for TTL, speedlite focus, etc.

Charley
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Thanks I tried that but no luck.
 
davholla said:
Thanks but the flash I use is a dual flash and I am not sure if that would still work or rather if it would still fit on it.
Click to expand...
If you are talking about the remote triggers, any flash that fits on a standard hot shoe and is triggered from the centre pin will work, including old flashes that would damage a modern camera.
 
Sangoma said:
If you are talking about the remote triggers, any flash that fits on a standard hot shoe and is triggered from the centre pin will work, including old flashes that would damage a modern camera.
Click to expand...
Thanks sadly but would they be fired if external flashes don't fire.
 
The trigger has a hot shoe fitting on the bottom, useful for a small foot if you have a flat surface to put it on, they also have a threaded hole to fit it onto a tripod or similar


fl2.jpg
 
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