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Feb 26, 2009 D.I.Y. Canon Hotshoe Micro-Switch Fix
Speedlite 580EX-II Flash (Custom Function PDF document)
Electrical Hazard Warning!
Please read Comment 23 and understand the risks if you attempt this DIY Fix!
When Canon released the original Speedlite 580EX flash, it represented a huge leap in engineering improvement over the old flagship Speedlite 550EX. So when Canon announced the 580EX-II most of us were a little skeptical with improvements such as improved dust and water resistance, 20% shorter recycling time and improved communication reliability through its direct contacts. I beg to differ!
I own three generations of Speedlites: 550EX, 580EX and the 580EX-II, the latter of which I bought against my better judgment. The metal foot is a welcomed change but the new design quick-release lock leaves much to be desired. If you own this flash and have recently experienced weird occurrences such as unexpected over exposure or completely doesn’t fire at all, it may be due to loose contacts.
In an event I worked last December with the EOS 5D and 20D, half way into the night, the 580EX-II on the 5D stopped firing and the times it did fire, the frames were grossly overexposed. Strange thing was when I swapped flashes and had the II on the 20D, it worked OK. I figured from previous experience it must have something to do with loose contacts. The camera hot shoe isn’t loose by any standards so it had to be the flash [a loose camera hot shoe is easily fixed by tightening the four screws located under the metal plate]. I also noticed the flash would switch from ETTL to TTL if I wiggle the flash about. This further confirmed that a lose contact would be the cause and the next step was locating the culprit.
Using an appropriate Philips screw driver, I removed the four outer screws, and have the base slide out to reveal another set of screws on the inside. Proceed to remove these four screws as indicated by the arrows.
Once these screws come off, the metal foot assembly wiggles and you’ll see the quick-release mechanism and the locking mechanism. Pay attention to the lock button on which sits a tiny spring mechanism that can easily fall out (see last image).
At this stage, you’ll see two more screws. Check that these are tight but make sure you don’t over torque them and end up breaking other the housing—that would not be cool.
The interesting part comes when you reassemble the quick-release ring and the micro lock button. It may take a little fiddle to get back in the order they came off. I had my contact problem fixed a few weeks earlier but for the purpose of illustrating, I had it taken apart for this post 
.
To sum it up, I’m grateful problems like this can easily be fixed at home (the only tools required are tiny Philips screw driver and patience). About the only other annoyance with this flash is the completely unintuitive Master to Slave switch or lack-thereof! I use my Speedlites with studio umbrellas too so I have to put up with the silliness of this absentminded ’feature’ when working in slave mode.
→ Quantum Turbo Advisory Those using a Quantum Turbo battery pack with the 580EX-II, note Quantum’s official Compatibility Advisory regarding steps to take to ensure the turbo does not shut down by disabling the 580EX-II’s factory default sleep mode. Turbo models affected are Turbo 2×2, Turbo SC and Turbo C. The days of a no-brainer external battery pack are long gone!
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OTHER 580EXII DISCUSSIONS LINKED TO THIS POST
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FRED MIRANDA 580EXII Not Firing on 1D Classic?
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FRED MIRANDA Why I Won’t Be Buying A Mk II Flash Anytime Soon
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PHOTO.NET Problems with Canon 580 EX II Flash
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CLUBSNAP 580EX-II Over Exposes. DIY Fix Here!
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PHOTOMALAYSIA 580EX-II Over Exposes. DIY Fix Here!
- PHOTOBORNEO Need Help On Flash Photography
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DPREVIEW.COM 580Ex-II Over Exposing
- MODELMAYHEM Canon 580EXII I Dropped Mine
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POTN CANON FORUM 580EX-II Quick Release Problems
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OPENSOURCE PHOTO Problem with 580II Flash TTL vs ETTL
- SWPP & BPPA Canon 580 EX 2
- STROBIST.COM DISCUSS Off Cam Shooting Broke My 580EXII?
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DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY SCHOOL Speedlite 580EX-II and 40D Problem
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E-FOTOGRAFIJA FORUM Resitev zloglasnega problema 580 ex II ?
- SHUTTERASIA How to test if 580EX II is Faulty?
- PHOTO4U Ho problemi con 5D + 580EXII
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Kid 6:43 am on February 29, 2008 Permalink |
Hey! My dad wants this flash light! It’s pretty expensive eh?
Alan 1:08 pm on February 29, 2008 Permalink |
Wow.. Janshim you can also fix flash… Salute……
Zul 1:18 pm on February 29, 2008 Permalink |
DIY fix its, huh ?
I had a problem with my 50mm 1.4, didn’t think twice about it and just drop it off to InterHouse. They said the lens will need to fly off to KL. Maybe I should just drop it off at your place, Jan. Heheh
Lucky lens, it’s flying off to KL, while I’m stuck here working.
Jan Shim 1:48 pm on February 29, 2008 Permalink |
I see your dad has good taste and only wants the best Canon has to offer. The price of the top-of-the-line Canon Speedlite flashes can be a little daunting for a hobbyist. For a working professional, it’s an investment but I find the price reasonable compared to other types of flashes available.
I can fix most things that are mechanical and not delicate. With more gadgets now being electronic, the opportunity to fix them has become much less when things with less dependency on electronics used to last a long time. It seems to me that such dependency has given manufacturers the ability to shrink products but it has also opened doors to design flaws such as the move to gives users improvements that are missing the most fundamental aspect—commonsense!
p.s. If you happen to use a BG-E2 Grip with your 40D, take a look at EOS 20D GRIPPING ISSUES I believe the design and materials used in newer grips aren’t any different than mine in that the gear may still be plastic. In the event this gear breaks or that you simply have irregular voltage problems from poor contact, you know where to look!
Sure, why not! Drop your lenses off my place and I’ll drop them off to Interhouse and bill you the transport charges
Curious, what’s the problem with the 50mm 1.4?
valho 4:11 pm on February 29, 2008 Permalink |
I just got myself the 580 EX II, will keep this article in mind just in case I run into the same problem
Zul 11:18 pm on February 29, 2008 Permalink |
It’s the autofocus, it’s always the autofocus.
As much as I love manual focusing, you can’t live without auto focus.
Wondering how much it’ll cost to fix, I should get an answer in 30 days.
Jesper Revald 9:50 am on March 1, 2008 Permalink |
Hi Jan,
Saw your answer over at digital-photography-school aimed directly a me. I will definately try this one out to see if it fixes anything. Thanks for replying in the other forum.
Kid 3:35 pm on March 1, 2008 Permalink |
I know! He just bought Canon Eos 40D for the family with the lens Kit which cost 2,000++ but when include with the flash 3,000++. Lucky you..
Alan 2:08 pm on March 2, 2008 Permalink |
Thanks for the advice.. JanShim
mdict2008 3:24 pm on March 2, 2008 Permalink |
I don’t dare to do these, because I often end up forgot how to put them back.. hehehehehe. xD
chris 6:52 pm on April 23, 2008 Permalink |
this happened to a mates 580ex2 which boggled us. he was using a 400D and me a 30D, if i use his flash everything was ok.
the overexposure happened only when
a) the iso was set to 1600 (most obvious)
b) if the flash head is pointed towards the subject
if the flash head is in the bounce position then there is no overexposure.
3 days ago this also happened to me, problem is my flash is a 580 EX version 1. You think it is the same problem?
Thanks.
Jan Shim 12:07 pm on April 25, 2008 Permalink |
Chris,
If the flash is in bounce position, the light gets diffused and the chance of over exposure doesn’t occur, at least not as obvious as direct flash. If this is happening on your mate’s camera but not on yours, there’s a chance his camera hotshoe may be loose. Look at both hotshoes and confirm if this is so.
Now, with the original 580EX happening to you, this sounds like your camera hotshoe contacts may be loose. Is the over exposure consistent and repeatable? If it’s happening randomly, it’ll make troubleshooting that much more difficult.
I have personally experience something similar with my 550EX where the flash was overexposing intermittently and then it wasn’t exposing at all. This went on a bit and it was super frustrating. After a trip to Canon, it was found the flash tube had reached its useful life and was erratic. Your situation may not be that at all. Check to make sure the 580EX-II’s locking mechanism isn’t loose (it should be reasonably tight when locked) and that the possibility of camera hotshoe being loose is eliminated.
Chris 2:07 am on April 26, 2008 Permalink |
thanks Jan.
yep it consistently overexposes at iso 1600 when before the flash would output just enough light to properly expose the picture.
i looked at my hotshoe and it feels solid enough, i dont have the flash now so i cant slide it in to check if the hotshoe moves if i apply forward pressure on the flash.
Jan Shim 10:25 am on April 26, 2008 Permalink |
I can’t think of anything else that would cause this behaviour except MAYBE try to clean the hotshoe contacts. I would use an ink eraser to gently buffed the contact points. If it’s happening only in ISO 1600 it may be electrical but I hope it isn’t.
Alert 5 5:49 pm on April 26, 2008 Permalink |
Thanks, I’m one of those unlucky souls suffering from the same problem. I’ve implemented the fix, hopes the problem goes away for good.
Chris 12:57 am on April 27, 2008 Permalink |
thanks jan, i sent the flash in for a checkup i should get feedback in a week or so.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING « A Journey Lived 4:05 pm on May 19, 2008 Permalink |
[...] A recent referrer that was tracked belongs to forum called Pantip.com that has a link to my Canon Speedlite 580EX-II [...]
BHUF 9:58 am on May 20, 2008 Permalink |
Wow – I wish I had read this a few weeks ago because I have been having the same problem with my pics and the 580 EX II, Stood there like a fool with people posing while i fired off 6 dark pictures until i figured out how to hold the flash body just right for a connection.
Also problems with compatibility with the Quantum 2+2. Got the Quantum problem resolved today by Quantum who told me to disable the sleep mode.
As for the loose plate on the exII, the camera shop told me they are having a lot of those problems with the new metal connections with both canon and nikon.
Their fix was to apply some glue. hope it holds up as well as your intricate solution.
As for the master slave flash someone mentioned above, well I just bought an rf transmitter so looking forward to the future headaches of the exII setup!
Jan Shim 11:52 am on May 20, 2008 Permalink |
Sorry to hear that. I’ve had flash problems happening at the worse possible moments at a wedding and they were issues with the flash tubes on the 550EX. The 580EX on the other hand has performed very well without the problems associated with the 580EX-II. Problems happen even to the best of us so experience teaches us to anticipate rather than to react. I experienced problems with the the 580EX-II not exposing at a corporate dinner function so the damage wasn’t as critical.
Yeah. although Quantum had an advisory on the main page of their website for a while it wasn’t something that was communicated to their large user base effectively. I found out from a thread in DPREVIEW.
Problems with Nikon too? The company that allergedly understands and produces better flashes than Canon? Perhaps it’s the same patented design from someone who has no real-world idea how the parts mesh together. I hope they bring the old school design back. That seems to be the only thing that makes sense!
Coming from a motorsports/tuning background, I’ve learnt not to introduce fluids anywhere near electronics no matter what it promises. Even if the glue is designed for high temperature, there’s still a risk of glue becoming gooey when shooting under the sun and possibly shorting electronics. It’s so unnecessary!
When you have a first hand peep of the ‘future’ be sure to keep us informed!
DSLR FOCUS SCREEN & SENSOR CLEANING « A Journey Lived 4:55 pm on May 20, 2008 Permalink |
[...] SPEEDLITE 580EX-II HOTSHOE FIX [...]
Isaac Hadid 7:23 pm on May 20, 2008 Permalink |
Southern Photo, the flagship Canon Authorized Service Center in Miami Florida has repaired several Canon 580ex flash units with loose screws and poor ground on the flash foot of the 580ex. This is a simple repair for professional technicians, but the flash packs 330 volts and should NOT be taken apart by customers. Serious injury can occur and damage to the circuit can occur. Please allow your local professional service center handle this simple, affordable repair. If you do not have a local Canon service center, look to the services of Southern Photo, they can fix it in 15 min. for walk-in customers and same day service for shipping customers.
Also visit http://blog.sp-ts.com of the official web site at http://www.sp-ts.com or call toll free at (866)RUSH-FIX.
Remember, 330 volts can stop your heart!!!
Ken Lax 6:09 am on May 29, 2008 Permalink |
Found your post re the 580EXII on the FM Forums. My experience with the 580EXII is random shutdowns, as you mentioned. Very unpredictable at best. I use a Lumedyne Battery with the 580EXII, and when the flash will not fire, I need to reboot both flash and battery and hope for the best. Never had a problem with my old 580EX, just lousy exposures.
I will read through your suggesitons and see what i can implement. Canon tech support says it a bad contact issue..the flash is brand new.
Thanks,
Ken Lax
Jan Shim 9:56 am on May 29, 2008 Permalink |
Folks, Isaac Hadid’s warning in Comment 21 is very real and you do not want to mess with the camera’s electronics. I’ve Googled this matter and found over a handful of instances where the understated CURRENT
Voltagefrom a [professional grade] flash has killed someone.and many many more frightening and lethal stories that I do not need to post. You get the idea! In my online research, I also came across sites with instructions on converting the flash into a stun gun or a device popularly known as Taser. The flash has enough power to incapacitate an adult and the current may even be enough to kill.
It’s not because I grew up with my dad being a professional electrician that made it OK to perform this DIY but also have enough common sense and experience to NEVER leave the batteries inside the flash when attempting to exposing its electronics. In IT we learnt about damages to sensitive electronic components from static discharge so the need for ESD mats to prevent costly damage. Getting killed by a flash is not the way to go!
If you’ve read this far, I take it you’re serious enough to want to know more and I have just the paragraph from an internet source that explains the situation far more effectively than I could and the explanation is in line with Isaac Hadid’s warning!
Jan Shim 11:19 am on May 29, 2008 Permalink |
I am not familiar with the Lumedyne Battery and have only had experience with the Quantum Turbo. I wonder if the Quantum advisory would work for you to disable the power saver from kicking in when you least expect it. Sadly with the direction of modern product design these days, each new product introduces new problems. Sigh!
As for lousy exposures, I bounce my Speedlites to get directional lighting in my pictures so I have different expectations. In very rare cases I would have the Lightsphere-II for shadowless lighting where required. Other than this it’d be bare head pointed in every direction the swivel head allows, powered by a Canon CP-E3 power pack!
James 1:02 am on June 25, 2008 Permalink |
Hi Shim, I’m a pro photographer working weddings mainly and I use my Canon 580EX flash with a Gary Fong Lightsphere a lot. Recently the flash began to fail, maybe the recycle time was the problem, so I tried boosting power with a Quantum Turbo 2×2 hoping that would fix it, mounted on my Canon 5D.
There was full power but the flash failed to fire. So, I just purchased a new Canon Speedlite 580EX ll thinking the mark 1 has had it’s day…
All the problems discussed on this excellent forum came to pass. I use a 20D also and noticed both had loose hotshoes, probably from the extra stress of the lightsphere and myself wrenching the flash at right angles to bounce it continually.
I tested the new 580 on an old 10D, which has a secure hotshoe, and it works.
The little flash icon in the viewfinder is missing when using the mark 2, so clearly no contact is being made on the 5D and 20D.
Thank you very much for helping to solve this problem.
Kind regards
James
Jan Shim 8:30 am on July 1, 2008 Permalink |
Hi James,
I’m glad you found my post useful and I’m sorry you and anyone else with this problem had to go through this very unnecessary experience! It’s even more frustrating when the problem is wide spread and Canon isn’t forthcoming about the issue and people need to resort to DIY fixes or return the unit to Canon for a fix that may not even be permament.
All the best!
Jeff 12:48 am on July 7, 2008 Permalink |
HI Jan, thanks for the post. I encounter the same symptom tonight during an event! It change to TTL after a few shot and i got a hard time taking the flash off and on the shoe (trying my luck) to get it back on ETTL, and after a few shots, it goes back to TTL again. Then i realise a better way, that is to knock on the flash with light pressure, and i can get it back on ETTL, LOL and i have been doing this the whole night!
Jan Shim 7:24 am on July 7, 2008 Permalink |
On your wedding day, right after the tea ceremony at Jen’s the 550EX (I hadn’t bought the 580EX-II then) the flash fired but there was no exposure and a trip back to Canon, found that the flash tube needed replacing.
The 580EX-II on the other hand failed at an event in Liang Lumut Rec Club. Thankfully, I swapped the 580 and 580-II between my 20D and 5D and I was able to finish the night without any fuss. The next day I had a closer look at the problem and found that I was able to reproduce it that’s when I decided to open it up.
These days, the 580-II stays in the bag as spare or at home if it’s too troublesome (and heavy) to bring along. The 580-II and 550EX often get used on studio umbrellas where they are remotely triggered.
SVarjo 11:35 pm on August 10, 2008 Permalink |
I had also problems firing 580EX-II. Worked earlier just fine… Loaded the flash with freshly charged batteries. Communication with my 40D seemed to work just fine. Just no “Pilot” light on no matter what – and thus no firing of flash either. Auto zoom seemed to work as well as all the other settings but no joy. Applied this fix here but still no joy…
Ehh.. removed the charged batteries and replaced with new alkaline batteries. It works !??!? Loaded the charged batteries in – and still it works..!!?!?
Can’t tell what the *uc* was going on but the problem went away…
So – remember to test your unit with other set of batteries before invasive surgery…
Jan Shim 8:28 am on August 11, 2008 Permalink |
“Applied this fix here but still no joy…” At least you know your flash has ‘the fix’ so the next time you encounter a similar episode, it’s something else but lose screws!
I have also encountered problems that stemmed from overheated and exhausted batteries. Once I removed the batts and they were so hot they could easily have burnt my hand – dropping them straight into the camera bag then would certainly have caused problems.
Nina 3:08 am on August 27, 2008 Permalink |
I tried this and didn’t make a difference. It’s the quick release that’s loose, not the contacts. If anything, it’s worse now; and best of all, since I rolled up some electrical tape and forced it between flash and camera to push back the flash to force the contacts to work, now the hot shoe is loose as well. What crap that quick release is!
Jan Shim 7:06 pm on August 28, 2008 Permalink |
Nina,
The fix described here [is] to fix the loose quick release which in turn ensures better contact. The fourth picture down has the four white arrows pointed to the screws that tighten the quick release. If this fix (assumed done correctly and the screws are not over torqued) doesn’t appear to tighten the QR and the camera’s hotshoe isn’t loose then I don’t know what else might have gone wrong.
I don’t see why force and/or electrical tape would be an appropriate action when it comes to flash and hotshoe. I hope you didn’t end up twisting the hotshoe slot which may have increased the clearance to the point the flash can no longer tighten.
Nina 2:35 pm on August 29, 2008 Permalink |
P.S. I found out that it was the four tiny screws which hold the bottom metal plate to the base which were loose; tightened them, problem solved (remove base – dont’ follow step two here if this is your problem; use teeny srewdriver to tighten the four little silver screws right where the cables go into the base; btw, not a phillips, it called something else, cross….?)
Jan Shim 4:27 pm on August 29, 2008 Permalink |
Nina, glad you’ve got the base tightened. The instructions here are for the quick release not the metal plate but as you’ve discovered, the teeny (silver) screws hold the metal plate to the flash and the same sized Philips screwdriver used to remove the other screws also tightens them.
Nina 5:19 am on September 3, 2008 Permalink |
Jan – the hot shoe screws loosened a bit due to the pull on them, I tightened them, took 2 minutes, fixed. I don’t think tape is the way to go, either, but when in the middle of a wedding you gotta do what you gotta do. It worked.
The repair guy (who has been working on Canons forever and a day) said that it’s actually not a philips, but a very similar screwdriver which I believe he called crosspoint: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SupaDriv
Hope his helps!
Thanks, Jan
Travis Blake 9:30 am on September 9, 2008 Permalink |
Hi Jan,
Thanks for this excellent advice. My speedlite now sits snug in my hot shoe.
Thanks!!!!!
Jan Shim 6:23 am on September 19, 2008 Permalink |
In a routine peeping of my blog’s referrer stats, I couldn’t but notice a link from Japan so I clicked on it and found myself staring at Kakaku.com forum members discussing the Speedlight 580EX II.
” 続けての書き込みで申し訳ないです。
調光不良の問題はアメリカでも話題になっているみたいですね。
検索してみたら次のようなホームページがありました。
http://shimworld.wordpress.com/2008/02/28/speedlite-580ex-ii-hotshoe-fix/#comment-6264 — Kakaku.com”
Curious, I had the page translated and you know how funny these rogue translators can sometimes be (OK, most times) and the problem that we know as unexposure is translated to dimming
Check out the Google translated page—it’s quite entertaining.
Naza Hamed 9:37 am on September 30, 2008 Permalink |
thanxs for the info man… really appreciate it
my 580EX II had similar problems, quickly rectified by following the steps! thanxs again!
Carlo 8:33 am on October 20, 2008 Permalink |
Hi Jan! Great directions. I was having problems with my 580EX II when paired with my Canon 5D, but no problem when I pair my old 580EX with my 5D. I tried the fix that you described, but it didn’t help. The screws were already tight on the flash. The hotshoe on my 5D was loose, so I tightened that. It worked. Now I don’t have to send my flash or my camera in for repair.
john salgado 5:49 am on November 11, 2008 Permalink |
Hi Jan Found your post on Fred Marinda forum , found it very comforting to know It wasn’t just me having this problem.Opened it up but found nothing lose. took unit to Canon in Irvine, they fixed it under warranty, got it back worked for maybe one wedding and went back to , no ettl sometimes not firing , sometimes overexposing .Is their any thing I can do ? Thanks for your help , And love your blog…peace john salgado
Jan Shim 9:16 am on November 11, 2008 Permalink |
Hello John,
Thanks for dropping in. Don’t you just hate it when expensive
equipment doesn’t work as they should? I wonder, as you didn’t state,
if your camera hot shoe contacts may be loose. So far the only
associations I know of 580EX-II problems have been loose contacts in
either the flash contacts or camera hot shoe. I’ve only ever had one
repair done to a Canon Speedlite flash and that was on the 550EX that
fired sporadically but images were consistently underexposed. Canon
replaced the bulb. But “no ettl sometimes not firing , sometimes
overexposing” looks like the symptoms of 580EX-II problems that I and
countless others have encountered though. If the circuitry is acting
up I’m afraid that’s not a DIY item.
melissakelseyphotography 11:58 am on December 12, 2008 Permalink |
Oh, man. Thank you a million times over. I have two of the 580 ex II flashes that weren’t working. I just fixed one!!! I am not a technically savvy person and after months of struggling with my flash, it’s all fixed! Now, I don’t have to rent one for my wedding tomorrow. One thing on the instructions, I did not have to remove the second set of screws. I just put my little screw driver down inside where the hotshoe plate is where I saw the third set of screws and tightened those. Voila! My problem was solved. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Melissa Kelsey
Jan Shim 5:03 pm on December 12, 2008 Permalink |
Now, that’s a testimony! Thanks Melissa. I’m glad the instructions are simple enough to understand even by someone who isn’t “a technically savvy person.” You’ve made all the late nights staying up to shoot and write a worthwhile cause.
If only I can convince a million people to PayPal me $1.00 each so I can spend a million more hours writing new posts!
max2 - 獵人狩影 » Canon Quality Issues 2:40 pm on June 8, 2009 Permalink |
[...] SPEEDLITE 580EX-II HOT SHOE FIX, shimworld, Jan [...]
Fotografia de Nunta ( tehnici, apartura, iluminari, locatii... ) - Page 38 - Computer Games Forum 11:53 pm on June 9, 2009 Permalink |
[...] din interior. E o problema cunoscuta, intalnita de multi, si este si documentata solutia pe net: SPEEDLITE 580EX-II HOTSHOE FIX Asa cum ziceam, la celelalte 2 mai noi pe care le am nu a mai aparut problema, insa nici nu prea [...]
King Lee 1:04 am on June 21, 2009 Permalink |
The overexposed for no reason also happened to me when I used the 580-II. And I also found out that you need to really properly locked the flash on the camera to prevent any kind of wobbling after tightening the lock! However I feared the shoes on the flash would eventually failed one day to be tightened to prevent any kind of loose connection. If so, may it happened before the warranty expired!!! I prefer the old turn and lock mechanism of the old 580!
Jan Shim 9:32 am on June 21, 2009 Permalink |
Modern high tech equipment causes more stress! From what I’ve observed in the past five years or so, it seems to say that it’s perfectly OK to treat consumers like guinea pigs ie. let’s our customers pay for our R&D cost. The 580EX-II has to be one of Canon’s more unreliable product in years all because someone thought it made sense to change something that has worked so well for decades—see what happens when you try to fix something that ain’t broken—you end up breaking it !! Although mine is fixed, I’ve lost a lot of confidence in that flash and when I need to use a flash (which is rather rare nowadays with my 5D II) I’d pick up the old 580EX over the II anytime.
sarajane228 11:36 pm on June 22, 2009 Permalink |
Jan, Thanks very much for the info, guidances and all the discussions here.
Will keep this page in mind and come back when needed.
Sean 3:10 pm on July 3, 2009 Permalink |
Jan, Many thanks for the great effort on this. I’ve got a 580EX II and use it on a classic Canon 1D. at first 10% of shoots came out OK, and now all shoots are completly underexposed. Has anyone has the same issue with the 1D? I tried the above fix but the screws seemed quite tight and I didn’t want to force them any more. Cheers.
PowerFlash 12:10 pm on July 9, 2009 Permalink |
I tried to tighten the screws but can’t find a tool to fit. And, the spring fell out – trying to reassemble. Another piece fell out – silver bar about an inch with black bushing in the middle. Where does that go? Any shop manual online?
PowerFlash 11:50 pm on July 9, 2009 Permalink |
OK, I see where the metal post goes. It goes inside and protrudes as a set pin on the hot shoe. My problem is that I have two springs (short & shorter). One must be the lock button spring. Which one and where does the other spring go?
Jan Shim 4:45 pm on July 10, 2009 Permalink |
Take a look at the last picture and also the second last right and you’ll see where the two springs are located. Hopefully those give you a good idea where they each go. All the best and please keep us posted!
James 4:36 pm on July 20, 2009 Permalink |
Hi, was shooting some images at a rock concert at the weekend and some fool bust my 580EX II from the hotshoe fixing on the flash itself and the shoe remained on the camera body. Can this be repaired by me..Thanks
Jan Shim 9:30 am on July 21, 2009 Permalink |
Hi James, do you have a picture showing the extend of the damage? Are you saying the entire lower half of the 580EX-II foot is ripped off the flash and left on the camera?
CLEANING THE EOS 5D MKII VIEWFINDER « SHIMWORLD 1:15 am on August 24, 2009 Permalink |
[...] FOCUS SCREEN AND SENSOR CLEANING | SPEEDLITE 580EX-II HOTSHOE FIX EOS 20D GRIPPING ISSUES | WONDERFULLY DRY (DRY CABINET) [...]
Daniel Boot 12:02 am on August 26, 2009 Permalink |
Hey Jan!
I have an issue that I thought you might be able to help me with!
I have had the 580ex ii for nearly a year now, and up until now it has worked like it is supposed to, However, recently, my external flash has been acting up. It does not communicate with my camera, and it does not fire a flash. It will only fire if I cover the wireless sensor on the front of the flash with my finger. As soon as the sensor is covered, the flash registers itself with the camera and the little flash symbol in the view finder appears. As soon as it is uncovered, it goes away!, and the flash will not fire… Has this ever happened to you? Or have you heard of it happening before?
I read your post on fixing the loose contacts inside the flash unit, and I thought maybe my problem could be fixed in the same way?
If you have any ideas, please let me know!
Thanks a lot! — Daniel.
Jan Shim 12:13 am on August 26, 2009 Permalink |
Thanks for your mail. I’ve not come across anyone reporting this problem before. I guess there’s always a first even when the 580EX II has proven (judging from the many links from photography forums to my post) to be a very problematic model. I flipped the manual and looked at the possible Custom Function No. 08 AF-assist beam firing. Can you check that by Enabling and Disabling to see if that makes any difference? Check also C.Fn-05 Flash Metering Mode to see what mode it’s in.
Daniel Boot 12:15 am on August 26, 2009 Permalink |
Thanks for replying!
I checked through the custom functions on my flash and camera to see if maybe something had been changed around. When I looked I couldn’t find anything wrong! I posted my problem on photography-on-the-net.com . Two people replied and pointed out something that I foolishly overlooked. When I covered the sensor I was applying pressure to the flash, which pushed it backwards and completed a connection that, apparently, wasn’t happening!.
When I tried pushing the lens backwards, without covering the sensor, it worked! So I’m guessing now that it is either a dirty contact point, or something is loose! The hotshoe on my camera feels more loose to me than the flashs hot foot. I read on your blog that this is easily fixed? How do I remove the steel plate to expose the 4 screws under it? Does it just slide off? I am using a Rebel xti as of right now, if that affects how the shoe would come off…
Thanks again so much for all of your help!
Jan Shim 12:20 am on August 26, 2009 Permalink |
Follow http://shimworld.wordpress.com/2009/02/26/canon-hotshoe-fix/ minus the hair brush instructions, and you should be OK. Please report back if this fixes your problems
Daniel Boot 12:22 am on August 26, 2009 Permalink
It was just a loose hot shoe on my camera. I took the plate off and tightened the four screws, and it all works properly! Thanks again fro your help!