> > This may just be user error, but something odd happened last week > while shooting with the 420EX/Elan7E. I was taking pictures with > the flash mounted, screwed in, and turned on. All of a sudden, > the camera wouldn't recognize the flash (the flash indicator in > the viewfinder was not lighting and the meter in P mode was not > defaulting to 1/60). Turning the flash off, then on did not > help. But unmounting the flash and re mounting it did alleviate > the problem. This happened once before to me, but I forgot how I > solved the problem. > > Initially, I thought that I just didn't have the flash mounted > correctly. However, the flash was mounted all the way and it was > tightened on the camera. > > Was it the batteries? Or a weird malfunction? Or just simply > that I didn't mount the flash correctly, and it was a little hard > to tell. > > Also, the flash is starting to act sluggish again and I am > thinking of going to rechargeable batteries (NiMH). Is there > anything I should know about NiMH in general? Are there any > specific recommended brands of batteries and chargers? > > Thanks in advance. > > Tom D >
Hi Tom, I cannot comment on the Elan 7 problems or operational issues that you may be having with the Elan 7 and 420EX except to say that it looks like Canon has some operational weirdness with this newer body. Many people have posted questions confirming their suspicions of problems with the Elan 7 body much like the older Elan II/IIe body. I don't know if it's my imagination or if it just seems like a repeat trend with consumer Canon bodies having problems initially and after a year or two getting them mostly fixed. Did you long time EOS list readers have any problems with EOS 1, EOS 1n, EOS 1nRS bodies when they first came out that were actually confirmed and repaired by Canon? >From what I can tell through use of many different battery types over the years I don't think that NiMH batteries are the way to go for a flash. NiCads are capable of higher current output when compared with same size NiMH cells. NiMH cells are better in terms of capacity for a given size vs. NiCads. So if flash cycle times are the issue, go with internal NiCads of standard 600-800MA/h ratings (NOT higher capacity types), or a high voltage battery pack like a Quantum Turbo (lead acid cells) or Turbo Z (NiCad cells), or try Canon's own high voltage pack "Transistor Battery Pack", these give the fastest flash cycle times. If the flash is used in E-TTL/TTL mode the flash will cycle very fast and you will probably run out of film before the battery runs out of power. Regards, Chip Louie * **** ******* *********************************************************** * For list instructions, including unsubscribe, see: * http://www.a1.nl/phomepag/markerink/eos_list.htm ***********************************************************
