Troubleshooting Guide

• Power-related problems
• Normal flash photography
• Radio transmission wireless flash photography
• Linked shooting

Power-related problems

• Batteries are not charged unless the remaining capacity is lower than approx. 90%.
• Do not use battery packs other than a genuine Canon Battery Pack LP-EL.

• Constant, rapid orange blinking of the lamp indicates that a protection circuit has prevented charging because (1) there is a problem with the battery charger or battery, or (2) communication with a non-Canon battery has failed. In the case of (1), unplug the charger, reinsert the battery pack, and wait 2–3 minutes before plugging the charger in again. If the problem persists, contact a Canon Service Center.

• For safety, hot batteries inserted in the charger are not charged, and the lamp remains off. Charging also stops automatically if the battery becomes hot for any reason, in which case the lamp blinks continuously. Charging resumes automatically after the battery has cooled off.

• The battery pack may be damaged. If so, purchase a replacement.
• For safety, consider using a genuine Canon Battery Pack LP-EL.
• As a safety mechanism, flash recharging will take longer if you continue using an unresponsive battery pack.
• Reinsert the battery ().
• If the electrical contacts are dirty, use a soft cloth to clean them.

• Use a fully charged battery ().
• The battery performance may have declined. See Checking Battery Information and check for battery performance issues. If battery performance is poor, purchase a replacement.
• Doing any of the following exhausts the battery faster.
  • Keeping the modeling lamp on for extended periods
  • Using wireless functions
  • Firing modeling flash repeatedly

• Auto power off has been activated. To prevent the power from turning off automatically, set C.Fn-01 to [1] on the Custom Functions screen ().

Normal flash photography

• Make sure the battery compartment cover is closed ().
• Replace the battery with a new one.

• Insert the mounting foot all the way into the camera hot shoe and slide the lock lever right to secure the Speedlite to the camera ().
• If remains displayed even after approx. 15 sec., replace the battery ().
• Blow off any foreign material on the contacts between the Speedlite and camera with a commercially available blower or similar tool.
• If the contacts between the Speedlite and camera () get wet, turn off the Speedlite and allow it to dry.
• The firing interval becomes longer () after continuous firing over a short period, which will cause the flash head temperature to rise and restrict flash firing.
• For safety, batteries that are hot are not charged. Charging also stops automatically if the battery becomes hot for any reason. Charging resumes automatically after the battery has cooled off ().

• The Speedlite's auto power off has been activated (). Press the shutter button halfway, or press the test flash button ().

• If the main subject looks very dark or very bright, set flash exposure compensation ().
• If there are highly reflective objects in the picture, use FE lock ().
• With high-speed sync, the faster the shutter speed, the lower the guide number. Move closer to the subject ().

• Shoot at least 0.5 m / 1.6 ft. away from the subject.
• When shooting within 1 m / 3.3 ft. of the subject, set the bounce angle down by 7° ().
• Remove any attached lens hoods.

• Set the flash coverage to (Auto) ().
• When manually setting the flash coverage, set a flash coverage wider than the shooting angle of view ().
• Make sure C.Fn-21 is not set to [1] ().

• Shooting in aperture-priority AE mode under low light automatically activates slow-sync shooting, which results in slower shutter speeds. Use a tripod, or set the shooting mode to program AE or fully automatic mode (). Note that you can also set the flash sync speed in the camera setting [Flash sync. speed in Av mode] ().

• Set the flash coverage to (Auto) ().
• Insert the mounting foot all the way into the camera hot shoe and slide the lock lever right to secure the Speedlite to the camera ().

• Retract the wide panel ().

• Set the camera's shooting mode to , , , , , or Bulb () (Creative Zone).
• Set the Speedlite's power switch to instead of ().

• Stop using the Speedlite for 40 min. if the modeling lamp goes off. If the problem persists, contact a Canon Service Center.

• Flash output is fixed for the EOS R3, EOS R7, and EOS R10. For other cameras with a multi-function shoe, flash output is automatically adjusted to suit brightness.

Radio transmission wireless flash photography

• Set the sender to and receivers to ().
• Use the same settings for transmission channels and wireless radio IDs on the sender and receivers ().
• Make sure receivers are within transmission range of the sender ().
• Run a transmission channel scan and set the channel with the strongest signal ().
• To the extent possible, position receivers within a direct line of sight of the sender.
• Make sure receivers are facing the sender.
• The camera's built-in flash cannot be used as a sender in radio transmission wireless flash photography.

• When using autoflash with three firing groups (A–C), do not fire with firing group C pointing toward the main subject ().
• When shooting with each firing group set to its own flash mode, do not fire multiple firing groups in mode that are all pointing toward the main subject ().

• Set the shutter speed one step slower than the maximum flash sync shutter speed ().

• The sender LCD panel turns on or off based on receiver (firing group) recharge status. See LCD Panel Illumination.

Linked shooting

• Firing multiple Speedlites together in linked shooting may prevent suitable exposure or cause uneven exposure. Consider firing only one Speedlite or using a self-timer to fire multiple units at different times.