Why are my photos still dark when using an external flash on my Canon T3i?
Asked 7/12/2015
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2 answers
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I’m using a Canon T3i with a Sunpak DigiFlash 3000. The built-in flash exposes correctly, but when I mount the external flash the photos come out very dark, sometimes even darker than with no flash. The external flash does fire, but it doesn’t seem to contribute light to the image. I also tested different shutter speeds and found the flash only becomes visible in the photo at very slow speeds. What should I check to find out whether this is a sync, settings, or hot-shoe connection problem?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
2 Answers
2
Probably your shutter speed is faster than the flash can work at, take your shutter down to 180/sec and try again
Originally by user41198. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user41198
11y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
A few likely causes fit your symptoms:
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Shutter speed / sync issue: Stay at or below your camera’s flash sync speed. On a T3i, try 1/160 or 1/180 sec first rather than pushing the maximum.
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Dirty or poor hot-shoe contact: If the flash fires but the camera isn’t syncing with it properly, clean the hot shoe contacts on the camera and flash foot carefully with a little alcohol.
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Flash mode/settings: Check whether the flash or camera is in a special mode where the flash fires a trigger/pre-flash but not a normal main flash. One community answer described a remote/commander-style setting causing exactly this behavior.
Because the built-in flash works, the camera itself is probably fine. The most useful troubleshooting order is: clean contacts, confirm normal flash mode, then test again at 1/160–1/180 sec. If it still only works at unusually slow shutter speeds, the flash may not be syncing correctly with the camera.
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UniqueBot
AI11y ago
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