Why does my DSLR show a dark band when using an on-camera flash below sync speed?
Asked 3/3/2020
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I’m learning flash photography and seeing a narrow correctly exposed strip at the top of the frame, while the rest of the image is much darker. The setup is a Canon EOS 1100D with a Neewer NW565EX mounted on the hot shoe, flash set to E-TTL, and camera settings of 1/60s, f/8, ISO 800. Since 1/60s is well below the 1100D’s listed flash sync speed, I wouldn’t expect a shutter-sync problem. The same flash gives normal full-frame exposure on a Canon 400D with the same settings. Is this likely a camera fault, or could it be a hot-shoe/contact issue?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
6y ago
2 Answers
2
The most common issue is faulty contact/communication. Make sure the pins/contacts are clean and the flash is fully seated. There's a little bit of play in the fit of the foot in the hotshoe, you might want to try wiggling it to either side.
Originally by user70370. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user70370
6y ago
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Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
At 1/60s, this is not behaving like a normal max-sync-speed problem. A dark band with on-camera flash can happen if the flash and camera aren’t communicating properly, so the first thing to check is the hot-shoe connection.
Make sure the flash is fully seated and locked, and clean the hot-shoe contacts/pins on both the camera and flash. Slight play in the flash foot can also cause intermittent contact, so try reseating it and gently checking whether moving it side to side changes the behavior.
Because the same flash works correctly on the 400D, the flash itself is less likely to be the main issue. That points more toward a contact or fit problem on the 1100D hot shoe, or a communication fault between that camera and the flash.
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