Can you help me diagnose this problem??

[Reyna]

Ok a photog friend of mine loaned me her novatron lighting equipment last week. The flash wasn't firing with my camera, so I took it in to a local camera repair store and they told me it was a defective hot shoe. They put a new hot shoe on and it worked.

Well, I take it home and I'm having ALL sorts of issues. The first issue is it will only fire sometimes. It will fire when I push the shutter, then if I wait 10 sec. it won't fire. I have to push the test button (which works every time) and 'usually' after it will work when I push the shutter. Definetly not reliable though as it probably only works about 60% of the time.

My second issue is that when it does fire and actually work, I get a black blur at the bottom of the screen.... example:


007 by holly.reyna, on Flickr

Then, I take the hot shoe and sync cord off and my picture is full framed again. I have no clue what the issue here would be.

Does anyone have any clue on what the issues could be?

 

[JeffieLove]

looks like your shutter speed is too fast.

This happened to me with my crappy flash that I have. It has a max sync speed of 1/200. Although, I'm not sure if that is different for each flash or the camera...

Try setting your camera to 1/100 shutter speed and then adjust the aperture as needed and that line should go away

ETA: As far as the flash firing the "first time" then you have to push the test button, that's because the flash isn't recycling very fast. With strobes, they have a recycle time. The better your batteries are and the stronger they are, the faster the flash will recycle. You also want to try not to have the flash set to it's highest power. That will also make the recycle time slower.

Oh, and for someone who doesn't know crap about actually USING off camera lighting, I'm definitely about 98% positive that these are the answers to your questions

 

[Reyna]

looks like your shutter speed is too fast.

This happened to me with my crappy flash that I have. It has a max sync speed of 1/200. Although, I'm not sure if that is different for each flash or the camera...

Try setting your camera to 1/100 shutter speed and then adjust the aperture as needed and that line should go away

ETA: As far as the flash firing the "first time" then you have to push the test button, that's because the flash isn't recycling very fast. With strobes, they have a recycle time. The better your batteries are and the stronger they are, the faster the flash will recycle. You also want to try not to have the flash set to it's highest power. That will also make the recycle time slower.

Oh, and for someone who doesn't know crap about actually USING off camera lighting, I'm definitely about 98% positive that these are the answers to your questions

ok, you helped me solve the black blur problem! i put my settings at 1/100 f/7.1 there it fixes the issue! thanks for that!

 

[dxqcanada]

The camera limits the sync speed, not the flash.
See your User Guide for the max flash synch shutter speed for your specific camera.

 

[Derrel]

Looks to me like the shutter was set too fast for proper, full-frame synchronization of the flash. If the shutter speed were set slower, the entire frame ought to be illuminated fully. PC synch connecting cords are notorious for bad connections....the old joke is that, "PC stands for Poor Connection".

I'm not quite sure what's going on...perhaps the PC cord is not making good connection...there is a tool called a PC connector conditioner, which helps to re-shape (kind of pinches down,actually) the end of the PC cord's connector...these are very helpful. Many times, the weight of a PC Cord hanging from the camera to the floor cvauses a slightly loose connector to create a mis-fire, or non-fire...

One of the oldest work-arounds for this is to rubber-band the cord to the camera, and give the connevtor some "slack", and then to atually tape the connector firmly to the PC outlet on the camera...I've shot with a PC cord for over 20 years, so I have seen this kind of issue before.

Also...PC cords DO deteriorate...even the very best ones....my original Paramount 20 foot PC connector cable, bought in 1986, conked out in 2007...it literally fell apart, after 20 years' worth of use...your friend's Novatron kit could be 20 years old too...

 

[dxqcanada]

You need a flash meter.

 

[JeffieLove]

looks like your shutter speed is too fast.

This happened to me with my crappy flash that I have. It has a max sync speed of 1/200. Although, I'm not sure if that is different for each flash or the camera...

Try setting your camera to 1/100 shutter speed and then adjust the aperture as needed and that line should go away

ETA: As far as the flash firing the "first time" then you have to push the test button, that's because the flash isn't recycling very fast. With strobes, they have a recycle time. The better your batteries are and the stronger they are, the faster the flash will recycle. You also want to try not to have the flash set to it's highest power. That will also make the recycle time slower.

Oh, and for someone who doesn't know crap about actually USING off camera lighting, I'm definitely about 98% positive that these are the answers to your questions

well, when i put my shutter at 1/100 iso 100 and meter it's WWAYY to bright, almost completely white! but the black blur is gone....

So if it is too bright, then you need to either lower the power on the flash, or you need to use a more narrow aperture (higher f/#). If you are shooting with a shutter speed higher than the flash sync speed of your camera, that black line is going to be there. You have to make all of your settings work together. You can even bump your ISO up to 400 or so as well. The shutter speed has to be lower than the sync speed of your camera. Point blank.

 

[Reyna]

thank you all soooo much for the fast response! i love this forum! i have def. fixed the black blur issue. i've never used lighting like this so it's all very new to me.

i'm pretty sure the other issue is the sync cord. i have to move it around to a certain spot and it works .

derrel, you're right. it seems like the weight of the cord is causing the issue. it's def. a sych cord issue. just wondering if i should go buy a new one..... or just put a rubber band around it?? just don't want to spend more money and have to put a rubber band around the new one.

 

[Derrel]

thank you all soooo much for the fast response! i love this forum! i have def. fixed the black blur issue. i've never used lighting like this so it's all very new to me.

i'm pretty sure the other issue is the sync cord. i have to move it around to a certain spot and it works sometimes.

derrel, you're right. it seems like the weight of the cord is causing the issue. it's def. a sych cord issue. just wondering if i should go buy a new one..... or just put a rubber band around it?? just don't want to spend more money and have to put a rubber band around the new one.

Well, I have used a lot of synch cords over the years...the tips simply get out of round, or loose...if you can rubber band the cord onto the body, and then simply TAPE the end firmly to the connection and get it to fire reliably, then you'll be good to go. I would try that first. Also, the PC tip reconditioner tools are available at bigger, better camera stores. This one is $13.79 from B&H Photo. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/40352-REG/Paramount_17PCD_Deluxe_PC_Tip_Conditioner.html

 

[Reyna]

thank you all soooo much for the fast response! i love this forum! i have def. fixed the black blur issue. i've never used lighting like this so it's all very new to me.

i'm pretty sure the other issue is the sync cord. i have to move it around to a certain spot and it works sometimes.

derrel, you're right. it seems like the weight of the cord is causing the issue. it's def. a sych cord issue. just wondering if i should go buy a new one..... or just put a rubber band around it?? just don't want to spend more money and have to put a rubber band around the new one.

Well, I have used a lot of synch cords over the years...the tips simply get out of round, or loose...if you can rubber band the cord onto the body, and then simply TAPE the end firmly to the connection and get it to fire reliably, then you'll be good to go. I would try that first. Also, the PC tip reconditioner tools are available at bigger, better camera stores. This one is $13.79 from B&H Photo. Paramount Deluxe PC Tip Conditioner 17PCD B&H Photo Video

You rock! Thank you Derrel!