I just bought a 420EX speedlight, and want to use it with my EOS 50E (European Elan IIe) body. I tried it in all modes, and is O.K in Av, Tv and M modes -- as I am able to go for higher sync times than 1/125. But unfortunately not able at "P" mode. There I can not change the sync timing. Any Idea ?

-- Gabor Almasi (gabor.almasi@compaq.com), June 05, 2001

Answers

Thats the way my Elan II works. You already have the answer, use Av, Tv, or M for high speed sync.

-- Ken Katz (socks@bestweb.net), June 05, 2001.

The manuals of my Elan 7E (EOS 30) EOS 3 and EOS IX all claim that these cameras may use high-speed sync in the "Creative Zone" modes, i.e., P, AV, TV & M. However, I just tried it (in bright daylight at ISO 100) with my 420EX and couldn't get any of these 3 cameras to use high-speed sync (no H next to the lightning bolt and no shutter speeds above 1/200 in the EOS 3 & IX or 1/125 in the Elan 7E). No problem in AV, TV or M. Of course, the shiftable program doesn't work in P mode when a Speedlite is mounted. I guess the people who write the manuals don't necessarily use the cameras!

-- Puppy Face (doggieface@aol.com), June 05, 2001.

On my Elan 7E successor to the EOS 50E), the only way that P mode will allow high speed sync is if a high shutter speed is automatically selected.

You can verify this by changing the ISO setting to 6400. (But remember to set the ISO back to the correct value for your film :- ).

Cheers

-- Julian Loke (jul.loke@home.com), June 06, 2001.

Yes, Julian, you're right, P mode does allow FP Flash (high speed sync). My problem is I only had slow slide film in my cameras when I tried it.

However, FP Flash works best in Av, Tv and M modes where the user has control over aperture and/or shutter speed. When a Speedlite is mounted, P and DEP modes are not shiftable making these modes almost useless. Moreover, P mode tends to favor smaller apertures over faster shutter speeds when a Speedlite is mounted. Even with ISO 400 set, P mode was selecting F22 at 1/125 before FP Flash kicked in and I got the little H and bolt!

-- Puppy Face (doggieface@aol.com), June 06, 2001.