420 EX with ELAN 7

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I have a ELAN 7 and have recently got a 420 EX Speedlite. After readint the 420 EX manual, I cannot use any of the E-TTL and High Speed Sync features with the ELAN 7. Is the flash worth thy buy or should I buy any other flash unit. I am a new person to photography.

Thanks and Regards.

-- Kurien Philip (kurien_philip@hotmail.com), December 05, 2001

Answers

The 420 EX was introduced expressly as the recommended flash for the Elan 7 and ETTL, high speed sync, and FEL will work fine. {See below).

http://www.usa.canon.com/camcambin/cameras/35mm/slr/elan7_access.html

Check both manuals again. The European model name for an Elan 7 is EOS 30 or 33 (maybe thats what its called in the 420EX manual).

Make sure you bought a new 420EX (not an older "EZ" type flash which does not support ETTL).

-- Kenneth Katz (socks@bestweb.net), December 05, 2001.


Follow up Question:

Dear Mr. Katz,

Thank you for the reply.

The 420 EX manual specifically mentions that the E-TTL, FP Flash and FEL are only supported by Type A camera's. Only the ELAN 7E (EOS 30) is mentioned in the Type A camera list of the 420EX manual.

I have a ELAN 7 and ELAN 7 does not support E-TTL (does not mention in the manual any place). The difference between the 7 and the 7E is availability of E-TTL on the 7E.

However when I use the flash on my ELAN 7, the E-TTL signal on the flash is ON.

Does this mean that my camera has E-TTL?

I am lost. Please do help.

Thanks once again.

Regards Kurien

-- Kurien Philip (kurien_philip@hotmail.com), December 05, 2001.


The only difference between the Elan 7 and 7e is eye controlled autofocus. Everything else is the same.

How do you know you can't use any of the features you mentioned? Does the flash just not fire? Do your pictures appear underexposed? Please give more info.

To use High Speed sync, you must:

1. set on the High Speed switch on the flash. 2. put the camera in Tv mode 3. set the shutter speed you want, like 1/1000 sec.

E-TTL should just happen on it's own. When you fire the flash you may see 2 flashes occurring almost simultaneously. I can see it on my 420EX and the first flash is the "pre-flash" that determines the exposure and the second flash occurs at actual exposure.

Nik

-- NikB (ndb_letters@yahoo.com), December 05, 2001.


Like Nik said, your Elan 7 has ETTL. The flash would not signal "ETTL" if it didn't.

FP sync can also be activated in Av mode by selecting an apeture that requires a shutter speed which is faster than 1/125 for proper ambient exposure. FP sync is wonderful for daylight fill flash. You can leave the flash set for FP sync and it happens automatically when the shutter speed exceeds 1/125.

Ken

-- Kenneth Katz (socks@bestweb.net), December 05, 2001.


e-ttl works automatically with any ex series flash. if you want proof, shoot your camera with the mirror lock delay on. when you press the shutter release button the test flash will fire and then the mirror will lock up. then after the 2second mirror lockup delay, the shutter will open and the second real flash will fire.

-- Jeff Nakayama (moonduck22@hotmail.com), December 05, 2001.


The Rebel G, Rebel 2000, Elan II/IIe, Elan 7/7e, EOS 3, and EOS 1v are all Type-A E-TTL cameras. Canon's digital SLR's (D30 and EOS 1d) and APS SLR's are also E-TTL. The only non-E-TTL cameras are the A2/A2e, EOS 1n, and older cameras. E-TTL is Canon's current standard for flash exposure. The only new Canon SLR not to have E-TTL is the economy-level EOS 3000 for the European market.

-- Peter Phan (PPHAN01@HOTMAIL.COM), December 06, 2001.

Dear Nick, Ken, Jeff and Peter,

Thank you for your inputs. My camera is about 3 months old and the flash is just two days old. The confusion I had was from reading the manuals ... coz of the information in the manuals that I misinterpreted. If it was not for you guys, I would hv most probably returned the speedlite by now :-)

This weekend I will be testing out the flash and all its features. Will defnitely get back to you all in case of help.

The ELAN 7 is a cool camera and I have managed to take some really good pictures with it.

Thanks for all the help. And Kudos to you guys for keeping the forum active.

Regards Kurien

PS: Guess I will take some time to learn quite some things ... but once I do, I will also try and contribute to the forum. Thanks Guys.

-- Kurien Philip (kurien_philip@hotmail.com), December 06, 2001.


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