I've never messed with flashes before, not even the internal one on my camera. I have this shinny new yongnuo yn560-iii speed light stuck on a canon t2i. I don't have a remote for it yet. I thought I'd start out all basic and stick it on the hot shoe and fiddle with it. The pilot works but I can't figure out how to make it actually flash when I take a picture.
I found the flash control settings on my camera. AHA I thought, but nope. The built-in flash function settings say that I have an external flash attached, BUT the external flash settings say that this flash isn't compatible. I've hunted around online and there are other people out there with the same camera and flash I have so it's supposed to work.
The YN560-III is not a TTL flash, so the camera won't be able to control the flash settings (via the menus), which is why it says it's incompatible. It should still be able to trigger the flash, with the strength of the flash being controlled via the buttons on the flash, rather than via the camera.
The flash will not trigger when the camera is in Live View. I can't precisely remember with the consumer-level Canon cameras, but I think it also may not trigger a non-TTL flash unless the camera is in M, Av or Tv mode.
Try switching the camera into M (manual) mode and taking a photo (making sure the camera isn't in Live View mode). That should trigger the flash -- then you can try other modes and see when it does or doesn't work.
The more expensive Canon cameras have a (very obscurely-named) option that allows you to use external non-TTL flashes with Live View enabled, but for reasons beyond understanding, Canon didn't include that option in the T2i range :(
You may find you want to use the Sanyo Eneloop (I think that is how it is spelled. I don't have them here right now to check) batteries. I found that my Yongnuo flash worked well the first two or three times with regular batteries but then stopped working. Once I purchased the Sanyo batteries it worked well. It is VERY hard on the batteries so a double set might be useful.
I have this same camera-flash set up and I must admit I don't use it much but I did when I first got it, it's good for practice. Now I tend to use super-cheap film-camera flash guns, which obviously DON'T mount on your DSLR, but I use a transmitter and receiver set with up to 3 guns, and it lets me move flash around all over the place, and I suppose I could get quite sophisticated with it if I wanted to. All manual though so I adjust the settings as I go. Using several tripods some times. The transmitter kit only cost just over $20 on eBay. Don't know if thats an accepted 'cheap-route' to flash photography, I'm the only person I know who does it like that, but I have mainly film gear so it suits me. any comment on that topsy turvy way of working Alex?? @abirkill
@chewyteeth You can mount certain older flash guns on your DSLR safely, but you need to be careful of trigger voltages -- older flash guns can put a very high voltage across trigger pin, which can fry the more delicate circuits in DSLRs. There's a pretty comprehensive list here which is useful when researching old flashguns, if you do want to use them on-camera: http://www.botzilla.com/photo/strobeVolts.html
Using old, cheap film flash guns with the ability to manually dial in the power output, triggered off-camera by radio or optical triggers, is the basis of flash photography made popular by the Strobist website several years ago: http://strobist.blogspot.ca/2006/03/lighting-101-start-here.html
I have a number of older film flashguns, both old Canon EZ models and other brands, which I use for radio triggering (although I also used the site above to make sure they would all be safe to use directly on the camera, for flexibility). This allows you to do very advanced lighting techniques with a handful of $20-$40 flashguns and a cheap set of radio triggers. The Strobist site is a wonderful resource for this kind of work, with superb easy-to-understand tutorials and challenges. I've never spent the time I should have done to really develop this aspect of photography, as I mostly work with natural light, but if you want to become an expert at off-camera flash photography, a combination of dedication and the Strobist site will pay off in spades.
The Yongnuo range and other cheap-and-cheerful flash guns featuring flexible manual controls are also a response to the Strobist site and other similar sites, which have caused a huge interest in off-camera wireless flash photography. They provide an excellent way of buying a cheap flash gun with manual controls and (in the case of the YN560-III) a built-in radio trigger, without having to scour eBay trying to pick a good old flash gun out of the many (many many) confusing options.
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The flash will not trigger when the camera is in Live View. I can't precisely remember with the consumer-level Canon cameras, but I think it also may not trigger a non-TTL flash unless the camera is in M, Av or Tv mode.
Try switching the camera into M (manual) mode and taking a photo (making sure the camera isn't in Live View mode). That should trigger the flash -- then you can try other modes and see when it does or doesn't work.
it was the Live View that was killing me, once I turned that off I was off and flashing
wait what?
I had a feeling it was something simple that I was missing.
I knew it was a manual flash, but I wanted a cheap one to play with since I know nothing about working with flash.
The more expensive Canon cameras have a (very obscurely-named) option that allows you to use external non-TTL flashes with Live View enabled, but for reasons beyond understanding, Canon didn't include that option in the T2i range :(
Have fun!
http://www.botzilla.com/photo/strobeVolts.html
You can also use a Safe Sync adapter to safely mount flashguns with a higher trigger voltage to your camera -- this sits in between the camera and the flash and keeps the camera from seeing the high voltage:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/245292-REG/Wein_W990560_Safe_Sync_Hot_Shoe_to.html
Using old, cheap film flash guns with the ability to manually dial in the power output, triggered off-camera by radio or optical triggers, is the basis of flash photography made popular by the Strobist website several years ago:
http://strobist.blogspot.ca/2006/03/lighting-101-start-here.html
I have a number of older film flashguns, both old Canon EZ models and other brands, which I use for radio triggering (although I also used the site above to make sure they would all be safe to use directly on the camera, for flexibility). This allows you to do very advanced lighting techniques with a handful of $20-$40 flashguns and a cheap set of radio triggers. The Strobist site is a wonderful resource for this kind of work, with superb easy-to-understand tutorials and challenges. I've never spent the time I should have done to really develop this aspect of photography, as I mostly work with natural light, but if you want to become an expert at off-camera flash photography, a combination of dedication and the Strobist site will pay off in spades.
The Yongnuo range and other cheap-and-cheerful flash guns featuring flexible manual controls are also a response to the Strobist site and other similar sites, which have caused a huge interest in off-camera wireless flash photography. They provide an excellent way of buying a cheap flash gun with manual controls and (in the case of the YN560-III) a built-in radio trigger, without having to scour eBay trying to pick a good old flash gun out of the many (many many) confusing options.