No External Flash with Canon EOS 1000D and Helicon Remote

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classico

No External Flash with Canon EOS 1000D and Helicon Remote

Post by classico »

Hi,

I have just upgraded to version 2.0.14.w

Now I can't activate the non-Canon external flash anymore during shooting.

I have disabled "liveview mode during shooting" in settings.

If I press turn off "live view" and press "take picture" the external flash i activated. If I press "start shooting" the flash is not activated.

Hope for a little help.

Best regards,
Jesper
classico

Re: No External Flash with Canon EOS 1000D and Helicon Remot

Post by classico »

Hi,

I Have have just checked again with the old version of Helicon Remote.

I think, what I need to make this new version 2.0.14.w to work with Canon 1000D is the parameter "mirror lock up is enabled: yes/no"

This parameter is available in the old version and has to be set to "no" for Canon 1000D - else the flash is not activated during shooting.

Could this parameter be implemented in the new 2.0.14.w version?

Best regards,
Jesper
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Stas Yatsenko
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Re: No External Flash with Canon EOS 1000D and Helicon Remot

Post by Stas Yatsenko »

1. Make sure Preferences/Canon/'Disable LiveView mode during shooting' is set to 'Yes'.

2. Try increasing Preferences/General/'Pause for flash recharge'
Classico

Re: No External Flash with Canon EOS 1000D and Helicon Remot

Post by Classico »

I have sent you the bugreport from Helicon Remote
classico

Re: No External Flash with Canon EOS 1000D and Helicon Remot

Post by classico »

Hi,

We have testet the new version 2.0.15w (from 7.3.2011) with Canon D1000.

We get a lot of errors about downloding images to pc in the logfile, and the external flash is still no activated like in the old version of helicon remote.

I have sent the file to you from the program.

We are tired of waiting. Witch low/mid range price camera should we buy, to get a Helicon Focus/Remote function proof camera?

Best regards,
Jesper
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Stas Yatsenko
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Re: No External Flash with Canon EOS 1000D and Helicon Remot

Post by Stas Yatsenko »

Jesper,

Please give us some more time and logs to fix this. Our general observation is that top and mid range cameras are much more stable that low range cameras. This concerns both Nikon and Canon. Low range cameras often miss some properties or have not enough performance. But in most cases this can be solved or compensated. Canon EOS Utility is able to work with your camera, right? That means that we can this too. The problem is that manufacturer's documentation is very scarce and we have to find solution by trial and error method.
sth

Re: No External Flash with Canon EOS 1000D and Helicon Remot

Post by sth »

Same problem here with a 450D and a radio-triggered flash.

The flash is set to the lowest power setting, so recharge time is not a problem. It even goes to standby after some time during shooting with Helicon focus, so it probably doesn't get triggered at all.

It works fine in EOS Utility as long as LiveView is not activated.

Judging from the sound of the camera, the "Disable LiveView mode during shooting" option in HeliconRemote doesn't seem to have any effect at all. It still sounds like it's shooting directly from LiveView. Maybe that's where the problem lies.

I'm using version 2.0.15m on Mac OS X.
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Stas Yatsenko
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Re: No External Flash with Canon EOS 1000D and Helicon Remot

Post by Stas Yatsenko »

Thanks for the tip, we will check this. BTW, there is newer 2.0.16 version out.

What happen if you disable live view with the button on the toolbar? Still no effect? In any case please send us a bug report (help\report a bug) after test stack with "Live View disabled"
sth

Re: No External Flash with Canon EOS 1000D and Helicon Remot

Post by sth »

Stas Yatsenko wrote:What happen if you disable live view with the button on the toolbar? Still no effect? In any case please send us a bug report (help\report a bug) after test stack with "Live View disabled"
No effect. During shooting, the LiveView-Button in the toolbar automatically switches to "on" until shooting is finished.

Tried with 2.0.15 and 2.0.16, with and without mirror-lockup. I'll send a bug report.
saa
Posts: 2
Joined: 07.01.2011 16:48

Re: No External Flash with Canon EOS 1000D and Helicon Remot

Post by saa »

sth wrote:Same problem here with a 450D and a radio-triggered flash.

The flash is set to the lowest power setting, so recharge time is not a problem. It even goes to standby after some time during shooting with Helicon focus, so it probably doesn't get triggered at all.

It works fine in EOS Utility as long as LiveView is not activated.

Judging from the sound of the camera, the "Disable LiveView mode during shooting" option in HeliconRemote doesn't seem to have any effect at all. It still sounds like it's shooting directly from LiveView.
Correct (well, almost). For some cameras (including 450D) this option does not make any sense (and in fact forcing it could damage the camera). The problem is that these cameras activate autofocus whenever one takes a picture, unless the LiveView is active. Therefore the only way to control the focus position is to switch the LiveView on (that's why the "Disable LiveView mode during shooting" does not make any sense for such cameras).

On the other hand, other cameras (for instance, 5D Mark II) give more control, that is, one can tell the camera 'Hey, please take a picture, but don't bother with autofocusing. I know better. Just do it.'

Last but not least, for some funny reason Canon does not allow one to control the flash (remotely). We'll try to find out if there is some undocumented command for activating the flash (I won't hold my breath for that one, though).

Sorry for the bad news.
sth

Re: No External Flash with Canon EOS 1000D and Helicon Remot

Post by sth »

Too bad, but thanks for the explanation.

Can you tell me if the 7D supports this correctly? (I plan buying one in the near future)
saa
Posts: 2
Joined: 07.01.2011 16:48

Re: No External Flash with Canon EOS 1000D and Helicon Remot

Post by saa »

sth wrote:Too bad, but thanks for the explanation.

Can you tell me if the 7D supports this correctly? (I plan buying one in the near future)
I haven't ever used 7D, so I can't give a definitive answer, but anyway... http://blog.photoframd.com/2010/01/06/c ... r-settings suggests that 7D allows one to control the autofocus behavior. My gut feeling is that it's possible to control focus position even if the Live View is not active, so the external flash would work (although it might require sometweaks). To re-iterate: I haven't ever used 7D, this is just an educated guess.
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