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Live view appears dark when flash plugged in

Posted: Sun May 21, 2017 1:23 pm
by zypie
Hi,
I'm encountering an issue with my new 760D and the live view.

Here the configuration :

Canon eos 760D
Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 DI II SP
Flash Neewer DE 300 (same stuff than the godox de300)
iPad Air 1st gen.

Settings : iso 100, f/8, 1/200s.

My problem is :

When I do not plug the flash on the hot shoe, the live view is very clear, trough the camera screen and on the iPad screen when I connect it.

But,
When I plug the flash, screen comes very dark, live view is unusable on the camera screen, also on the iPad. I must turn iso on auto mode (it ups to 1600, screen is viewable, but images are burned because of the flash)

I do not have this problem with my EOS 6D.

It's not a problem with the app but if you, Tim, or someone else could help me, that would be great :D
I'm loosing my mind trying a lot of settings.

Re: Live view appears dark when flash plugged in

Posted: Sun May 21, 2017 3:21 pm
by tim
Hi im up north right now without a canon camera.
Which mode are you in on the mode dial - M?
If you are on M please try P.
If you are on P please try M.

Re: Live view appears dark when flash plugged in

Posted: Sun May 21, 2017 4:42 pm
by zypie
I'm on M mode.

If I put my camera in P mode, I can't control the aperture/speed/iso that I want.
Aperture turns to 2.8 so very short depth of field, and turns speed to less than 2 seconds, images are blurry.

If I turn to M mode, perfect images with my settings (iso 100, speed 1/200, aperture f/8) but live view doesn't compensate those settings to provide a bright image on the screen. That is the concept of the live view in fact... it's a WYSISWYG screen but doesn't compense if external flash is plugged on, only if not. I do not understand why.

To resume : M mode with my settings without flash : live view works great and bright.
M mode with my settings with flash : very dark screen.

P mode : bad settings, blurry photos, but live view appears normaly and compensates luminosity.

sorry for my english, hard week, very tired, thank you for all ;)

Re: Live view appears dark when flash plugged in

Posted: Sun May 21, 2017 9:10 pm
by tim
It appears to be a limitation of the camera - the feature is called "exposure simulation", means that live view has a different exposure than the photo. I think you cant change the setting on your camera.
You could get a bright light to light up the scene.
You could try installing magic lantern firmware on yoyr camera (warning, voids warranty i think)

Re: Live view appears dark when flash plugged in

Posted: Mon May 22, 2017 2:23 am
by zypie
Ok thanks.
Unfortunately Magic Lantern is not compatible with 760 and scene is already bright by model light on the flash. I think there is no way to fix this :-(

Re: Live view appears dark when flash plugged in

Posted: Mon May 22, 2017 9:47 am
by tim
That sucks. Let me know if you find a workaround, my 750D has the same problem.

Re: Live view appears dark when flash plugged in

Posted: Mon May 22, 2017 12:16 pm
by zypie
Indeed, after reviewing my 6D menu, there is an exposition simulation sub-menu wich can be enable or disable.
So even when I turn my camera to f/22 and 4000 shutter speed (lol) the scene in the live view appears like I see it trough my eyes.

This option is not available on the 760D :( :( :(

Re: Live view appears dark when flash plugged in

Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2017 4:39 pm
by thegrungeone
Isn't there a way to replace that flash? Like in one with a very bright "wysiwyg" test light?
I normally don't photograph with flashes, but maybe this is some kind of a solution. I will try mine now, I'm sure I'll have the same problem.

Re: Live view appears dark when flash plugged in

Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2017 6:46 pm
by thegrungeone
No, I'm taking it back. No answer to that. Let me know if there's any solution.

:(

Re: Live view appears dark when flash plugged in

Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2017 7:47 pm
by tim
If you are using strobe flash then you need to upgrade to a camera that supports live view NOT always showing video with the same gain as the exposure setting. The canon 80D is the cheapest best cam i know that can do it.

Re: Live view appears dark when flash plugged in

Posted: Sat Jul 15, 2017 11:08 am
by aluminumwelder
There are a few ways to solve this problem
number one use a dedicated E TTL flash
the camera will automatically recognize a flashlight attached
and produce a bright light view
You can always set the flash to manual to trigger your more powerful studio flash

number two under the Camera menu tab there is an item
called flash control
set your camera to aperture priority and set the sync speed to
1/200 of a second
please know you may need to grind off a bit of the hot shoe adapter
to trick the camera