60D, Liveview and 580 flash problem

[davwhite]

I was having bad focusing problems with my flash photography, speeds all over the place and sometimes never getting a focus. I noticed that the red focus light was not firing 90% of the timer so I thought I had a fault.
Before sending the 580 EX back to be checked I went through all the settings again.

The fault? It was liveview, when I was in that situation I had the problem, switch back and all is ok, red beam fires every time.

Anyone else experienced this problem?

If you have a 60D and a 580 EXII give a try for me.

I'm off to Canon to check for any firmware updates otherwise I will be asking them some questions.

[AnzacPride]

Just a guess but there is probably nothing wrong with the camera or your flash, maybe its just the normal issues associated with live view focus,
Which Live view focus mode are you using ?
Have you tried quick LV focus?
That said I know diddly about flash work so I could be completely wrong.

Cheers Dan

[Bennymiata]

I have a 60D and a 580EXII flash and use it a lot in Live View mode.

When you hit the shutter to get auto-focus in Live View, the camera takes an age to get the focus, especially if the light is dim and the red light (focus assist light) only comes on for a few moments, and this is often not enough time for the camera to get focus.
If you are not using Live View, then the camera focusses much faster and the foscus assist light on the flash really works well.
Wehn using Live View, I generally just use manual focus, as it's faster and more accurate than using the auto focussing .
I often use the magnification in live view to give me perfect focus every time.

If you have a video light, this can also be of great asistance to auto focussing in Live View.

[davwhite]

Finally the word from Canon...

In Live view you have two options:
- Quick mode:
The flash AF siist light will work. But in Live mode it will not. Basically in Quick mode it uses the camera AF sensor.

- Live mode:
It does not, it uses the CMOS to find contrast and than lock is focus when ready. Quick focuses is quicker to AF, Live mode is slower.

Please see page 160 of the manual for more information on this.

So no more low light flash in Live mode, how stupid is it to have such an advanced camera and flash and not be able to focus in live mode.

[Bennymiata]

Another trick to use is switch off live view with the camera set to auto-focus and use the viewfinder and half press the shutter to get focus.
When you have perfect focus, set the lens to manual focus and switch on live view then take the photo.
If the camera or the object your photographing hasn't moved, then the focus wil be perfect.
By using a smaller lens opening, you can keep a lot of the frame in foucs even if things are moving around a bit.

[Ms Monny]

I haven't used the flash with my 60D but I only focus manually when I am in live-mode. Sorry, I know that doesn't help in any way.