I was shooting an event last evening and the flashes and camera were working great all day and then all of the sudden the flashes started to act very weird. This isn't the first time. Some of the things that are happening are the following:


The camera knows the flash is there... just won't fire the flash

The shutter speed and aperture go from perfect exposure to 200 @ F22 and the exposure is a mess.

The entire LCD display on the back of the 5D won't power on.

The LCD won't show the image that has been taken right away on the display

The 5D will stop working all together


This isn't the first time the flashes and camera have done this. I just had the flashes and cameras at Canon for service. I did try to troubleshoot on location with removing all of the batteries (both flashes and cameras) reset all of the settings, changed lens, and changed to another flash to let the 580's rest.

I ended up giving my second a 550 and I went with the Vivitar 285 for the rest of the evening, and am very VERY happy with the results! So, it might be a blessing in disguise. However, spending the $800+ on the 580's isn't making me very happy that are less than a year old that have crapped out on me now two times at events isn't making me happy.

I am not sure if I am shooting too fast for the flashes and cameras and am causing them to "burn out" or if there is a communication error again. I will be calling Canon tomorrow to get the gear in for repair again.

If anyone has experienced a similar issue, let me know.

Thanks!
Amanda