Elinchrom D-lite 1 - firing problems

manda

manda

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Amanda Herbert
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Hi,

My Elinchrom D-lite 1 is skipping a few flashes during my sessions. I've slowed myself down, put a fresh battery in the trigger etc

What is the problem do you think?
- the unit is getting old (it's 3 years old with light use)
- I'm firing too fast
- Needs to be over 1.0 power level

I wondered if they are prone to misfiring or if there is a technical problem I could solve?

Many thanks for your insights! Mandy
 
I don't have an answer. But intermittent faults in anything are the worst to diagnose! The only thing I can suggest is to swop out individual components one at a time, which means having access to alternatives ...

Does the flash beep when ready?

I imagine that you don't want to use a synch lead (trip hazard!), but if you are using a Nikon, you could trigger the flash head optically with the on camera flash - set this up in manual commander mode. That way there's no pre-flash to confuse the issue, & the on-cam flash is at reduced power so doesn't interfere with the lighting (unless you wanted a bit of fill ...).

Any good?
 
droj said:
I don't have an answer. But intermittent faults in anything are the worst to diagnose! The only thing I can suggest is to swop out individual components one at a time, which means having access to alternatives ...

Does the flash beep when ready?

I imagine that you don't want to use a synch lead (trip hazard!), but if you are using a Nikon, you could trigger the flash head optically with the on camera flash - set this up in manual commander mode. That way there's no pre-flash to confuse the issue, & the on-cam flash is at reduced power so doesn't interfere with the lighting (unless you wanted a bit of fill ...).

Any good?
Click to expand...
Thanks for these suggestions. I'll have a play next time I get the lights out.

I have been meaning to switch the beep on again! And I don't mind the wire too much.

Thanks again, Mandy
 
Guessing from what you've said, I'd say dodgy hot-shoe contacts but let's go through the process of elimination.

D-Lite One is entry-level kit but well made and I'm not aware of any issues. I used them very happily for a few years before moving to Godox, primarily AD400Pros and mainly for battery-powered location working with more power and faster recycle.

D-Lite Ones have a slowish recycle time by today's standards, around 2 secs as I recall, but that's at full power and if you're at 1.0 that's minimum and should be very much faster and cope with rapid firing okay. That would also tend to rule out overheating issues though if you're using an enclosed softbox with the light pointed down, the tungsten modeling lamp can produce a lot of heat if you have it at full power.

So, switch on the beeper and try repeat firing using the test button on the head itself. If those comments about a softbox and modeling lamp running flat out ring a bell, replicate that situation. Press the button firmly as those little touch-pads can be a little uncertain, then give it some stick. If it fires 100% that would probably rule out the flash head as an issue.

Now do the same thing but firing the flash from the remote's test button. If it passes that check too, then it suggests something wrong at the camera end. It's unlikely to be the camera itself, but the hot-shoe contacts are a common weak spot. Shooting with the camera vertical in portrait mode puts more strain on the connection, and Sonys with their unusual hot-shoe design also comes up as an issue from time to time. Clean the contacts on both the camera and trigger carefully, make sure the trigger is properly seated and secured, then cross your fingers and see what happens as you replicate a hard shooting session.

Just had a look at your website Manda. Fine work, you have a great eye and your relaxing style mentioned by clients is clear to see. That's the real skill of portraiture, way more important than parabolic this and gridded that :cool:
 
HoppyUK said:
Guessing from what you've said, I'd say dodgy hot-shoe contacts but let's go through the process of elimination.

D-Lite One is entry-level kit but well made and I'm not aware of any issues. I used them very happily for a few years before moving to Godox, primarily AD400Pros and mainly for battery-powered location working with more power and faster recycle.

D-Lite Ones have a slowish recycle time by today's standards, around 2 secs as I recall, but that's at full power and if you're at 1.0 that's minimum and should be very much faster and cope with rapid firing okay. That would also tend to rule out overheating issues though if you're using an enclosed softbox with the light pointed down, the tungsten modeling lamp can produce a lot of heat if you have it at full power.

So, switch on the beeper and try repeat firing using the test button on the head itself. If those comments about a softbox and modeling lamp running flat out ring a bell, replicate that situation. Press the button firmly as those little touch-pads can be a little uncertain, then give it some stick. If it fires 100% that would probably rule out the flash head as an issue.

Now do the same thing but firing the flash from the remote's test button. If it passes that check too, then it suggests something wrong at the camera end. It's unlikely to be the camera itself, but the hot-shoe contacts are a common weak spot. Shooting with the camera vertical in portrait mode puts more strain on the connection, and Sonys with their unusual hot-shoe design also comes up as an issue from time to time. Clean the contacts on both the camera and trigger carefully, make sure the trigger is properly seated and secured, then cross your fingers and see what happens as you replicate a hard shooting session.

Just had a look at your website Manda. Fine work, you have a great eye and your relaxing style mentioned by clients is clear to see. That's the real skill of portraiture, way more important than parabolic this and gridded that :cool:
Click to expand...
Thanks for such a detailed response.

You won't remember, but you've answered all my questions on this forum so generously (as has Garry and a few others) for over 6 years.

So I appreciate all the support and generosity you've shown myself and others.

I'll report back once I've done a full sweep. I'm thinking contacts and verticle position at the moment (+ I do shoot fast when I get the right expression).

And of course, I'm thrilled with your observations on my website, I've just switched themes and it's made me sob with frustration!
 
manda said:
Thanks for such a detailed response.

You won't remember, but you've answered all my questions on this forum so generously (as has Garry and a few others) for over 6 years.

So I appreciate all the support and generosity you've shown myself and others.

I'll report back once I've done a full sweep. I'm thinking contacts and verticle position at the moment (+ I do shoot fast when I get the right expression).

And of course, I'm thrilled with your observations on my website, I've just switched themes and it's made me sob with frustration!
Click to expand...

You're very welcome Manda :)
 
Richard has probably answered your question but in my experience a D-lite misfiring usually means the flash tube is wearing out as things like the radio receiver failing is actually a pretty rare occurrence.

You can test the tube by firing repeatedly at the lowest power setting, if it's worn it'll usually misfire within 5-10 shots but this won't happen at higher power settings until the tube is really far gone.
 
simonbarker said:
Richard has probably answered your question but in my experience a D-lite misfiring usually means the flash tube is wearing out as things like the radio receiver failing is actually a pretty rare occurrence.

You can test the tube by firing repeatedly at the lowest power setting, if it's worn it'll usually misfire within 5-10 shots but this won't happen at higher power settings until the tube is really far gone.
Click to expand...
That's almost exactly what is happening. Thanks greatly for your help. So....... I just buy a new flash tube? I'm hoping this means the blub thingie!

I've not tested it yet as per evey ones ideas.

Mandy
 
manda said:
That's almost exactly what is happening. Thanks greatly for your help. So....... I just buy a new flash tube? I'm hoping this means the blub thingie!

I've not tested it yet as per evey ones ideas.

Mandy
Click to expand...
Yes replace the tube and the problem should go away but if you happen to have another head which isn't doing this it might be an idea to swap tubes to double check it's the tube before buying anything.

Try not to exert too much force on the glass, while Elinchrom heads are pretty good for how easily the tubes come out they don't use the thickest glass either.
 
simonbarker said:
Yes replace the tube and the problem should go away but if you happen to have another head which isn't doing this it might be an idea to swap tubes to double check it's the tube before buying anything.

Try not to exert too much force on the glass, while Elinchrom heads are pretty good for how easily the tubes come out they don't use the thickest glass either.
Click to expand...
Fantastic. Thanks!

And I'm the person who bought a new modelling bulb only to realise I had the modelling light turned off!
 
manda said:
Fantastic. Thanks!

And I'm the person who bought a new modelling bulb only to realise I had the modelling light turned off!
Click to expand...

Oh in that case a couple of warnings then, make sure the head is switched off when changing the tube and don't touch the glass with your bare skin (to avoid getting any oils on the glass).
 
simonbarker said:
Richard has probably answered your question but in my experience a D-lite misfiring usually means the flash tube is wearing out as things like the radio receiver failing is actually a pretty rare occurrence.

You can test the tube by firing repeatedly at the lowest power setting, if it's worn it'll usually misfire within 5-10 shots but this won't happen at higher power settings until the tube is really far gone.
Click to expand...
Replacing the flash tube is a solution of last resort, my advice is to follow Richard's advice and work through the possible issues that he highlighted first.

You say that
manda said:
- the unit is getting old (it's 3 years old with light use)
Click to expand...
but 3 years of light use is extremely unlikely to require a new flash tube. Think 5 years of heavy professional use, because flash tubes are usually good for at least 50,000 flashes and often for far more than that.
 
My d-lites are probably 8-10 years old and still going strong. Occasionally I get a period of mis-firing but I haven’t really sussed the issue (sorry). I usually turn off, remove the remote and go again. There’s part of me that thinks there’s a dead spot with connectivity as it happens low down, but I doubt it. Not an answer but interesting that you’ve found similar. It hasn’t ruined a session for me, I seem to remedy it so haven’t dug any deeper.
 
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