Flash not being triggered properly

[john.margetts]

I am trying to use my Metz Mecablitz 48 AF-1 flash gun with my EOS 80D. I originally bought this flash gun some years ago (for either my EOS 350D or EOS 650D, I cannot remember which). With that original camera, it worked fine. With my 80D, the flash fires as soon as I partially depress the shutter button, well before the shutter fires. Is there some setting I do not know about or is this flash just not compatible (or faulty)? I have reset everything I can think of on both camera and flash gun to no avail.

 

[redsnappa]

The flash you get as you partially depress the shutter button may just be the anti red eye pre flash.
Does the flash work when you actually take the picture and is the image correctly exposed?

 

[Phil V]

Check all your ext flash settings.

Red eye
FEL


But it could be incompatible, when Metz built it they couldn't test it with a future camera. I think some flash protocols were tweaked for the 80d and similar cameras which meant changes to some current 3rd party products. Have you googled to see if anyone else has issues?

 

[john.margetts]

Thank you, redsnappa and Phil V. I have it sorted. It was a firmware issue in the flash gun. I downloaded a firmware update from Metz's web site which included solving problems with the 70D - the update is actually several years old. Flash now works properly.