Canon 550 EX - Manual (Page 17)

6. Pilot Lamp and Test Firing
Set the Speedlite’s main switch to .
• The flash will start charging. When the flash
is ready, the pilot lamp lights.
● Red pilot lamp
When the flash is fully charged, the pilot
lamp lights in red. For normal use, confirm
that the pilot lamp is red before taking the
picture.
● Yellow pilot lamp
When the camera is set for single shooting, a
yellow pilot lamp indicates a less-than-full
charge which enables a quick flash (see
description below). For close subjects which
do not require full-output flash, quick flash
shortens the recharging time.
To test the Speedlite, press the pilot
lamp (test firing button) to fire a test
flash.
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● About Quick Flash
With the quick-flash feature, you can fire a flash even before the flash is fully charged. When the
pilot lamp is yellow, a quick flash can be fired. The Guide No. for a quick flash is 1/2 to 1/16 that of a
normal flash. For details, see page 121.
Quick flash cannot be fired in the following cases:
• When the Speedlite is used with a Type-B camera.
• The camera is set to continuous shooting
.
• FEB is used.
• In the manual flash mode or stroboscopic flash mode with the output set to 1/1 and 1/2.
• In the stroboscopic flash mode.
• When TTL Hot Shoe Adapter 3 is used with the Speedlite.
• When Custom Function CF-3 is set to 1 (TTL autoflash).
• The Speedlite cannot be test fired during the 6 sec. after you press the camera’s
shutter button halfway (while exposure metering is active).
• If the Speedlite is in the SE mode, pressing the test firing button turns on the
Speedlite.
02. F073-E (9~) 02.4.1 2:08 PM Page 17