K-3 Flash Recycle Time_Shooting in Series

MRCDH · 12-06-2015, 11:08 AM

On Saturday December 5, 2015 I was at Butterfly Wonderland in Scottsdale, AZ. This is an interesting venue, which has butterflies from around the world in a tropical setting. The butterflies have little to no fear of people and if you stand still they will land on your clothing or the top of your head etc. I was shooting in Flash Mode (X) but I couldn't determine the exact amount of time that the flash would need to recycle before I took the next shot in focus. What I would like to do is shoot at an optimum rate while in focus and have the flash operate with each photo. I found at certain times (within a short time after the previous shot) that I would push the shutter release and nothing would happen. I have the Custom Settings (C3) all set to 1. Is this the reason of periodic delays or might it be the pop-up flash on the camera had not recycled fully. Thank you in advance for your feedback!

Last edited by MRCDH; 12-06-2015 at 01:26 PM. Reason: spelling correction

promacjoe · 12-06-2015, 03:09 PM

go to menu, C, item 20, and set it to "1 (off)". This will disable the shutter release while charging built-in flash.

MRCDH · 12-06-2015, 05:01 PM

Originally posted by promacjoe

go to menu, C, item 20, and set it to "1 (off)". This will disable the shutter release while charging built-in flash.

Promacjoe, thanks for your response; this confirms that the flash was in the process of recycling the charge because I had the setting as you suggested. It appears that it takes about 2 or 3 seconds for the flash to recycle after the flash is discharged. Does this seem to be approximately correct from what others have experienced?

mcgregni · 12-06-2015, 09:44 PM

Flash recycling is dependent on two things really,... The amount of power discharged in the previous flash, and the state of the battery. Both of these are variable, so I'd expect it could take longer in certain situations. I'd have thought that at low power and with a well charged battery you might get faster flash recycling than 2-3 seconds. If you need to do this sort of shot regularly then an accessory hotshoe flashgun would be a good investment. I have had continuous flashes from the AF-540 at a rate of about 1.5 per seconds for up to 15 shots.

MRCDH · 12-07-2015, 06:14 AM

Originally posted by mcgregni

Flash recycling is dependent on two things really,... The amount of power discharged in the previous flash, and the state of the battery. Both of these are variable, so I'd expect it could take longer in certain situations. I'd have thought that at low power and with a well charged battery you might get faster flash recycling than 2-3 seconds. If you need to do this sort of shot regularly then an accessory hotshoe flashgun would be a good investment. I have had continuous flashes from the AF-540 at a rate of about 1.5 per seconds for up to 15 shots.

Mcgregni, thank you for you comment; I will look into the AF-540. The battery was recently purchased and was fully charged before I went to the shoot. The 2-3 seconds I mentioned was only a guess (things always seem longer when you are waiting). Since I was shooting butterflies in this venue I wanted to capture the shot before additional movement or having the subject fly away. I got over 150 good captures in 2.5 hours so I really can't complain to much, which when you calculate it out is less than 2 minutes per shot, and this is about what you were estimating. Thanks again!!

Unregistered User · 12-07-2015, 09:55 AM

Just tested. Fully charged, close distans gives me 0.5 seconds, large room, 2 seconds.

**mattb123** · 12-07-2015, 11:04 AM

Originally posted by Tjompen1968

Just tested. Fully charged, close distans gives me 0.5 seconds, large room, 2 seconds.

How much light there is in the room will affect this because a full power flash will take longer to recharge from than a partial power one.

I get around this with an external flash (Metz 58 AF-2 in my case) and an external rechargeable battery pack for it. That way I can just keep shooting with almost instant recycle time.

howieb101 · 12-07-2015, 02:51 PM

If flash recycling time is very important to you the Godox Ving 850 is a great flash. Superfast recycle time but all manual. For shooting butterflies I don't think that would be a problem. Buy from a reputable dealer though as historically there were battery issues.

Howie Be

MRCDH · 12-08-2015, 02:53 PM

Originally posted by MRCDH

Mcgregni, thank you for you comment; I will look into the AF-540. The battery was recently purchased and was fully charged before I went to the shoot. The 2-3 seconds I mentioned was only a guess (things always seem longer when you are waiting). Since I was shooting butterflies in this venue I wanted to capture the shot before additional movement or having the subject fly away. I got over 150 good captures in 2.5 hours so I really can't complain to much, which when you calculate it out is less than 2 minutes per shot, and this is about what you were estimating. Thanks again!!

Jtompen, mattb, howieb, thanks for your feedback; after reviewing the imputs I have received it appears the camera is recycling, relative to the pop-up flash, as it should, and the number of pictures I captured was not bad. I guess I was a bit impatient and it was not the recycle rate that was at issue. All in all the K-3 still is performing in an excellent manner.

12-06-2015, 11:08 AM	#1
MRCDH Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Scottsdale, AZ Posts: 76	K-3 Flash Recycle Time_Shooting in Series On Saturday December 5, 2015 I was at Butterfly Wonderland in Scottsdale, AZ. This is an interesting venue, which has butterflies from around the world in a tropical setting. The butterflies have little to no fear of people and if you stand still they will land on your clothing or the top of your head etc. I was shooting in Flash Mode (X) but I couldn't determine the exact amount of time that the flash would need to recycle before I took the next shot in focus. What I would like to do is shoot at an optimum rate while in focus and have the flash operate with each photo. I found at certain times (within a short time after the previous shot) that I would push the shutter release and nothing would happen. I have the Custom Settings (C3) all set to 1. Is this the reason of periodic delays or might it be the pop-up flash on the camera had not recycled fully. Thank you in advance for your feedback! Last edited by MRCDH; 12-06-2015 at 01:26 PM. Reason: spelling correction

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12-06-2015, 03:09 PM	#2
promacjoe Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 340	go to menu, C, item 20, and set it to "1 (off)". This will disable the shutter release while charging built-in flash.

12-06-2015, 05:01 PM	#3
MRCDH Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Scottsdale, AZ Posts: 76 Original Poster	Originally posted by promacjoe go to menu, C, item 20, and set it to "1 (off)". This will disable the shutter release while charging built-in flash. Promacjoe, thanks for your response; this confirms that the flash was in the process of recycling the charge because I had the setting as you suggested. It appears that it takes about 2 or 3 seconds for the flash to recycle after the flash is discharged. Does this seem to be approximately correct from what others have experienced?

12-06-2015, 09:44 PM	#4
mcgregni Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Surrey, England Posts: 2,603	Flash recycling is dependent on two things really,... The amount of power discharged in the previous flash, and the state of the battery. Both of these are variable, so I'd expect it could take longer in certain situations. I'd have thought that at low power and with a well charged battery you might get faster flash recycling than 2-3 seconds. If you need to do this sort of shot regularly then an accessory hotshoe flashgun would be a good investment. I have had continuous flashes from the AF-540 at a rate of about 1.5 per seconds for up to 15 shots.

12-07-2015, 06:14 AM	#5
MRCDH Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Scottsdale, AZ Posts: 76 Original Poster	Originally posted by mcgregni Flash recycling is dependent on two things really,... The amount of power discharged in the previous flash, and the state of the battery. Both of these are variable, so I'd expect it could take longer in certain situations. I'd have thought that at low power and with a well charged battery you might get faster flash recycling than 2-3 seconds. If you need to do this sort of shot regularly then an accessory hotshoe flashgun would be a good investment. I have had continuous flashes from the AF-540 at a rate of about 1.5 per seconds for up to 15 shots. Mcgregni, thank you for you comment; I will look into the AF-540. The battery was recently purchased and was fully charged before I went to the shoot. The 2-3 seconds I mentioned was only a guess (things always seem longer when you are waiting). Since I was shooting butterflies in this venue I wanted to capture the shot before additional movement or having the subject fly away. I got over 150 good captures in 2.5 hours so I really can't complain to much, which when you calculate it out is less than 2 minutes per shot, and this is about what you were estimating. Thanks again!!

12-07-2015, 09:55 AM	#6
Unregistered User Guest	Just tested. Fully charged, close distans gives me 0.5 seconds, large room, 2 seconds.

12-07-2015, 11:04 AM	#7
mattb123 Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Colorado High Country Photos: Gallery Posts: 10,872	Originally posted by Tjompen1968 Just tested. Fully charged, close distans gives me 0.5 seconds, large room, 2 seconds. How much light there is in the room will affect this because a full power flash will take longer to recharge from than a partial power one. I get around this with an external flash (Metz 58 AF-2 in my case) and an external rechargeable battery pack for it. That way I can just keep shooting with almost instant recycle time.

12-07-2015, 02:51 PM	#8
howieb101 Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Melbourne, Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 594	If flash recycling time is very important to you the Godox Ving 850 is a great flash. Superfast recycle time but all manual. For shooting butterflies I don't think that would be a problem. Buy from a reputable dealer though as historically there were battery issues. Howie Be

12-08-2015, 02:53 PM	#9
MRCDH Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Scottsdale, AZ Posts: 76 Original Poster	Originally posted by MRCDH Mcgregni, thank you for you comment; I will look into the AF-540. The battery was recently purchased and was fully charged before I went to the shoot. The 2-3 seconds I mentioned was only a guess (things always seem longer when you are waiting). Since I was shooting butterflies in this venue I wanted to capture the shot before additional movement or having the subject fly away. I got over 150 good captures in 2.5 hours so I really can't complain to much, which when you calculate it out is less than 2 minutes per shot, and this is about what you were estimating. Thanks again!! Jtompen, mattb, howieb, thanks for your feedback; after reviewing the imputs I have received it appears the camera is recycling, relative to the pop-up flash, as it should, and the number of pictures I captured was not bad. I guess I was a bit impatient and it was not the recycle rate that was at issue. All in all the K-3 still is performing in an excellent manner.