When Live View mode was first introduced on Canon EOS DSLR cameras some photographers were confused. Surely holding a camera at arms length so you can see the LCD screen would create camera shake. The reality is that Live View has enabled different kinds of photography to be possible or at least made less arduous.
I’ve found that Live View mode is something I’m using from time to time, however I recently had a bought of head scratching when using the EOS 60D and Live View with some simple radio triggers. Cameras like the EOS 7D, EOS 5D Mark II & EOS 60D have the option to reduce the noise of the shutter mechanism via the Silent shooting option in the Live View settings. If the function exists then the three options are Mode 1, Mode 2 and Disable.
In the EOS 60D manual the descriptions of the modes are as follows.
Mode 1: “The shooting operation noise is quieter than with normal shooting. Continuous shooting is also possible. High-speed continuous shooting will be approx. 5 fps.”
Mode 2: “When you press the shutter button completely, only one shot will be taken. While you keep holding down the shutter button, the camera operation will be suspended. Then when you return to the shutter button’s halfway position, the camera operation will resume. The shooting noise is thereby minimized. Even if continuous shooting is set, only a single shot can be taken in this mode.”
Disable: “If you use a TS-E lens to make vertical shift movements or use an Extension Tube, be sure to set this to [Disable]. Setting it to [Mode 1] or [Mode 2] will result in incorrect or irregular exposures. When you press the shutter button completely, the shutter will sound like it took two shots. However, only one shot will be taken.”
Disable silent shooting if you use simple radio triggers for flash
Disable silent LV shoot mode with simple flash and radio triggers
Thanx, this really helped me solve the flash firing while using the vari-angle in live mode!
Thanks for your help but I’m still a little confused on something. As you mentioned using my 60D with the pocket wizard plus 11 I cannot trigger my studio flashes. I did switch the shooting mode to “Disable” but it still doesn’t trigger the flash. It also will not trip the shutter so I am getting no image at all. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Dave
Dave are you able to trigger the studio flashes via the pocket wizards when not in Live View Mode?
I’m a bit confused about the not tripping the shutter bit, are you trying to get the pw to release the shutter too, if so then are you using the correct PW to camera cable?
[…] the story goes… Live View mode can often catch photographers out when using flash, even non-dedicated flashes or pocket wizard type transmitters. You should keep Live View silent […]
Thanks. Great piece of info. I’ve been slowly working the kinks out of shooting tethered in Lightroom 5 with 3 PW+3s in LV, using a 5D Mkii and two flashes, a 580EXii and a 430EXii. At first I couldn’t get things to fire at all. Disconnecting the tether made a modest improvement–1 or 2 shots, then nothing at all. A little advice from a pro photographer pointed me in the right direction. Despite having purchased the PWs within weeks of each other, it turned out that they were running different versions of the firmware. An update got them triggering reliably during tethered shooting, but not with Live View. I could have lived with that state of affairs, but I decided to Google around a bit, and came across your article. After switching to disable from silent mode everything works like a charm. Thanks. Ken
Great Tip! Thanks!!!
Dear Brain,
I recently bought a speedlight Yongnuo YN560III and trying to understand the usage. While the LCD screen is on or in a live view mode, it appears that the speedlight does not work. Is there anything I need to do in setting or is it like that. Hope to have your response.
Hi Sujan,
You need to set the Silent LV shoot to DISABLE. – I added an LCD screen grab to the post above.
Since your flash isn’t Canon dedicated then the camera won’t automatically switch the Silent LV mode from Mode 1 or Mode 2 to disable like it does with dedicated flashes.
Brian / p4pictures
Thank you Brian!
Was trying to figure out which setting to change to make my Yongnuo RF-602 RX and RF-602TX radio trigger on 7D ii to work on live view.
Brian,
THANKS!!! I shoot interiors and recently went to off camera flashes. They would not fire using my tablet to control my 6D. This worked perfectly.
Bravo Brian! Your post proved to be spot-on, and I can now use my Phottix Ares transceiver set with my 70D’s IR trigger to fire my off-camera Canon flash, thus resolving WEEKS of frustration. So THANK YOU!
This! Solved the problem, if only i would have read you yesterday…
[…] […]
Hi, I have a 6d and 7d2 and even tho Iv disabled the LV silent shoot I still cannot get the falsh to fire off cam in LV with either body, yongnuo 568exii with 2 yongnuo HSS TTL triggers!!!
I use a 750D with newer triggers and flashes and i shoot tethered with helicon remote. The 750D doesn’t appear to have the option to turn off silent mode. I would greatly appreciate a solution to this as i shoot product photography and rely heavily on speedy workflow. Any work around or solution would be greatly appreciated
I’m using a 600EX-RT with a 1dxII, and my flash won’t fire in live view even with setting to disable… Any advice?
I have a T6I and I cant find the settings to do this
Hi Jonathan,
There’s no setting for this in the T6i. The camera detects the presence of a dedicated Speedlite and makes the switch automatically. You can’t force it like on the more advanced cameras.
Brian / p4pictures
Brian,
Thank you for your analysis. I have a Rebel T7i, and while in view finder mode, my external flash (Pixel x900c) keeps up with the camera’s 5fps, in live view it seems to drop to 2-2.5fps regardless if I’m in E-TTL mode or manual mode on the flash. I do not think it is a limitation of the flash, as it keeps up with the view finder mode with 5fps. I’m don’t think it’s a issue with my camera as without the flash I can usually achieve 4-5fps in live view mode. Is the 3rd party Pixel flash not disabling silent mode in live view? Will getting a Canon branded speedlite automatically disable the silent mode and solve this issue? Thank you in advance for your help!
Hi Tony,
I do’t have the Rebel T7i on hand, but tried with an EOS 200D / SL2. Without the flash it’s quicker than with the flash, just as you described. However I’m sure it’s not only the silent live view issue.
With the flash set to E-TTL, the camera needs to measure the flash exposure for each frame. To do this it needs to lower the mirror to direct the light to the flash metering sensor in the pentaprism. This slows the rate of firing with flash set to E-TTL on my 200D/SL2. However if I set the flash to manual exposure, then the 200D/SL2 realises it doesn’t need to meter the flash and so doesn’t have to drop the mirror to meter the flash. This makes it run at much the same rate as it does when not using a flash.
I could verify this by removing the lens, with the flash set to E-TTL the mirror drops each time to allow the camera to measure flash, but with the flash set to manual exposure the mirror stays up and the frame rate is faster.
I’m “extrapolating” and suggesting that your T7i is dropping the mirror whenever the flash is used. Perhaps you can take a look and see?
Thanks,
Brian/p4pictures
Brian,
Thank you for your quick reply. Are you suggesting that in view finder mode an extra step is skipped (mirror down step) as the mirror is already down and ready for metering, where as in the live view mode the mirror starts in the up position and needs to drop to meter and then flip back up for the actual picture? This would make sense in the E-TTL mode, however, in manual mode I’m experiencing the same slow shooting as E-TTL when in live view. Anymore thoughts?
Also, I forgot to ask, does this improve with a Canon branded speedlite? Which speedlites did you do your testing on?
Hi Tony,
Yes in viewfinder mode, the mirror being down, means the flash can be metered with E-TTL prior to the exposure. Then the mirror is raised and the exposure can happen.
For my tests I set my camera to manual exposure, 1/200s shutter speed, continuous high speed drive, put the flash on the hotshoe and took the lens off.
Quite clearly with the flash set to E-TTL and the camera in Live View I see that the mirror drops prior to the exposure, then raises again for the actual exposure. However when the flash is set to manual power, the mirror doesn’t move between frames.
In my test I used the camera & flash I had to hand, the EOS 200D / Rebel SL2 and a Speedlite 600EX II-RT flash.
I have seen that some third party flashes work differently to Canon ones with regards to recycling. Canon flashes will usually fire even if not fully charged, whereas Yongnuou and some others won’t fire unless they are 100% recycled. I don’t think this is the cause of your issue since you said the flash keeps up in regular viewfinder mode.
Brian/p4pictures
Brian
Thank you again for your help. It has given me a lot to think about.
I called Canon support and had them try the 600EX RT flash on a T7i. They get the same result that I did in live view mode, however, I did not have them play around with the metering. Just curious, what are your settings in live view mode (i.e. focus mode, metering mode, white balance, etc…). I want to try to replicate your settings to see if it fixes anything. Also, do you have silent mode on or off? I don’t have the option to turn it on or off, and I’m wondering if this maybe the reason for my camera’s limitation in live view mode.
Wish I had seen this yesterday. Did a night shoot where the live view was very handy, with the camera on a low tripod… but i was switching out of live view for each shot, because I was using Yongnuo RF-605’s with a couple of Manual flashes on light stands… if i didn’t switch out of live view they wouldn’t fire. Now I need to try this approach tonight! THanks for the info…