learned something new - flash and silent mode don't mix.

[Clovishound]

I was taking some pictures at a "wake" this week. I thought I'd try a few flash shots with my Godox mounted on the Z5. I had the camera in silent mode and the flash wouldn't fire. I wondered if the silent mode was the issue, and tried going back to normal mode, and it worked.

I guess it's probably in the flash manual somewhere. I would imagine it's due to sync issues. Maybe this will be useful to someone.

 

[BF Hammer]

Which is louder? Mechanical shutter or the whine of the strobe charging?

 

[Clovishound]

Not sure. I wasn't looking to minimize noise with the flash, I just had it silent mode initially, when I wasn't using the flash, trying to be less conspicuous. I wanted to take a picture of my cousin and her son outside, and there was some dappled light, so I thought I'd try a flash with a diffuser to even out the dappling.

 

[Fred Kingston]

Interesting... Just tried my Z7II and it won't fire in Silent mode either... "You can't hear me, but I'm gonna flash this big honkin' light in your eyes"... I've tried S mode a few times and always go back to regular... I find myself spending more time checking and double checking my camera because I can't tell if the damn shutter fired or not...

 

[Clovishound]

Yeah, I don't normally use silent mode. I occasionally switch to it when shooting very skittish wildlife, and there is a chance the noise of the shutter will scare them off. Like I said, I had it in silent mode without flash, taking pictures at a "wake" and wanted to be a little less intrusive. When my cousin wanted a shot outside, I didn't see the need to switch to mechanical for a few shots, but wanted to try some with the flash to minimize the dappling of sun through the branches. I agree there is no real benefit of shooting in silent mode while using a flash. Some folks might shoot in silent mode from time to time, and not think to switch out when adding a flash, so I thought I'd post it.

I can see me being out and shooting some wildlife in silent mode, then decide to take some macro shots with flash, and not think about going back to mechanical shutter. At least now I will know what the issue is without spending a lot of time trying to figure it out.

 

[BF Hammer]

I can see me being out and shooting some wildlife in silent mode, then decide to take some macro shots with flash, and not think about going back to mechanical shutter. At least now I will know what the issue is without spending a lot of time trying to figure it out.

Personally I need to repeat my mistakes 5 times before I learn my lesson.