Flash problem - I think

[Holly]

I recently got some proofs back from a session and there was a MAJOR problem! 1/3 of each roll was so underexposed the lab couldn't fix them. I immediately looked at the negatives, and yep - 1/3 of each roll almost white. I almost cried trying to figure out what I did wrong. I did everything else the same that I always do and I have never had this problem. I even put fresh batteries in the flash before I left. Maybe I didn't give the flash time to recharge between shots, maybe I had a bad batch of batteries - maybe I just suck as a photographer....but THAT many bad pics just scares me. It's like: shot one, two, three - good, shot four, five, six, seven, eight, nine - bad, shot 10, 11 good...........and I didn't change anything in camera.
Could this be flash or did I do something wrong?

[MyKey]

What flash are you using?

Also it could be the "not recharging thing" hard to tell.

If all else fails lets hook up and I will place your flash on one of my digital SLR bodies and see if it happens as you run through a "trial" session the same as you normally would do things.

[brad]

Sounds like the flash not recycling fast enough..

(When I first read it, I thought you were saying the bottom third of each frame was the problem.. and that would have been an improperly set shutter speed, too fast for the flash.)

[RubenZamora]

more info is needed. what were you shooting, was it in continuous mode? how long between shots? etc.

[Holly]

Mike: I was using the 540ez - which unfortunately won't work on your digital camera. But thank you for the offer :) I should get the 20D and 550ez within the next couple of weeks though.
Brad: yeah I thought about that - it was a great subject and I was firing faster than normal.
RubenZamora - we were outdoors on a cloudy day - around 7:30 (I know - pushing it with low light) and now that I think about it - I did accidentally click it into continuous mode a few times - would that cause this? You know what - I bet it did. Too fast of a shutter speed not letting enough light in? Underexposed pics?

[labguy]

you mentioned getting a roll back from the lab so i assume you're not shooting digital. sounds like you used a shutter speed too fast to sync with the flash. generally depending on the camera you can shoot no faster than 1/60 or 1/125 of a second with a flash. i'm surprised the lab could't tell you that.