EF-X8 flash not working?

[boogisha]

My small kit EF-X8 flash stopped working, so I ordered a new one... but that one does not work, either, and I'm now not sure if it's the flash problem in the first place...? I would still say so, which would be annoying, but possible.

The thing is, my Godox V350 flash works just fine - so I'm in "S" mode and using mechanical shutter, and when I put the Godox on, "TTL" appears on the screen, the flash being correctly recognized. When I put EF-X8 on, nothing happens - I can still change from "No flash" icon to "M" in the quick settings menu, but the flash still does not get triggered (nor any icon is shown on screen).

That's with my Fuji X-T3, but I can see the very same behavior on my Fuji X-E1 as well - Godox flash works fine, Fuji's EF-X8 flash does not work (neither old nor new).

All taken into account, I guess it's the new flash being broken, too...? Or is there anything else I could try out?

I see Godox and Fuji flashes don't really have the same connection pins, but Godox works, and Fuji used to work fine in the past (the one I had before), except I don't use it a lot... and now it does not seem to want to work (neither the old one, nor the new one).

Ideally, I'd have yet another camera + another EF-X8 flash working just fine, and then I could check with my cameras and flashes and see where the culprit is, but finding another Fuji user nearby is not the easiest feat to accomplish, lol.

 

[Heritage Cameras]

I don't know why the EF-X8 flash isn't working on your X-T3, but it's not compatible with the XE-1:

https://fujifilm-x.com/en-gb/products/accessories/ef-x8/

That little flash is powered by extra contacts on the camera's hot shoe, and the X-E1 doesn't have them...

 

[Feugi]

Sorry to hear about the issue. This does seem odd as the Godox works just fine. Let me ask the obvious questions first.

1. Is the flash in the open position? Sometimes I forget to flip it up and it wont work.

2. If it is in the open position, can you cycle between M, Command, and TTL modes in the flash settings menu?

3. If the flash is in manual mode, maybe it is set to 1/64 power and you dont notice it firing because of the low light output?

4. Is you camera in full mechanical shutter or EFCS?

5. What shutter speed do you have your camera set to? 1/250 or slower?

Let us know if you get it working. I have that flash and a XT3 as well so I can assist trying to replicate any scenarios you want.

 

[jonikon]

My small kit EF-X8 flash stopped working, so I ordered a new one... but that one does not work, either, and I'm now not sure if it's the flash problem in the first place...? I would still say so, which would be annoying, but possible.

The thing is, my Godox V350 flash works just fine - so I'm in "S" mode and using mechanical shutter, and when I put the Godox on, "TTL" appears on the screen, the flash being correctly recognized. When I put EF-X8 on, nothing happens - I can still change from "No flash" icon to "M" in the quick settings menu, but the flash still does not get triggered (nor any icon is shown on screen).

That's with my Fuji X-T3, but I can see the very same behavior on my Fuji X-E1 as well - Godox flash works fine, Fuji's EF-X8 flash does not work (neither old nor new).

All taken into account, I guess it's the new flash being broken, too...? Or is there anything else I could try out?

I see Godox and Fuji flashes don't really have the same connection pins, but Godox works, and Fuji used to work fine in the past (the one I had before), except I don't use it a lot... and now it does not seem to want to work (neither the old one, nor the new one).

Ideally, I'd have yet another camera + another EF-X8 flash working just fine, and then I could check with my cameras and flashes and see where the culprit is, but finding another Fuji user nearby is not the easiest feat to accomplish, lol.

It sounds like a power issue with your flash shoe. Your EF-X8 derives its power from the cameras battery, the Godox has its own battery. Try cleaning the contacts on your camera's hot shoe with an en electronic contact cleaner such as Deoxit or similar. Also check that the contacts are all at the same height. Unfortunately Fujifilm has cheaped out and no longer supplies the bit of plastic that covers the hot shoe contacts which leaves them vulnerable to corrosion or damage. Unbelievable really for the 2 cents it would cost them.

 

[boogisha]

I don't know why the EF-X8 flash isn't working on your X-T3, but it's not compatible with the XE-1:

https://fujifilm-x.com/en-gb/products/accessories/ef-x8/

That little flash is powered by extra contacts on the camera's hot shoe, and the X-E1 doesn't have them...

Indeed, I've just realized that, having the flash eventually working on X-T3, but still not on X-E1, eh... it threw me off completely.

 

[boogisha]

Sorry to hear about the issue. This does seem odd as the Godox works just fine. Let me ask the obvious questions first.

1. Is the flash in the open position? Sometimes I forget to flip it up and it wont work.

It is

2. If it is in the open position, can you cycle between M, Command, and TTL modes in the flash settings menu?

With Godox - yes, with Fuji - no, only "No flash" and "M" were available, but "M" still did not trigger the flash.

3. If the flash is in manual mode, maybe it is set to 1/64 power and you dont notice it firing because of the low light output?

That might have been a possibility at least in theory, yet flash settings were fine.

4. Is you camera in full mechanical shutter or EFCS?

For testing purposes, full mechanical.

5. What shutter speed do you have your camera set to? 1/250 or slower?

It was set to "Auto".

Let us know if you get it working. I have that flash and a XT3 as well so I can assist trying to replicate any scenarios you want.

I did eventually manage to make it work, lol... posting about it in the following reply.

Thanks for trying to help!

 

[boogisha]

It sounds like a power issue with your flash shoe. Your EF-X8 derives its power from the cameras battery, the Godox has its own battery. Try cleaning the contacts on your camera's hot shoe with an en electronic contact cleaner such as Deoxit or similar. Also check that the contacts are all at the same height. Unfortunately Fujifilm has cheaped out and no longer supplies the bit of plastic that covers the hot shoe contacts which leaves them vulnerable to corrosion or damage. Unbelievable really for the 2 cents it would cost them.

This was it, dirty contacts, I've managed to make the flash work in the meantime

I've noticed that Godox V350 and Fuji EF-X8 have different flash pins, so I tried cleaning a bit extra the camera hot shoe contacts only Fuji flash was having... and it started working, indeed!

Huge thanks for calling it out - I did try cleaning contacts already before, but seeing the flash not working on X-E1 while Godox flash working on both X-T3 and X-E1 threw me off completely (where X-E1 apparently does not even support EF-X8), yet noticing the pins difference had me try cleaning the contacts again - but if I did not, your post would surely make me try it again, resolving the issue

Now, if I only didn't already throw away the old flash, lol, most probably that one was still working, too, eh... Meh, it doesn't matter, at least I have a working EF-X8 again

 

[jonikon]

It sounds like a power issue with your flash shoe. Your EF-X8 derives its power from the cameras battery, the Godox has its own battery. Try cleaning the contacts on your camera's hot shoe with an en electronic contact cleaner such as Deoxit or similar. Also check that the contacts are all at the same height. Unfortunately Fujifilm has cheaped out and no longer supplies the bit of plastic that covers the hot shoe contacts which leaves them vulnerable to corrosion or damage. Unbelievable really for the 2 cents it would cost them.

This was it, dirty contacts, I've managed to make the flash work in the meantime

I've noticed that Godox V350 and Fuji EF-X8 have different flash pins, so I tried cleaning a bit extra the camera hot shoe contacts only Fuji flash was having... and it started working, indeed!

Huge thanks for calling it out - I did try cleaning contacts already before, but seeing the flash not working on X-E1 while Godox flash working on both X-T3 and X-E1 threw me off completely (where X-E1 apparently does not even support EF-X8), yet noticing the pins difference had me try cleaning the contacts again - but if I did not, your post would surely make me try it again, resolving the issue

Now, if I only didn't already throw away the old flash, lol, most probably that one was still working, too, eh... Meh, it doesn't matter, at least I have a working EF-X8 again

Happy to hear my advice helped. My other hobby is restoring old tube radios and corrosion in their many electrical contacts is always an issue, unfortunately.