01-28-2026
08:00 PM
- last edited on
01-28-2026
10:21 PM
by
Tiffany
Hi! I need help. No matter what I do for manual mode on my mark iv 5D it won’t work at all. Please help me. I’m trying to capture more movement with a higher shutter speed to catch toddlers running, flinging snow or glitter, tball etc. any time I use manual, no matter what, my photo is black. Why? Here’s for reference of what I took a picture of, my settings, & what it turned out like on my camera. It literally looks like my screen is off. But if I switch to auto it takes it perfectly. But you can’t have high shutter speed on auto.
Solved! Go to Solution.
01-28-2026 10:18 PM
You don't want to reset the general camera settings, but the custom function:
01-28-2026 10:19 PM - edited 01-28-2026 10:30 PM
Shamaega, welcome to the community.
You've received some excellent feedback from our members regarding the reason your images are black. I used the 5D Mk IV for many years and with some education and practice I can guarantee you it will produce beautiful images. The settings used in manual caused the images to be dark.
First I would suggest downloading and reviewing the manual, click the link below for the downloadable PDF for the 5D Mk IV.
https://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/0/0300024970/09/eos5d-mk4-im10-en.pdf
This is a link to the 5D Mk IV guide: https://www.eos-magazine.com/ebook-previews/Beginners-guide-Canon-EOS-5D-Mark-IV-preview.pdf
I would suggest reviewing page 7. This will explain how to place the camera into auto-mode. Take some pictures in this mode and then review the same information on you LCD for the shutter speed, ISO, and aperture the camera used to capture the image. This will give you a starting point in the learning process. Additionally I would use this same process in different environments, outdoors, early mornings and evening and different indoor environments. Doing this will allow you how to differentiate how to set up the camera when shooting manual.
This video is a bit long but I believe it will really assist you in perfecting how you use your camera.
THIS IMAGE CAME OFF MY 5D Mk IV on an overcast day. I shot in manual, these were the settings: f6.3 @ 1/1000sec - ISO 1000
R5 Mk II ~ R6 Mk III ~ R7
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01-28-2026 08:39 PM
Your aperture and shutter speed are NOT correct causing underexposed pictures. Why 1/8000th sec & F/11? F/11 is a dark aperture for indoor shooting. Then 1/8000th sec is too fast of a shutter speed for indoor shooting.
01-28-2026 09:46 PM
Shamaegan,
Demetrius is right. Your settings are virtually opposite of where you want to be and will result in black pictures, and/or a black screen.
Try this. Put your camera in TV, or shutter priority mode. Pick a shutter speed from 1/400 to 1/800, or so and Auto ISO.
The camera will choose an aperture for you. I doubt it will be f/11.
Steve Thomas
01-28-2026 09:47 PM
Use the tv mode and 1/500 second. That will stop action and still get a good exposure.
to expose correctly in manual, you have to use the meter in the viewfinder.
01-28-2026 09:57 PM
I’ve tried lower it. It won’t let me? And I’m not sure why? Let me try to post a video.
01-28-2026 09:59 PM
even when I lower it to as low as it will go it won’t change the photo.
01-28-2026 10:03 PM - edited 01-28-2026 10:06 PM
You have your shutter speed restricted by high and low limits. You can go into the camera menu and disable this. It’s located in the Custom Function menu. In fact you can reset custom functions back to factory default. Without restoring the whole camera to factory default. Canon provides free online manuals for all of their cameras on their website.
01-28-2026 10:04 PM
Not the case unfortunately. Here’s the video. It’s the same idk why
01-28-2026 10:05 PM
Same problem as manual
01-28-2026 10:11 PM
I actually reset the entire camera to factory because I couldn’t get it to work. So I’ll try to find more info on this since the factory reset didn’t work in my favor
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