Hot shoe cover 60D ???

If you know what type of flash will be used, you can design a system where the electrical contacts could be used to detect the flash.

But if someone puts a non-Canon Speedlite flash in the shoe, you'd still want the pop-up flash to be deactivated. And that could become more tricky because a typical flash is just looking for a contact closure between the main, center contact and "ground" (the frame of the camera).

In old cameras, this was truly a mechanical contact. But in these new bodies, it's a transistor or thyristor to ground. Regardless, the old flashes can be activated by this because they're looking for an electrical path to ground.

But for the camera to detect the flash might be a hard thing to accomplish in a way that would reliably detect any possible flash that might be mounted. Detecting the Speedlites would be easy, but old fashioned flash units or other brands of flashes that don't interface with the ETTL system could be tricky.

So I figure they came up with the mechanical switch method because it's an easy way to detect the presence of any type of flash.

--
Jim H.

JimH said:

If you know what type of flash will be used, you can design a system where the electrical contacts could be used to detect the flash.

But if someone puts a non-Canon Speedlite flash in the shoe, you'd still want the pop-up flash to be deactivated. And that could become more tricky because a typical flash is just looking for a contact closure between the main, center contact and "ground" (the frame of the camera).

So I figure they came up with the mechanical switch method because it's an easy way to detect the presence of any type of flash.

--
Jim H.

Click to expand...

Don't only think flashes. You also might want to put a radio trigger in the hotshoe or anything else you can think of. They don't talk to the camera so a microswitch is the best solution.

This is not a "problem" as some people put it, it is a clear design choice and I'm glad they did it this way.

I still don't understand why you want to have a hotshoe cover. It is so much quicker to mount a flash if you don't have to remove something first.
A hotshoe is very solid and doesn't need protection from a bit of plastic.

Many people with Nikon cameras use screen covers too, Canon cameras don't need them. The build in cover is scratch resistant and very easy and cheap to replace.

Good catch JimH,

I just tried an experiment with my D7000 and it apparently relies on some type of electrical communication between the flash unit and the camera to determine if a external flash is attached.

I mounted a Canon flash on the Nikon and the on camera flash attempted to pop up, it did the same thing with my Nikon SB-600 flash when it was powered down.

Quick as I powered up the Nikon flash, the on camera flash no longer popped up.

It doesn't matter whats on my 7D, it doesn't pop up as long as anything is on the hot shoe.

Just noticed that the Nikon F60 (film ) has the same micro switch as the Canon 60D
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Michael Edward Rudge said:

Hi Vince, I bet there will be a new camera out soon , to overcome this problem, Nikon do not have a problem with hot shoe covers,
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Click to expand...

I very seriously doubt Canon is suddenly going to put hot shoe covers on their DSLRs when they never had them, even on their film SLRs.

Mark

... and Canon will never include lens hoods with the majority of their lenses.

Official statement from Canon
I have just had this e-mail from Canon:-

Dear Michael Rudge:

We appreciate your continued correspondence regarding your EOS 60D.

You are absolutely right, there is a microswitch under one of the rails
of the hot shoe that disables the onboard flash if the camera detects
any accessory mounted on the top of the camera. The reason for this is
to prevent accidental damage to the accessory or to the camera's pop-up
flash. If the flash were to pop-up while something was mounted in the
hot shoe, it could strike the accessory and damage the flash or the
accessory. A hot shoe cover is really not required. The contacts are
made of corrosion resistant "stainless" steel.

Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance with your EOS
60D.
----------------------------------------------

So there we have it guy's and dolls, no hot shoe for the 60D

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tocar said:

... and Canon will never include lens hoods with the majority of their lenses.

Click to expand...

THAT is a much bigger problem, and inexcusable IMHO. A lens hood at least serves a very real and necessary purpose.

Mark

Seriously?? You're complaining about a bit of plastic? I have been shooting Canon for many years and not once have I ever said to myself, boy, I wish Canon would include a plastic hot shoe cover. I say, thank you Canon for not included a worthless part that will easily get lost.

Seriously though, what purpose does this cover serve?

Nikon seem to think it makes there cameras look Finished, and not like there is a bit missing, I guess I am just a tidy person.
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Sounds like you're just accustomed to seeing an SLR with this cover and one without it looks odd to you. That's understandable. I see it the other way around though. I would rather have the hot shoe readily available to swap in a flash or a pocket wizard without having to worry about a cover. To each his own I guess

3rd party lenses includes lens hoods with their product and why not Canon? It's not that expensive to mass produce!

Michael Edward Rudge said:

Official statement from Canon
I have just had this e-mail from Canon:-

Dear Michael Rudge:

We appreciate your continued correspondence regarding your EOS 60D.

You are absolutely right, there is a microswitch under one of the rails
of the hot shoe that disables the onboard flash if the camera detects
any accessory mounted on the top of the camera. The reason for this is
to prevent accidental damage to the accessory or to the camera's pop-up
flash. If the flash were to pop-up while something was mounted in the
hot shoe, it could strike the accessory and damage the flash or the
accessory. A hot shoe cover is really not required. The contacts are
made of corrosion resistant "stainless" steel.

Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance with your EOS
60D.
----------------------------------------------

So there we have it guy's and dolls, no hot shoe for the 60D

Click to expand...

See I told you. If the camera is quality built, you don't have to protect it with a worthless piece of plastic. You better get used to it and stop whinging about nothing. What's next, the sound of the shutter like another OP in this forum?

I'm pretty sure I've lost it by now, but it did have one.

The F1s required an adaptor to be the hot shoe. It fit right over the rewind crank because the pentaprism was removable. I don't recall whether there was a cover for that little do-dad or not.

--
Jim H.

Putting in a plain hot shoe cover will activate the wee switch that tells the camera that there is something mounted in the hot shoe (prompting it to start communication with the flash and also stop the pop up unit from activating and fouling on the attached unit before it opens properly). So a standard cover will confuse the camera and disable the pop up flash unit.

If you want to use one though, you have a couple of options - the first is just to use one as is, remembering that it disables the flash, so you will need to remove it when you want to use the pop up. The second would be to modify a standard cover so that it doesn't activate the switch, looking at my 400d the switch is on the front of the right hand rail (looking from the back of the camera) - so by removing the front 2/3 of the right hand lip on the cover will allow you to put the cover on the shot shoe, while not hitting the switch and deactivating the flash.

At the same time I would be tempted to say 'why worry' - when I first got my camera and noticed the covers on Nikon and other cameras I had the same thoughts as you - if they need it then surely the hot shoe can be easily damaged otherwise they wouldn't bother including it, therefor I will need to protect mine in some way.

I will admit that I never got around to sorting out a cover, and came to the conclusion that they are fairly pointless and not really needed - in the 4 years of owning my 400d and dragging it about, stuffing it in bags and generally making sure it is well used I have yet to have damaged the hot shoe, which is proof enough to me that making sure it has a wee cover plate is somewhat pointless and probably only going to result in me losing the plate anyway.
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JimH said:

In old cameras, this was truly a mechanical contact. But in these new bodies, it's a transistor or thyristor to ground. Regardless, the old flashes can be activated by this because they're looking for an electrical path to ground.

Click to expand...

Dude, you sound so young! In truly old cameras the accessory shoe was just there to hold the item in place and it did not have any contacts at all; that's a fairly newfangled invention. That's what the PC-connector was for; to activate your flash.

--
Cheers,
Bart

That is a new fangled device, I guess!

--
Jim H.

Yes, the older Canon's did have one like this one on my A-1.



But dont expect them any time soon again, it has been a long, long time since Canon has had it included.
:|

Dear Sir:
The flash shoe cover makes Nikon cameras a huge leap against the competition.

This important accessory is the most ignored feature in any review! A sense of security against the environment makes the user a feeling of confidence in any shooting scenario.
Thank you for supporting Nikon

The canon hot shoe has a micro switch yes, this micro switch may or may not allow dirt/ dust/ crap to pass through into the workings of the camera, true or fals? how many canon owners have found dust bunnies on the censer, and would a dust cover on the hot shoe have prevented it, there must be a valid reason for Nikon to think they are a worth while 2P piece of plastic well a bit more here is one for the Canon 60d

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Spirit-Level-Hot-Shoe-Cover-Canon-60D-550D-5D-II-7D-/370462320047?pt=UK_Photography_DigitalCamAccess_RL&hash=item56414665af
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