S5 hot shoe - use any flash?

DaddyK wrote:

I am using my S5 with an old flash mounted on the hot shoe. It's
not a Canon speedlite. It seems to work fine and gives good strong
lighting (as it did on my trusty old 35mm film camera). I dont
understand the comments that the S5 hot shoe only works with the
Canon speedlite flash. I'm sure I'm missing something, like maybe
the S5 works with most all flashes, but has some kind of camera
exposure control of flash intensity on the Speedlites. Can anyone
speak to this?

Thanks

Most flashes would work, even a minolta or Nikon flash should work but it would not use the auto funtions that the Canon flash has to offer.

Also you say "old flash".

How old. Some of the older flashes use a very high trigger voltage. If too high it could/will burn out the electronics in the camera. Modern cameras are not designed to use high trigger violtages. It may work for a while but if the trigger voltage is too high it will fry the camera. This is fact
--
Greg Gebhardt in
Jacksonville, Florida

Canon EOS/Powershot cameras work on 6v or less. Many older flashes have an ignition voltage of about 20v or so. Enough to fry your flash circuits over a period of time. You won't know it's happening until one fine day, no flashes will trigger from the hotshoe, not even Speedlites. Others have trigger voltages of 100v or higher, which presumably have more instant affects.

Check out this website: http://www.botzilla.com/photo/G1strobe.html and then get hold of a voltmeter to check your vivitar. There's a list of different flashes and there voltages, ( http://www.botzilla.com/photo/strobeVolts.html ) but apparently different versions of the same model may vary, so it's best to check your own flash with a voltmeter.

Then tell all your friends

I think Canon are going to get a lot of S5's in for repair in the very near future. The advice to use Speedlites in the manual (if it's the same as the G7) isn't very specific about the dangers.

It's also highly likely some customers will be a bit p* d off about having to buy an expensive Speedlite.

Of course they're great flashes, and DSLR owners would probably expect to buy one. I can't complain too much about being 'pushed' into buying one. It has a faster recycling time, and is more powerful than my old Yashica, as well as the benefits of ETTL. However, many Powershot owners (G7 and S5) with older flashes might not be so thrilled. System price being a major factor in the decision to purchase one over a DSLR 'system'.
--
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/130/420681579_5849bf4527.jpg

DaddyK wrote:

Also, as the G1strobe sight explained, the extra pin on the bottom of
my flash might also cause problems or damage (be wary of more than
one pin)

While I was saving up for the 430ex, I used an old Yashica flash, also in the 'gray area' voltage-wise, and also with an extra pin.

It wasn't that hard to unscrew the hotshoe and remove the extra pin. You could just tape it, but you might not notice if the tape came off.