EX series Speedlites work on multifunction hotshoe (pics)

There's a lot of confusion about this, with many people on this forum and elsewhere on the internet claiming that you must use the AD-E1 adapter ($50 added cost) to use EX series Speedlites with the new "multifunction hotshoe". This is not helped by the wording in Canon's own promotional material and manuals. In fact the EX series flashes work perfectly without the adapter, the pins are in the same place in the camera hotshoe, and the flash foot fits straight in, coming to a stop at the appropriate place, and can be locked in the usual way. The difference is that the later (series II+) speedlites have a "weather sealed" foot and this sealing is lost on the bodies with the new multifunction shoe. Therefore to retain weather sealing you would need the AD-E1. Personally I would not be using a Speedlite in the rain anyway, as the flashgun itself isn't weather sealed at all !!

I have tried this with my 430EX RTiii, and my 600EX RTii. Also the 430EX (original without the weather sealed foot) fits just the same. All these work perfectly with all functions including ETTL, HSS, Zoom, manual output levels, control via the camera menu, etc.

I do not have any 3rd party flash units to check but I can't see why they would be any different, if Canon-specific.

Hope this will help clear up the confusion. Here is a 430EX RTiii on my R10, showing how the foot fits in the shoe...

+1 All of my Canon and 3rd party flashes (and radios) work on the new hotshoe.

R2

Good news ... thanks!  Pics also helped.

Dareshooter wrote:

R2D2 wrote:

+1 All of my Canon and 3rd party flashes (and radios) work on the new hotshoe.

R2

It’s the R50 that needs the adapter with EX flash because it’s hot has no pins.

Right. Just like some of its entry-level DSLR brethren.  That one's easy to figure out, eh? 

I have a number of cameras with the new "accessory" hotshoe (starting way back with the original R6) and they all harmonize nicely. 

R2

Dareshooter wrote:

R2D2 wrote:

+1 All of my Canon and 3rd party flashes (and radios) work on the new hotshoe.

R2

It’s the R50 that needs the adapter with EX flash because it’s hot has no pins.

You're right, it looks very weird. I thought it'd be like the SL3's shoe, that simply lacks the center pin, but it's clearly just plastic. If so, it's Canon yet again flaunting their corporate evil greed 🤦

Dareshooter wrote:

R2D2 wrote:

Dareshooter wrote:

R2D2 wrote:

+1 All of my Canon and 3rd party flashes (and radios) work on the new hotshoe.

R2

It’s the R50 that needs the adapter with EX flash because it’s hot has no pins.

Right. Just like some of its entry-level DSLR brethren.

R2

I didn’t know that the entry level dslrs have this problem. I know of some won’t play ball with third party flashes because the central pin has been left out but they still work with Canon EX Flashes.

Oh right-o, that's it. Thanks.

I'll repeat though (since you left it off)...

I have a number of cameras with the new "accessory" hotshoe (starting way back with the original R6) and they all harmonize nicely.

R2

Kharan wrote:

Dareshooter wrote:

R2D2 wrote:

+1 All of my Canon and 3rd party flashes (and radios) work on the new hotshoe.

R2

It’s the R50 that needs the adapter with EX flash because it’s hot has no pins.

You're right, it looks very weird. I thought it'd be like the SL3's shoe, that simply lacks the center pin, but it's clearly just plastic. If so, it's Canon yet again flaunting their corporate evil greed 🤦

LOL, just be glad they haven't implemented that "Accessory Cold Shoe" with anything other than the most entry-level of bodies!

R2

Sittatunga wrote:

Kharan wrote:

Dareshooter wrote:

R2D2 wrote:

+1 All of my Canon and 3rd party flashes (and radios) work on the new hotshoe.

R2

It’s the R50 that needs the adapter with EX flash because it’s hot has no pins.

You're right, it looks very weird. I thought it'd be like the SL3's shoe, that simply lacks the center pin, but it's clearly just plastic. If so, it's Canon yet again flaunting their corporate evil greed 🤦

It's Canon cheapening their bottom-of-the line offering to make it more attractive to first-time buyers. The camera has a built-in flash anyway and will almost certainly have very acceptable high ISO performance, and they make an adapter available for people who want to use their old flashguns. I don't think many people buying this camera will want to use big on-camera flashguns, the R10 is more suitable for that. I don't know if the front-of-the shoe contacts will work any better for Canon than Minolta's weird 7000 AF series hotshoe worked for them.

My M6II has connectors like that for the viewfinder.

I keep the little cover on it when nothing is on the hot shoe.

I blow it out with the rocket blower too so I do not get dust or dirt up in there after using the hot shoe.

Sittatunga wrote:

m100 wrote:

Sittatunga wrote:

Kharan wrote:

Dareshooter wrote:

R2D2 wrote:

+1 All of my Canon and 3rd party flashes (and radios) work on the new hotshoe.

R2

It’s the R50 that needs the adapter with EX flash because it’s hot has no pins.

You're right, it looks very weird. I thought it'd be like the SL3's shoe, that simply lacks the center pin, but it's clearly just plastic. If so, it's Canon yet again flaunting their corporate evil greed 🤦

It's Canon cheapening their bottom-of-the line offering to make it more attractive to first-time buyers. The camera has a built-in flash anyway and will almost certainly have very acceptable high ISO performance, and they make an adapter available for people who want to use their old flashguns. I don't think many people buying this camera will want to use big on-camera flashguns, the R10 is more suitable for that. I don't know if the front-of-the shoe contacts will work any better for Canon than Minolta's weird 7000 AF series hotshoe worked for them.

My M6II has connectors like that for the viewfinder.

I keep the little cover on it when nothing is on the hot shoe.

I blow it out with the rocket blower too so I do not get dust or dirt up in there after using the hot shoe.

So does my RX100M2. I used the hotshoe with a remote trigger to fire a demonstration studio flash for the first time in five years. It was ridiculous, but I couldn't resist it.

I'm sure the R50's accessory shoe isn't primarily for flash anyway. And the more worrying cheapening of that camera is the lid of the sensor cleaning vibrator. It's not a camera for someone who changes lenses outdoors a lot.

Yes, an interchangeable lens camera newbee sure enough would need a sensor cleaning vibrator I would think.

The hot shoe is mainly for the Stereo Microphone DM-E100 in the creator kit ?

https://www.parkcameras.com/shop/canon-eos-r50-with-rf-s-18-45mm-creator-kit_1012185r

Sittatunga wrote:

Kharan wrote:

Dareshooter wrote:

R2D2 wrote:

+1 All of my Canon and 3rd party flashes (and radios) work on the new hotshoe.

R2

It’s the R50 that needs the adapter with EX flash because it’s hot has no pins.

You're right, it looks very weird. I thought it'd be like the SL3's shoe, that simply lacks the center pin, but it's clearly just plastic. If so, it's Canon yet again flaunting their corporate evil greed 🤦

It's Canon cheapening their bottom-of-the line offering to make it more attractive to first-time buyers.

But they offer a much more advanced connector in the hotshoe, and use a unique piece (so far) for the R50. As far as I understand industrial economics, that's not synonymous with 'lower cost', rather the opposite.

The camera has a built-in flash anyway and will almost certainly have very acceptable high ISO performance, and they make an adapter available for people who want to use their old flashguns.

Right, but I do wonder how many people are going to put the Tascam four-channel adapter in that shoe versus a speedlite. Because right now the only thing that "hot" shoe is any good for is the audio adapter, and that device ain't cheap not simple to use.

(Of course, you would need another adapter on top of that to connect your PC flash cable. What happened to that PCsocket that all decent camera used to have?)

Radio triggers happened. They're very nice, much better than a seven-decade-old, fiddly connector

I don't think many people buying this camera will want to use big on-camera flashguns, the R10 is more suitable for that.

But as I said, the shoe on the R50, right now, is only good for a single accessory... oh, wait, and also the newest EL series speedlite. If it had been up to me, I'd have put the SL3/M50II shoe on the camera instead.

I don't know if the front-of-the shoe contacts will work any better for Canon than Minolta's weird 7000 AF series hotshoe worked for them.

It will. Sony introduced a similar concept in 2012 and they're using it to this day.

Sittatunga wrote:

Kharan wrote:

But they offer a much more advanced connector in the hotshoe, and use a unique piece (so far) for the R50. As far as I understand industrial economics, that's not synonymous with 'lower cost', rather the opposite.

I think that shoe is more for vlogger's microphones or lighting panels than for people wanting to put a flashgun on a bottom-of-the line camera with a built-in flash.

Sure, but then why add the special connectors to it? If the goal is maximal cost reduction with maximum ROI, then the “smart-only” hot shoe of the SL3 is ideal. I suspect that Canon are looking to “future-proof” the R50, but in their quest to do that they let their bean counters get away with murder.

The shoe isn't really unique, its front edge connectors came with the M6 six years ago. The only thing unique about it is that Canon removed five contacts that are duplicated at the front edge.

Erm, no. The M6/II has a shoe with connectors for the EVF-DC1/2, which isn’t compatible with the R50. And the Tascam 4-channel device can’t talk to the M6.

Right, but I do wonder how many people are going to put the Tascam four-channel adapter in that shoe versus a speedlite. Because right now the only thing that "hot" shoe is any good for is the audio adapter, and that device ain't cheap not simple to use.

I think it's only the vloggers who are going to use it at all.

I highly doubt that. If we go by BCN numbers, the vlogger market is still much smaller than “general photographers”, whatever it is that they do.

The EVF makes it too big a camera to substitute for my EOS M cameras and for similar money I'd rather have the R10 with its vibrator and AF/M switch, but that's too big for me to bother with too.

Okay, but that’s basically you, and it doesn’t necessarily represent anyone else. Market trends show that low-end ILC customers aren’t scared of a little volume/weight. Otherwise, cameras like the Sony RX100VI would dominate the market.

But as I said, the shoe on the R50, right now, is only good for a single accessory... oh, wait, and also the newest EL series speedlite. If it had been up to me, I'd have put the SL3/M50II shoe on the camera instead.

But that would have put up the price.

How!? I really mean this.

I'm more put off by the cost-cutting lack of automatic sensor cleaning and an AF/M switch.

But those things do cost more money, and won’t be necessarily enjoyed by everyone, or even most users.

It will. Sony introduced a similar concept in 2012 and they're using it to this day.

I was thinking more of this one. It wasn't on the original 7000, but was on their Vectis cameras.

That was a bad idea. However, I must say that I expect Canon to be semi-successful with their awful gamble, as users will likely either upgrade or stay away from speedlites in this scenario. Canon do know how to stick it to us, after all.