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DPChallenge Forums >> Tips, Tricks, and Q&A >> Hot Shoe and Popup Tip
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Canon EOS-40D
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM
 12/14/2006 07:30:49 PM · #1
I ran into a problem today with the popup flash on the Canon 30D. (It's probably similar on other brands) I rarely use it but only had the camera and not the 580EX at work with me today.

Anyway I had an emergency and needed to make some very important photos within a limited amount of time in an indoor area. The popup flash would not popup to save my life and I missed the shots.

When I got home I looked all over the web and finally found that the hot shoe apparently thought the external flash was on the camera which prevented the popup from working. This is caused by dust, dirt and other garbage building up in the hotshoe rails.

If you look at the rails that the external flash slides into, you will see that there are pressure switches in the rails that are pressed down when the external is attached. (never knew) Grime buildup will cause this to become sticky and remain compressed which causes the problem. A small screwdriver and a good gentle cleaning fixed it.

I learned some very important lessons today.

1. Clean the hotshoe as a regular part of maintenance
2. Check the popup when I am not carrying and external.
3. Carry a small tool kit in my camera bag

I hope this prevents the same problem from happening to others.
Olympus OM-D E-M1
Olympus 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO M.Zuiko
 12/14/2006 07:51:50 PM · #2
Great tip.
I have a plastic hotshoe cover that slides into the hotshoe slot, (didn't come with the 350D) and when in place, the popup flash will never popup, as the camera thinks an external flash is attached. I hated shooting an available light scene and the dang flash kept whacking my hat.
:)
Canon EOS-40D
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM
 12/14/2006 09:04:43 PM · #3
Thanks for the information Brad.

The hotshoe cover sounds like a good idea to stop the popup when it's not needed but will it also keep out dust and dirt when you don't use a flash?

That could alleviate the problem.

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