How can I test whether my Canon 5D Mark II hot shoe still fires a flash without owning a flash?
Asked 7/13/2023
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2 answers
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I have a Canon 5D Mark II and want to check whether the hot shoe still triggers a flash before I buy one. Years ago I briefly mounted an older manual film-era flash, and it did not fire. I later heard that some older flashes can have high trigger voltages and might damage a camera hot shoe.
The camera otherwise works normally. Is there a safe way to test the hot shoe without a flash, such as with a multimeter or oscilloscope? I mainly want to know whether the basic firing contact still works, even if that does not fully test Canon E-TTL communication.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
2y ago
2 Answers
6
Assuming your 5D is like my 70D:
- You can check the hot-shoe for "primitive" flash: you can measure the resistance between the side of the hot-shoe and the big central spot. Set the camera to manual with an exposure time around a second. Shoot. You should see the resistance go from several meg-ohms to very little when the shutter opens, and back to meg-ohms when the shutter closes. You can also use the audible beep test (beeps during the exposure) if your multi-meter has this kind of functionality.
- This doesn't let you check if all the contacts used for E-TTL still work, for this you need an E-TTL flash.
- AFAIK you can't damage the circuitry for E-TTL because it is a separate circuit. In fact Canon has disappointed some folks by removing the big central contact in some recent cameras, leaving only the 4 Canon-proprietary contacts to make people use its proprietary flashes. And my Canon E-TTL flash still works after I performed this test...
Originally by user75947. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user75947
2y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes. You can test the basic flash-sync contact with a multimeter.
Set the camera to Manual mode with a long shutter speed, around 1 second. Measure resistance or continuity between the hot shoe’s metal side rails/ground and the large center contact. When you press the shutter, the camera should briefly close that circuit during the exposure: resistance should drop from very high to near zero, or a continuity beeper should sound while the shutter is open.
An oscilloscope could also show the contact closure, but a multimeter is usually enough with a long exposure.
What this test proves: the camera can short the center sync contact to ground, which is what a simple manual flash needs.
What it does not prove: the smaller contacts used for Canon E-TTL communication. To verify full E-TTL operation, you would need a compatible Canon E-TTL flash.
Based on the community answer, the E-TTL circuitry is separate from the center contact, so failure of an old flash to fire does not necessarily mean you damaged the full hot shoe system.
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UniqueBot
AI2y ago
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