bodiebill

Why do Hot shoes differ in design?
My Vivitar Electronic Flash unit #283 has a single contact and the #550 FD has 7 small contacts.
My Sony Camera has a single contact, while my Canon Rebel T6i has a large contact and 4 small.
Should the flash unit be camera specific?
No standardization?

User ID

No standardization...same as lens mounts.

FYI the Sony has numerous hidden contacts at the front edge.

Caution: 283s had various trigger voltages over the years from about 100v down to about 20v.

BebuLamar

Actually there is the standard so that almost any flash can be mounted on any hot shoe although they may not work correctly. There are some non standard hot shoe though by a number of Minolta Maxxum, some old design used on Nikon F, F2, F3 (and the three not even the same) and I believe some on the Canon F1.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

The single contact on a Speedlight and corresponding hot shoe is usually strictly for the purpose of synchronization. The additional contacts on various makes and models are for the circuitry that enables TTL exposure control and other command features.

Some camera manufacturers market flash gear under their brand that is fully compatible with their cameras and many manufacturers of aftermarket or 3rd party flash gear offer various models that are compatible with popular camera brands. There is a degree of standardization in terms of size and fit. If you purchase a Speedlight and want to integrate it with your camera's exposure control system, you need to make certain to select the dedicated model.

If you have an older Vivitar flash it will only have the single central contact- the edges of the foot and the shoe are ground. The older Vivitar gear had thyristor controlled auto-flash features that worked independently of the camera.

In terms of flash gear, there is more universal standardization that most other accessories. There is no standardization in lens mounts, battery grips and many other proprietory accessories from one maker to another

Many current camera still include a standard PC (Prontor-Compur) synch terminals for use with standard flash synch cords and radio slaves and standard 1/4 x20 tripod sockets that can be used with external flash brackets. The hot shoe is a convenient mounting device and electrronic interphases between the camera and a Speedlight but that position on the camera is not necessarily the best for lighting aesthetics.

Also- that old Vivatar my harbor some excessive trigger voltage that may harm yout diogital camera.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

As flashes evolved, more pin connections were needed to allow the flash and camera to communicate to each other, information such as the distance from the flash to the subject, EV of the flash vs. EV on the camera, etc. etc.
The 283 had a sensor on the flash that controlled the amount of flash generated, it did not communicate anything to the camera, all you needed was one contact for the camera to send an electronic pulse for the flash to fire.

pmsc70d Loc: Post Falls, Idaho

Does a hot shoe give you a hot foot?
(Sorry about that)

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Humor, aroud here, is indeed refreshing! Younger folks may not know the concept of the "hot foot"! Attached, is an illustration and a a few images of my various "hot feet". The sophisticated Canon Speedlight, the old fashioned Vivitar, the ahead of its time Cokan Ring Light with vairable dedication for old film cameras and the "cold foot" replacement for the old Vivitar hot foot that kept breaking off.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

Only if your too hot to handle.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

In the word ‘scent’, which letter is silent? S or C?

What hair color do they put in bald people’s driver’s licenses?

If the number 2 pencil is the most popular, why is it number 2?

What's a question with no answer called?

Why are there so many different brands of cameras?

Why are there so many different types of hot shoe flashes?

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

There are both "dedicated" and "non-dedicated" flashes. Older flashes were largely "non-dedicated". Most (but not all) modern flashes are dedicated and system-specific.

Most (but not all) cameras with a hot shoe are able to work with non-dedicated. But you need to be careful!

1. NON-DEDICATED FLASHES

"Non-dedicated" flashes have two electrical contacts... One is the the larger "button" in the center and the other is the metal rails along the sides that the flash slides into.

Many non-dedicated flashes at "thyristor" type, with a built-in self metering system to control their output with a rather crude form of automation. They also can be used fully manually.

IMPORTANT: Old non-dedicated flashes can damage modern cameras! Some old flashes that were made when cameras were largely mechanical use a high "trigger voltage" that can do damage to today's highly electronic cameras. THE VIVITAR 283 IS KNOWN TO HAVE HIGH TRIGGER VOLTAGE. That particular model was made over a long period of time and it's measured trigger voltage varies a lot, depending upon when and where it was made. Early 283 models been found to have had as high as 600 volts! Some other have been in the 250 to 290 volt ranges. Some 283 made after 1987 and marked "Made in China" or "Made in Korea" have tested with quite low trigger voltage, under 10 volts.

Many modern (post-2004) cameras such as your Canon T6i are designed to tolerate up to 250 volts. (In the late 1990s and early 2000s there were some cameras that could only handle 6 volts!)

If your flash has too high trigger voltage for your camera, repeated use of it will very likely eventually damage the camera's electronics.

Before using a Vivitar 283 in a modern camera I would measure it's trigger voltage, to be safe. A digital voltage ohm meter (VOM) is used to do that test. Those can be bought, though a local camera repairer or electronics shop may be able to do the measurement for you.

There are products such as Wein Safe Sync that fit between flash and camera to regulate the trigger voltage and prevent damage.

There are also some "semi-dedicated" flashes from years past, which basically work the same as fully non-dedicated, except they might have one or two relatively minor, added features such as a "flash ready" alert in the camera's viewfinder. In addition, there were flashes with user interchangeable modules that made them fully non-dedicated or provided some semi-dedicated features with various camera systems and models.

2. DEDICATED FLASH

These are typically more expensive but also offer far more advanced functionality. They are VERY system-specific. A dedicated flash made to work with a Sony cameras will no work with Canon cameras, and vice versa. The camera manufacturer themselves offer these, of course. But there are also numerous third party flash manufacturers making dedicated flash for various caemra systems.

Today these flash offer through the lens meter... the camera measures the exposure and adjusts the flash output appropriately. Canon, for example, calls their flash system "ETTL" or "ETTL II" in more recent cameras and flashes. Some systems (such as ETTL II) even take into account distance, as measured by the lens when it auto focuses on the subject. This gives far more precise control over flash exposure. Other functions might include automatic adjustment of the flash's zoom head setting to match lens focal length, 2nd curtain sync, high speed sync, stroboscopic multi-expsoure effects and more.

These flash need to have additional electrical contacts in the camera's hot shoe, in order for the camera and flash to communicate with each other.

It's rare, but a few cameras may have been deliberately designed to NOT be able to use non-dedicated flashes. For example, it's been observed that Canon's SL3 (aka EOS 250D) lacks that large, center button needed to fire many flashes. So that camera will only be able to trigger Canon brand dedicated flashes (some or all third party Canon-dedicated flash may work too... I don't have that camera, so can't say for certain). https://www.canonnews.com/canon-changed-their-hotshoe-on-the-sl3-a-problem

Hope this helps!

IMPORTANT: Again, you definitely need to check your Vivitar 283's trigger voltage to be sure it's safe to use in your cameras.



Actually 283 have tested as high as 600V and as low as 5 or 6V, depending upon when and where they were made. There are a LOT of 283 around. They have been very popular over the years and were manufactured for a long, long time. (I used the similar Vivitar 285 and 285HV for many years, as well as the smaller Vivitar 2400.)

I don't know what Sony's trigger voltage limit is. You might be able to find out looking in their camera manuals.

Back in 2004 Canon increased their camera's trigger voltage tolerance from only 6V to 250V, so that's the max your T6i is designed to handle. (Nikon did something similar with their cameras about the same time and also can handle up to 250V.)

So long as your 283's trigger voltage is below that 250V, it's probably safe to use directly in the T6i. Hopefully it's significantly below that. If you find your 283 has trigger voltage close to or more than 250V, you can still used it on the T6i, but I would strongly recommend also using something like Safe Sync to protect the camera.

Again, I don't know Sony's flash trigger voltage tolerance, so you should research that.

FYI: The International Standards Organization set a recommended minimum 24V trigger voltage tolerance in cameras around that time. Note that this is just a recommendation. Nikon and Canon apparently went way beyond that as a precaution. I simply don't know if Sony and other camera manufacturers have done the same.

There's more info about flash trigger voltage here: http://www.botzilla.com/photo/strobeVolts.html

And here there's info how to check trigger voltage yourself (with an inexpensive digital VOM): http://dpanswers.com/content/genrc_flash_measuretv.php

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Why to they call them apartments, since they're all together?

Why do we drive on a parkway and then park on a driveway?

Why does Hawaii have interstate highways?

Why isn't "phonetic" spelled the way it sounds?

If pro is the opposite of con, does that mean that congress is the opposite of progress?

Why do we sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" when we're already there?

Why do we "sit" in the "stands" at sporting events?



My license says "brown" hair, even though what little remains is gray.



That's usually a question about UV "protection" filters.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

In the word ‘scent’, which letter is silent? S or C?

Don't know! If you don't like it, use the word "smell" or "odor"! I guess it does no sound an elegant as "scent"!


What hair color do they put in bald people’s driver’s licenses?

Answer- N/A or “Skin” "chrome-dome"?


If the number 2 pencil is the most popular, why is it number 2?

Answer- It's between #1 and #3 or there is a theory that is made of blackened bird excrement rather than graphite, thus #2 (a top-secret formula).

What's a question with no answer called?

Answer- A non sequitur (polite) A stupid question (nasty)

Why are there so many different brands of cameras?

Answer- The U.S. Antitrust Laws- gotta have competition! This is America! At one time in the former U.S.S.R. one could buy any camera you wanted as long as it was a Krasnoyarsk!


Why are there so many different types of hot shoe flashes? Well- many different requirements of may kinds of photographers. Basically "Speedlights" are all the same- more or fewer features, more or less quality, they all average around 80 watt. seconds, different price points, and at the end of the day, the hot shoe is not the best place for your flash gear- aesthetically speaking as to lightning.

Why do they call them apartments, since they're all together?

Answer- An apartment is A PART of a larger multiple dwelling.


Why do we drive on a parkway and then park on a driveway?

Well- Up here in Canada, if you PARK an a PARKWAY, the police will tow your car, impound it, and lay a big fine on you! In New York City the Inter borough Parkway transverses the largest cemetery in the city- the should change the name the the “Graveway”? If you park, blocking somebody's driveway, the same cops come by and do the aforementioned. You can drive ON a driveway but you won't get very far!


Why does Hawaii have interstate highways?

BAD! The should change the designation to INTRA-state, unless you drive an amphibious car!



Why isn't "phonetic" spelled the way it sounds?

Answer- “Phone"- Greek root meaning SOUND! Odd! Many English words don't SOUND like they are spelled.

If pro is the opposite of con, does that mean that congress is the opposite of progress?

You got that one right!

Why do we sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" when we're already there?

The History: You might be surprised to learn that this staple of Major League Baseball games is actually something of modern practice, first starting as a regular part of the seventh inning stretch with the White Sox in the late 1970s, thanks to Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Carabina, better known as Harry Caray.
Before this, the song had occasionally been sung by fans at various baseball games (both amateur and in the Major Leagues), but never as a regular thing nor at any designated time. The first known instance of this was at a Los Angeles high school game in 1934. It was also played before one of the games in the 1934 World Series when Pepper Martin and the St. Louis Cardinals Band played it.
Harry Caray started singing the song during the seventh-inning stretch in 1971, with fans within earshot of his booth occasionally joining in.
There are conflicting accounts from those involved (including a story that changed over time from then owner, Bill Veeck) as to how this event transitioned to a White Sox tradition. In one account, after Caray refused to sing over the stadium PA system, Veeck tricked Caray by switching on Caray’s microphone while he was singing. Probably, the more likely tale is another first-hand account that it was all planned out ahead of time. But that’s not nearly as entertaining, so one can see why the colorful Bill Veeck might embellish the story a little.

Whatever the case, in 1976, Caray started singing the song over the stadium PA system and it became a local tradition.
When Caray switched to calling games for the Cubs in 1982, he brought this tradition with him. Thanks to the fact that WGN broadcasted the Cubs games nationally, the masses quickly learned of Harry Caray’s seventh-inning tradition. Shortly thereafter, variations on this tradition were adopted at other stadiums, with the song in question varying from team to team. In the end, all teams went ahead and went with Take Me Out to the Ballgame.
Despite the fact that singing Take Me Out to the Ballgame during the seventh-inning stretch is a modern practice, the song itself, about a girl named Katie Case who wants her boyfriend to take her to a baseball game, has been around since 1908 when it was written by famed songwriter Jack Norworth (who wrote over 2,500 songs in his lifetime, including a couple of dozen that sold more than a million copies each). The music was composed by Albert Von Tilzer.
Funny enough, both of these gentlemen had never actually been to a professional baseball game when they created the song. Norworth claimed the first Major League Baseball game he ever went to wasn’t until June 27, 1940, a Dodgers / Cubs game.
So what inspired this non-baseball fan to write a baseball song? While riding a train to Manhattan, Norworth said he saw a sign that said: “Baseball Today – Polo Grounds” and simply decided to write a song about going to a baseball game, so he scribbled it down during his ride.
Once the song was complete, Norworth’s wife, singer-actress Nora Bayes, was the first to sing it publicly. It quickly became a hit at various vaudeville acts and then beyond, becoming one of the most popular songs of 1908.

Why do we "sit" in the "stands" at sporting events?

Same reason we don't do our laundry in the BLEACHERS!