katie h. Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 A friend of mine has a Canon EOS 3. He also has two Sunpak 4000 PZ flashes. Last week he had the Sunpak (it has a screw mount) attached to his hot shoe and it just slipped off and hit the ground. His other flash did the same thing yesterday. Has anyone else had this problem of flashes just falling off, even when they're tightened down? Is there a good solution? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beauh44 Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 Hi Katie, the only time I've had the problem is if I didn't "hunker down" the flash very well - or turned the wheel that tightens it in the wrong direction. Once, I was taking some pictures in the woods and happened to be standing on the foundation of an old house that had been there ages ago. I hadn't screwed my 550ex down tightly enough and it came flying off, and hit the concrete *hard*! (It really ticked me off - had I been standing 2 feet in any other direction it would've landed on nice, soft ground... but no!) The 550EX smacked the concrete and pretty much exploded into all of its parts! I figured it was doomed, but I scooped up all the bits, snapped it all back together and it still works great to this day. Anyhoo, I would just check to see if the Sunpack is in fact tightening properly when you turn the dial (assuming it works the same way) because it certainly should. If it does not, I would talk to Sunpack and ask them what's up. Unfortunately I know of no elegant trick to get it to stay if it won't tighten, short of duct tape. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_hodson Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 No offense to your friend, but did they tighten the screw mount in the right direction? I know that I have occasionally turned the screw lock in the wrong direction. It feels like you are tightening it but you're not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob_partridge2 Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 There should be a little pin that moves into a corresponding hole on the hot shoe plate. This pin is sprung, so if the hole is bloked, the pin won't engage. Check the hole for blockage / obstructions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdanger Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 Oh yeah. My 285 with prism attached flew across a dance floor this summer...i should have used the bracket instead of the hot shoe. Repairs cost about $80. Hint: always carry a small flashlight, i found all the parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimstrutz Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 As has been mentioned, Canon Flash units have a locking pin that lock into the camera's hot shoe. Some third party flash units don't have this locking pin and are vastly more prone to slipping off. Anyway the solution is to buy a flash unit with the locking pin and make sure it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katie h. Posted November 8, 2004 Author Share Posted November 8, 2004 Thanks a bunch to all. I'll let him know. -Katie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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