Flash contact covers; are there any?

[gordon_kraeger1]

In my use of hotshoe flash units (Canon 420EX & 550EX) I always

cringe a little about carrying them in a bag with the contacts

exposed. So far I've not had any damage, but it still feels

strange. Has any one suffered damage to the contacts of a portable

flash unit? Does anyone sell a cover that would protect them? I

haven't found one if they do.

[leicaglow]

I've never experienced problems with the contacts shorting out. I know Nikons (and I thought Canon's) have a piece of black plastic that slides into the shoe to cover the contacts. With Nikon's (and maybe others) they often double as a viewfinder cap to keep light from coming in from the rear of the camera and affecting exposure. I would think a good pro photo shop could order one for you. I personally don't use them, but I do carry them in my gadget bag.

[JosvanEekelen]

I assume that you want to cover the contacts on the flash. I have never done that, nor did it ever cause any problems. FYI, I keep my flash in a (supplied) pouch.

 

Michael refers to a cover on the camera, as was supplied with the Canon A-series cameras. This does not work with Canon cameras with an in-built flash since the cover will prohibit the flash from popping up. Microswitches in the hotshoe detect the presence of the cover and interpret it as a flash unit. It is a way however to prevent the flash from popping up. I used this when the flash of my EOS-10D would pop up every now and then for no reason. This is based on Canon EOS cameras, other brands may be different.

[vcallaway]

I think you are refering to the flash unit and not the camera hot shoe.

 

One of my all time excuses for buying crown royal is the nice bags the bottles come in. They make great soft pouches for putting things like flashes and lenses into.