mattias_rickardsson

Hi,

I'm happy with my EOS D30 except for one thing:

The AF really sucks in low-light conditions, and the built-in AF-

assist lamp is so close to the lens mount that it's almost completely

hidden behind the hood of my Sigma EX 20mm/1.8.

(No wait - that was TWO things... ;)

Anyway, the "pro" way of getting a good (and almost infrared!) AF-

assist beam is to buy the $200 speedlite transmitter called ST-E2,

which can act as the AF-assist beam in its flash sisters.

This solution is far too expensive, and I'll never use it for

its "real" purpose (triggering remote flashes wirelessly) anyway, so

I'm wondering how hard it could be to make my own AF-assist device to

be mounted in the flash shoe.

- How does the flash shoe contacts and communication work? I have

looked all around the web but never found any specification.

- Can the camera body drive the AF-assist beam in the flash shoe, or

is the flash battery always used? (Since the body can drive its own

assist light, I guess it should be able to drive an external one as

well)

- Are there any known Do-It-Yourself solutions or suggestions on this

matter? I guess I'm not the first one to think in these directions,

but still I haven't found any info on the web.

Please help me to shed some light! :-)

best wishes

Mattias Rickardsson, Gothenburg, Sweden