So after less than a year, the hotshoes on both of my R6s are loose. One is only slightly loose while the other is so loose I expect my flash to start misfiring sooner rather than later (though it's currently fine).
I use godox triggers and they are light enough there is no issue, but when I use a large shoemount flash on the camera, it rocks back and forth enough to be pretty unnerving.
I had 2 5D Mark IVs and both suffered the same fate, though it took them nearly 4 years to get that way. Shockingly, both R6s have loose shoes after less than a year.
To make matters worse, the design of the shoe changed with the R (and R5/6). Now you can no longer tighten the screws on the shoe from the outside of the camera, it has to be done from *inside* the camera. This (apparently) means the camera has to be disassembled simply to retighten the screws to the hotshoe. It also means that this is way above what I'm comfortable doing myself and it looks like I'll have to send it to Canon - which incurs downtime and a several hundred dollar repair.
Is there an easy way to tighten this shoe that I'm not seeing? This is super annoying and I really really want to avoid having to send it into Canon for repair - right in the thick of my wedding season too.
They are under warranty, you should only have to pay for shipping to Canon. If you join CPS I think they would send you a loaner until they are repaired, or it used to be that way. It's worth contacting Canon to see what your options are at least.
Might be time to consider a flash bracket and a wireless transmitter or oc3 cable maybe? To have three or more cameras fail in this way means that alternatives may be needed.
Hot shoes never seemed very robust to me. I think the above mentioned advice is very good. The only two things I put on mine are a Pocket Wizard or an old Zoom H4n, and even the Zoom seems iffy especially if it gets bumped. I would seem to me the the manufacturers could easily figure out a way to figure this out.
Hell, I'm dealing with a $4K microphone right now where the manufacturer decided it would be okay to use two 2mm screws to attach a 3lb 11oz tube mic to the shock mount. The company has been totally non-responsive but in the meantime, I took it all apart and silver brazed the two offending parts together so they will never some undone. Their solution was to wrap the mic cable a couple times around the stand. There are idiots everywhere.
Revisiting this issue... I've had the hot shoes tightened on all THREE R6 bodies I've owned. And now one that already been adjusted is already starting to come lose again.
A Godox 860II flash rocks back and forth on the shoe, ever so slightly. This shoe was tightened by Canon not even 6 months ago.
I am not that hard on my cameras, this is ridiculous. I never had this issue with my 5D Mark IVs and I owned them a lot longer.
I have never had this problem, but I don't use on-camera flash very often.
I agree with TeamSpeed above. Your history suggests it's time to move to off-camera flash. Just sayin'.
I would start complaining & maybe take it to small claims Court. There are many bills being brought into legislatures to allow customers the ability to get things fixed without incurring a major expense. Putting the screws where a customer can't tighten them seems almost like a criminal offense.
I do use camera-mounted speedlights quite a bit, and find this thread... disconcerting. Don't have an R body yet, but I imagine I would hit this issue myself if this problem is common.
I already use off-camera flash extensively. However there are many times where I need to use on-camera flash out of sheer necessity and utility.
That is completely besides the point though. A hot shoe on a professional level camera should be able to take the weight of a flash comfortably for a long time without falling apart.
mogul wrote:
I would start complaining & maybe take it to small claims Court. There are many bills being brought into legislatures to allow customers the ability to get things fixed without incurring a major expense. Putting the screws where a customer can't tighten them seems almost like a criminal offense.
Has anyone else had this problem? Both hotshoes on my R5 and R6 are fine. I've had my R6 about a year now. I use both on camera (Godox V1) and off camera, though admittedly not on a daily basis.
I don't have this problem at all, personally. My guess is that you're probably running dual bodies and carrying them upside down in something like a Holdfast Moneymaker setup, while that doesn't seem too difficult, flashes are a decent amount of weight on a tiny neck, and physics can be a real pain on them. I've moved solely to OCF, literally never shoot with a flash in the shoe anymore, and I beat the hades out of my camera bodies. So I'm not sure, but if you've had this issue with a host of them over the years, I'm leaning towards it's probably something you're doing and not realizing it. These are great camera bodies, but nothing (except the 1 series) is indestructible (although I've managed to destroy a few 1 series bodies in my day, epically I might add).
Have you ever tried using a flash bracket? Removes stress from your hotshoe and puts the light in a much better position farther off axis which often provides a more natural look.
jeffbuzz wrote:
Have you ever tried using a flash bracket? Removes stress from your hotshoe and puts the light in a much better position farther off axis which often provides a more natural look.
Honestly... I have not used one since about 2008. I found them bulky to carry around and awkward to use. Not to mention, I'm not sure if they would be practical at all to use with a two-body setup like I carry around.
Well ... after I sent my R6 for fixing the hotshoe, now had to send my R5 too (which I bought in may, so less than a whole wedding season and the camera's hotshoe is loose) and even worse, the R6 is starting to get loose again, after a little over a month of the repair ... I use both cameras on a spider holster, but use flash only during reception ... Seriously considering switching brands after this, so disappointed because both Rs are nothing but extraordinary ...
