canon t70- flash issues

[iliria]

my canon t70 doesn't always recognize or fire my flash, but i know my flash works and i know the camera works with a flash.

anyone got any ideas where it might be going wrong?

[miketoll]

Clean the contacts?

[iliria]

thats been done

[Joe]

Hi, sorry to here that.......has to be probably one of THE most frustrating things. Particurlarly if wasting film.
Just a few thoughts, you may/may not have tried;

Double check the flash fires when the flash hotshoe contacts are shorted (with piece of insulated wire), not just by using the flash 'test' button

Put the flash on another camera hotshoe and check it works on that one.

Put another flash on the T70 to see if that fires.

Do the flash contacts look dirty,damaged or discoloured in any way?

Anything loose, or marked on T70 hotshoe?



To help a little more, what model flashgun is it? Is it a Canon dedicated one?

Is the problem intermitant, or does it never ever fire?

I can't remember offhand whether the T70 has a PC flash socket. If so, does the flash fire from this? ie are you able to plug the flash into the PC socket rather than use the camera hotshoe...just to check flash operation.

[iliria]

i've got a cobra 450 flash. so far i havent managed to get the flash to fire off this camera, though i have off another.

the camera knows the flash is there as teh symbol comes up to tell me its there and ready.

[Joe]

Thanks, so The 'lever/plunger' and smaller contacts on the T70 camera work to indicate the flash is there, sound like they working fine.
The main contact triggering the flash sounds to be at fault. more likely the camera hotshoe contact, unless the flash contact makes good on the other camera but not on the T70 (more unlikely but not unknown)
Short of trying the T70 with another flashgun to totally rule out flash unit itself, it sounds like a broken/ weak contact under the hotshoe plate (a jewellers screwdriver and soldering iron to fix), OR a poor/broken connection further down toward the shutter assembly.....major surgery to get at. I asked if the T70 has a PC socket as if a flash can be fired from that, it would suggest the camera hotshoe electrical contact, rather than further toward the shutter assembly. Unfortunately PC sockets don't provide any dedication ie flash ready symbols etc.

Either way I would be tempted to hook up another flashgun (spare/borrowed/ or basic one bought for pennies on ebay) to the T70 to totally rule out flashgun issues. My reasoning being that normally cameras do usually tend to outlast flashguns on the whole.....

only then if still not working would I crack open the screwdrivers case and heat up the soldering iron

[Gidders]

Some aftermarket flashes won't work with Canon - even if they are billed as compatible.

I've got a Sunpack Powerzoom 4000AF which is supposed to work with Canon EOS series cameras. The camera recognises the flash & the flash recognises the camera - when I zoom the camera lens, it zooms the flash gun, but the camera doesn't fire the flash. The flash contacts work, and a simple single contact flash fires on the camera so the hot shoe works.

A bit of research on the net and phone calls to the Sunpack importers & Canon suggest that the flash will work with a 300D & a 5D but not a 20D... which is what I've got

[Joe]

Ahaaa Very good point!
The question to ask now then is, Has your flashgun stopped working on the T70, or is this the first time the two have come together?

Although the 'T' series stuff pre-dates EOS system stuff, I do seem to remember some Cullman flash compatability issues with the then top notch T90 too.
Now hoping that Cobra and T70 get along with each other?

[iliria]

I'm going to try a couple of friends flashes on the t70 and try the cobra on their cameras to try and find out which bit doesnt like which

[Joe]

OK. good plan.
Keep us posted on progress.
cheers
Joe