# Poll: Hot Shoe Cover - Do you have/use one?



## PhotoXopher (Sep 22, 2009)

I noticed my D40, D60, D80 and D90 all came with a hot shoe cover, my D200 did not.

Is it necessary? Do you use one?

Here's what I'm talking about:


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## Battou (Sep 22, 2009)

I have a couple and yes I do use them. As for necessary, no, it's just a nice cosmedic peice that makes the hot shoe look nice and smooth


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## dizzyg44 (Sep 22, 2009)

I don't though I should start using it after I busted my head open the other day when I was taking my camera strap from around my neck.

I lifted the camera up quickly (d700 w/70-200 2.8) to get the strap off and BAM!  corner of the metal hotshoe post got me.  My wife cleaned off my camera while I was tending to myself, I think she pulled a tiny little piece of skin off the corner.


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## Stubbs (Sep 22, 2009)

dizzyg44 said:


> I don't though I should start using it after I busted my head open the other day when I was taking my camera strap from around my neck.
> 
> I lifted the camera up quickly (d700 w/70-200 2.8) to get the strap off and BAM! corner of the metal hotshoe post got me. My wife cleaned off my camera while I was tending to myself, I think she pulled a tiny little piece of skin off the corner.


 

Ouch.

I have never used one and never had any issues with dirt or debris in the hot shoe... but after hearing that i may start


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## kundalini (Sep 22, 2009)

That little piece of plastic will not act as a bumper.  You can still take a chunk out of your noggin, especially with that rig dizzyg44 used.... a fair amount of weight.

I will slap on a flash in a minute and trying to keep up with that cover is a PITA.


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## Big Mike (Sep 22, 2009)

Are you sure that is a hot-shoe cover?

My Canon came with something similar attached to the strap.  It's a viewfinder cover, and it's used to cover the viewfinder when you are shooting on a tripod (when your eye is not up against the viewfinder during the exposure) and is to prevent stray light entering through the viewfinder and affecting the exposure.


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## kundalini (Sep 22, 2009)

Big Mike said:


> Are you sure that is a hot-shoe cover?


 Nikon provided both on all of mine.... hot-shoe and viewfinder covers.


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## PhotoXopher (Sep 22, 2009)

Yeah, I'm sure - all of mine (except the D200) came with both as well.

Viewfinder cover:


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## Plato (Sep 22, 2009)

kundalini said:


> Big Mike said:
> 
> 
> > Are you sure that is a hot-shoe cover?
> ...



Ditto for my D80.


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## dhilberg (Sep 22, 2009)

kundalini said:


> Big Mike said:
> 
> 
> > Are you sure that is a hot-shoe cover?
> ...



Same for my D80 and N65 as well. I don't use the covers though.


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## Joves (Sep 22, 2009)

Yes I use one. Fact is I took the one off my D80 and, put it on my D300 before I sold it. I like to keep the dust off of the contacts.


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## PhotoXopher (Sep 22, 2009)

So is it really just for looks? If so, mine is staying in the bag.


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## dizzyg44 (Sep 22, 2009)

kundalini said:


> That little piece of plastic will not act as a bumper.  You can still take a chunk out of your noggin, especially with that rig dizzyg44 used.... a fair amount of weight.
> 
> I will slap on a flash in a minute and trying to keep up with that cover is a PITA.



No doubt that the little cover wouldn't have prevented it, but probably would've done just a little bit less damage to me as the cover fills the sides better.

It was more embarrassment than pain though :meh:  It did stun me though for a few seconds since it was such a hard hit and caught me off guard.


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## KmH (Sep 22, 2009)

I use the hotshoe covers but not the viewfinder covers.


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## Battou (Sep 22, 2009)

Big Mike said:


> Are you sure that is a hot-shoe cover?
> 
> My Canon came with something similar attached to the strap.  It's a viewfinder cover, and it's used to cover the viewfinder when you are shooting on a tripod (when your eye is not up against the viewfinder during the exposure) and is to prevent stray light entering through the viewfinder and affecting the exposure.



The hot shoe cover that came with the Canon EF did double duty as the hotshoe cover and eyepeice cover. :thumbup:


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## FrankLamont (Sep 22, 2009)

I didn't think Canon provided them, though I suppose I should try.


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## Battou (Sep 22, 2009)

FriedChicken said:


> I didn't think Canon provided them, though I suppose I should try.



Keep in mind, the Canon EF is the film SLR shown in my first post in this thread. Things could hve changed in the last thirty or so years.


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## Village Idiot (Sep 23, 2009)

I always have something on my hot shoe.


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## Dwig (Sep 23, 2009)

I keep hot shoe covers on cameras, though they have only minor use these days. Long ago in a galaxy far away there were rather important. Today, they serve to help keep the commonly present activation switch (see below) clean and reduce the likely hood of a strap, part of a bag, or clothing from snagging on the hot shoe.

Hot shoe covers were introduced shortly after accessory shoe evolved into hot shoes having a flash contact. In those ancient times flashes presented rather high voltages (300-500v) at the sync contacts, cord or foot. When a camera has both a PC terminal and a hot shoe, connecting a flash to one would make the voltage present at the other unless some steps are taken to disable the unused connection. Initially, most manufacturers simply put an inexpensive plastic cover in the hot shoe and sometimes a plastic plug on the PC terminal. These severed to prevent you from brushing the unused terminal with a finger or nose and getting an uncomfortable shock. 

After a short period, many manufactures began putting an "activation switch" in the hot shoe. This would switch the hot shoe one, and the PC off in a few cases, when a flash foot was inserted. With these cameras, the hot shoe cover is of no use other than what I mentioned in the first paragraph. There were a few other designs, such as the Canon Canonette QL17 GIII which had a swinging cover over the PC terminal to disable the hot shoe when a PC cord was used and to cover the PC terminal otherwise.

These days flashes use a safer low voltage and the shock protection is no longer an issue. Still, some cameras, like my Nikon cp8400, have a switch in the hot shoe to sense the presence of an external flash. Using the cover to keep this switch clean is a minor, but reasonable, thing to do. The camera also slides in and out of a tight pouch easier with the cover in place.

There was a period when Canon added some small tabs to their hot shoe cover for the "A" series cameras (AE-1, ... and maybe the earlier EF). These tabs allowed the hot shoe cover to also serve as an eyepiece cover. A nice idea. Eyepiece covers are valuable when you use the camera's light meter without having your eye up to the eyepiece (they are of no use "during the exposure" as is often stated). When using a manual camera that, like many of the early Nikons, have an external meter display you need to cover the eyepiece when using the external display to avoid having light entering the eyepiece and influencing the meter. Similarly, if you are using an auto exposure camera _in automatic_ you need to cover the eyepiece if you shoot without an eye to the finder since the meter will be setting the camera for you and could be influenced by the stray light.


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## Battou (Sep 23, 2009)

Dwig said:


> There was a period when Canon added some small tabs to their hot shoe cover for the "A" series cameras (AE-1, ... and maybe the earlier EF). These tabs allowed the hot shoe cover to also serve as an eyepiece cover. A nice idea. Eyepiece covers are valuable when you use the camera's light meter without having your eye up to the eyepiece (they are of no use "during the exposure" as is often stated). When using a manual camera that, like many of the early Nikons, have an external meter display you need to cover the eyepiece when using the external display to avoid having light entering the eyepiece and influencing the meter. Similarly, if you are using an auto exposure camera _in automatic_ you need to cover the eyepiece if you shoot without an eye to the finder since the meter will be setting the camera for you and could be influenced by the stray light.



Yes, the earlier EF did indeed come with them, (trust me I have two  and manuals to proove it,) however there where two flaws in them, One was the ever popular rubber eye cup that was available. The tabs that held the cover to the eyepeice utilized the same groves in the sides of the eyepeice that the rubber eye cup used. That said the moment someone put a flash on to the camera that had the rubber eye cup, there was little to no use for it, being such a small peice it gets lost, that is why my primary EF sports an Olympus hot shoe cover previous owner dun lost it and the dealer I bought it from replaced it with what he had available . Second, was the tabs them selves, they where weak and prone to breakage. My backup EF still sports it's original EF hotshoe cover but it is not useable as an eyepiece cover because of this, if it was not for the fact I actually use the hotshoe cover, it would have been lost.

That reminds me Dwig, Do you by chance have any helpful information that could help me with this


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