I purchased an Metz 40 MZ 3i flash, whenever I try to use the on camera flash it does not work. Is there anything I can do. The On camera flash was working fine, until I started using the Metz flash.

-- Nigel Pieters (eilpeters@aol.com), August 24, 2000

Answers

Whenever you mount any accessory flash to your camera's hotshoe, also via a hotshoe connecting/synch cord, this automatically disables the built-in flash. You cannot use them both simultaneously. I believe this is mentioned in the camera's manual. BTW, would it be physically possible for the built-in flash to pop up when there's anything attached to the hotshoe? I don't think so.

I hope I understood your post correctly, you were trying to make both strobes work simultaneously, right? I assume that each strobe works OK by itself?

Piotr

-- Piotr Mikolajczyk (mikolaj@pcwarsaw.waw.pl), August 24, 2000.

If you mean that the on-camera flash no longer works at all.... its because one or both micro-switches under the hot shoe rails are stuck. Free them up with a dull knife blade.

-- Dave (dherzstein@juno.com), August 24, 2000.

I've freed them up with a knife before too. Unfortunately the problem returned rather quickly. If it does there is a fairly easy method for realigning the holes the switches run through.

All you have to do is remove the hot shoe cover plate, which is a very thin piece of metal that sits on top of the hot shoe and covers most of it, exposing just the contacts. The easiest method to remove it is to push a needle, from the back of the camera towards the front, and slide it under the cover plate. Push it most of the way forward in the shoe. It will probably pop up right then, but if it doesn't just raise the needle a bit. Remove it. It hinges from the front. Right under the cover plate are four screws that you need to loosen, realign the shoe and tighten back up. Pop the cover plate back on and you're done.

This is a fairly common problem on the EOS 5/A2/A2e series. I've also seen other EOS cameras with loose hot shoes and they can be fixed the same way.

-- Jim Strutz (jimstrutz@juno.com), August 24, 2000.

Yup...the pop-up on my A2E got stuck again, and I removed the thin plate, loosened the 4 screws, the mirco switches popped up and the flash works again. This is regular home maintenance on this camera.

-- Todd Frederick (fredrick@hotcity.com), August 25, 2000.