The Use of Non dedicated Flash on Canon EOS Camera
Prior to using a Generic Non dedicated flash on the Canon EOS camera, you have to check the trigger voltage of the Flash. The Canon lines of Speedlite flashes do not use more than 6 volts with their trigger circuits. The Canon EOS 1, A2/A2E, 10s, 630, Elan, RT and Rebel operate with 6 volts as the maximum voltage going through their triggering circuits. Therefore you have to make sure that the generic flashes also adhere with this limitation.
Those triggers which use more than 6 volts can damage the electrical circuitry of the camera. The connecting wires, the X-Sync contact point and the shutters are most prone to damages. The damage might not be obvious but will happen gradually over time. Beside from the likelihood of circuitry damages, electro magnetic noises generated by the high voltages will cause interference with the Camera operation. The metering system, aperture settings and shutter speed are just some of the possible effects of electro-magnetic noise on the circuit of the camera. Which function will be affected will depend ultimately on the circuits which is interfered with by the electromagnetic noise.
Testing the voltages of the flash triggering circuit is a simple task. Just use a voltmeter which is available at any Radio Shack stores. Connect the positive lead to the positive point of Sync Cord. The Negative lead should be connected to the ground of the Sync cord. With shoe mounted flash, just connect the positive lead to the center point of the mount. The negative lead has to be connected to the grounding point of the camera located at the side of the lock nut. Voltmeters have different setting which you can use. If you are unaware of the voltage of the Flash unit, just use the highest setting on the voltmeter than work your way downwards.
You can actually fire a Studio Flash unit safely without a Sync cord. To do so, just use a Speedlite 420EZ or 430EZ at 1/32 power setting under manual flash mode. Make sure the optical slave trigger is turned on before firing. What you are actually doing is utilizing the bounce features of the Speedlite 420EZ or 430EZ to divert the flash light to the optical slave trigger. On the other hand, you can use slave triggers which are linked by radio signals to fire the Studio flash. These radio transmitters and receivers, which are connected to the Camera’s PC contact and the Flash power packs, are manufactured by companies like Lindahl and Quantum Instruments.
If the EOS camera is not firing the Studio flash, check the following:
1. Ensure that the PC socket adapter does not come with metal shoes. Metal shoes will cause a “short” in the triggering circuit. To avoid this problem, use a Canon PC socket adapter made from plastic.
2. The flash units polarities might be reversed. This can occur because of a diode which is connected to the camera X-Sync point to protect the Camera internal flash unit. To get by this problem, reverse the polarities of the Sync cord.
3. If the two troubleshooting tips do not work, just use the method described above on how to fire a studio flash safely.
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