Plastic Insert for Hotshoe

[DaveF]

Have only owned my E-510 for two weeks and have already lost the plastic insert that fits in the flash hotshoe for protection. The on-line Olympus store does not have them for sale. I called the store and the lady confirmed the insert is not for sale and transferred me to the Repair Dept. That lady said I would have to send in the camera to have the insert "installed" and there would be a parts and labor charge. I don't think I've ever heard a more ridiculous and unnecessary cost policy. Lost of camera for two or more weeks and two mailing charges plus a parts & labor charge for a 5 cent piece of plastic?

Guess I will have to do without a plastic insert unless some kind member can point me to another solution.

Thanks,
Dave

[Bill_Turner]

Here ya go!
http://www.fourthirdsphoto.com/vbb/s...ad.php?t=15349

[Luke]

I lost that cover after a few weeks and have my E-300 for over 2 years now and it never complained. If yo do not get your camera dirty, you will not get the flash contacts dirty either.
Luc

[DaveF]

Bill, Thanks a lot.

Luc, You are right of course , but I would nevertheless prefer to have an insert.

Dave

[Pete Wilcox]

I take mine off first thing and put it in a little plastic zip lock bag which I stick in the camera bag and forget. Much more peace of mind. I know I haven't lost it .

[sokol]

I wouldn't be worried too much over the loss of the plastic insert for the hotshoe ...

myself, I'm not, although I lost mine about a year back (or so, I don't even know the exact date, I just noticed one day that it wasn't there any more)

but if it's to put your mind at rest, then get yourself a replacement, a good night's sleep certainly is worth more than the price for the replacement ;-)

[johnblue3]

This same part fits the E500, E330 et al. Often the part will be for sale for one of the other cameras but is not yeet listed for the E510. Try to buy one of the other parts.

[DaveF]

I called the NY store recommended by Bill, but no one was there. Did a bit of searching via Google and found the following

http://cgi.ebay.com/2-X-Flash-Hot-Sh...QQcmdZViewItem

Two hotshoe covers in a pack for the OM1, OM2 and OM4. I ordered a pack, figuring a hotshoe is a hotshoe and most inserts would probably fit a whole range of cameras. If they won't fit the E-510, I'll use them to replace the insert of my OM-2n (unused) that I lost twenty-five years ago and life will go on.

Dave

[acme]

I take mine off first thing and put it in a little plastic zip lock bag which I stick in the camera bag and forget. Much more peace of mind. I know I haven't lost it .

If you use a later FL-series flash there's actually a little pocket inside its soft pouch to (more or less permanently, if you're like me) store the cover in. As much as I appreciate the clever little hot shoe cover pocket from Olympus, though, I'd gladly trade it for IS on legacy lenses!

[Pete Wilcox]

For me, the cover kept falling out of the little pouch and ending up on the bottom of the camera bag. After the third time I just stored it away permanently

[sokol]

Two hotshoe covers in a pack for the OM1, OM2 and OM4. I ordered a pack, figuring a hotshoe is a hotshoe and most inserts would probably fit a whole range of cameras. If they won't fit the E-510, I'll use them to replace the insert of my OM-2n (unused) that I lost twenty-five years ago and life will go on.

Dave, they most certainly will fit perfectly - you even could use your Oly flashes (FL-36 & FL-50) with OM's, I did once but a friend of mine told me to be careful, probably either flash or OM-body could be damaged by too high voltage (I don't know if either flash or body would be in danger) as flash and body are not made for each other

[Hokuto]

Honestly, if I ever felt the need for a shoe cover, I'd simply cut one out of any number of available pieces of plastic lying around the home. A couple of minutes and done.

[heavy wind lover]

thinking back over the 50 years I have had a 35mm in my hand I don't recall ever worring about protecting the flash shoe,, I try to keep all my gear clean and safe (as best I can) ,, guess it was not that important in years past as it seems now days,,

right now I can't even tell ya if the plastic piece is in my E500 or not,, I know it is not in my Nikon P5000 as I have been using my old Nikon SB24 strobe on it doing some digiscoping,,

[DaveF]

Bought my first 35mm SLR (a Ricoh) in 1957, and from that time to now, I cannot recall which, if any, cameras had a hotshoe insert.

To tell the truth, I'm not worried about this hotshoe insert either. It just galls me that one came with the camera, and I managed to lose it within two weeks.

If more truth is told, I will probably receive the new insert, insert to make sure it fits and then promptly put it somewhere safe so I don't promptly lose it again.

When one gets a little older, losing something or forgetting something can become very personal.

Dave

[First Light]

Greetings,

I've found the hotshoe cover to be helpful for three reasons. First, it helps keep dust off the hotshoe when I'm forced to work in a very dusty environment. Second, it keeps most moisture off the hotshoe when I'm forced to shoot in light rain (this is probably only important if you have a weather-resistant E-1). However, the cover is not waterproof. Third, I notice less oxidation on the hotshoe contacts when I use the cover.

Keeping a Q-tip in my gear bag is also helpful for cleaning the hotshoe contacts.

[acme]

Third, I notice less oxidation on the hotshoe contacts when I use the cover.

This could be important given the especially low triggering voltage Olympus flashes use, and the relatively low voltages used by almost everyone else nowadays. I'm not sure a hot shoe cover is the best approach, however. A cover hit by a raindrop may trap water up against the contacts giving it longer to seep through, rather than allowing it to by shed from the camera or quickly evaporate.

A (very) thin film of water repellent electrical goop might work better, and of course contacts made out of a non corroding alloy and molded in place would be best of all.

[spurge]

It's easy to make hotshoe covers if you happen to have a three-gallon pot like plant nurseries use. The depth is perfect. Just snip a sized piece off the rim of the pot. Mine even has a raised rim that makes it easy to pull out. Course you can make a hundred or so from one pot, if you need that many.

[Rajraj]

Dave, they most certainly will fit perfectly - you even could use your Oly flashes (FL-36 & FL-50) with OM's, I did once but a friend of mine told me to be careful, probably either flash or OM-body could be damaged by too high voltage (I don't know if either flash or body would be in danger) as flash and body are not made for each other

In general, it's the flash that could damage the camera. It's the flash that produces the triggering voltage and some older units can produce several hundred volts. Older cameras had mechanical flash trigger switches, so no problem there. Modern cameras have electronic trigger switches and some of them don't like high voltages.
That said, there is no danger at all in using the FL flashes on OM bodies. The FL flashes are of the modern low-voltage type and OM bodies can take hundreds of volts.