Shoe attachment GL-2
 

I'm a bit confused about the shoe attachment at the top of the unit for microphones and lights. I understand that Canon has lights and microphones that hot shoe directly to the unit. In fact I can see the connections where it mates up after sliding the shoe in.

My question is, suppose you just want to slide a generic dual shoe in it's place and use non-Canon mics and lights that aren't hot shoed? Will it electrically short out the connections and damage the camera, where the metal of the generic shoe touches the contacts?

I hope I'm expalining this in an understandable manner to the forum

Regards,

John

per Canon
 

You are correct. I discussed this with a Canon tech just after purchasing a GL2. He told me to never place a metal connection in the shoe, because it will short it out. Plastic only.

Shoe with plastic bottom
 

Mike,

Thanks for the extremely importantfirst-hand feedback. Here is a shoe with a plastic bottom by Mamiya
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home;jsessionid=Dv7CvXbhMF!-73
2060580?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=146293&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

Only problem is, is that it won't work with my C6 Pag light. The knurled knob for tilting the C6 unit hangs up on the Mamiya L bar of the double shoe adapter.

PAG, has an accessory shoe for connecting the light and Mic, and I'm just wondering if it is metal at the bottom.

You have a neat web site, I checked it out.

Happy shooting,

John
Santa Fe, Texas

hey john..

what do you shoot out there in santa fe?

deaN

No offense to you, Mike, but the Canon technician was incorrect, as such personnel often are. They feel they have to validate themselves by always having an answer, and they often pull them out of the air.

The contacts in the GL2 shoe are recessed. Devices designed to use them are designed to reach into the recesses to make contact. The flat-bottomed shoes of accessories that are only using the shoe as a mechanical mount do make not contact, so any material is fine.

>> No offense to you, Mike, but the Canon technician was incorrect, as such personnel often are. They feel they have to validate themselves by always having an answer, and they often pull them out of the air.<<

Or perhaps the lawyers told him to say this to avoid the problem of other devices with metal shoes with projections on them that could cause the problem. Also keep in mind that many still camera photo flash shoes have contacts as well that might cause a problem.

A small piece of electrical tape can prevent contact, if not too thick to allow the shoe and socket to mate. But then the adheasive may leave a problematic residue. (I've used tape to prevent contact on photo flashes when slid into all metal shoe adapters.)

Hot shoe, Cold Mount...
 

I checked my GL2 hot shoe and the contacts are indeed recessed into the handle. Working in field repair of electrical equipment, I would be concerned about placing a metal object with only a few thousands of an inch gap between an electrical connection. For the cost of the camera, and the headache of a potential serious problem, I will only use plastic shoe mounts, unless it's an accessory that was made to electrically hook up to the hot shoe. I would also not trust electrical tape; that would be false hope. Just my two cents....

Hot shoe, btw, canon mike is good
 

I discovered unexpectedly that the Canon small shotgun that mounts into the "intelligent" hot shoe is surprisingly good. I did a multiple camera shoot with a guy who had this mike and I could barely tell it from the boom mike (we were all in the same room). So I went out and bought the mike and was extremely happy with it.