A totally stupid \"newbie\" question

[Carole]

My dad got me a D30 for my birthday and I've been having a ball with it.

Fortunately I already owned a film EOS camera and already had lenses.

My question is this... I also have a Quantaray external flash unit that is supposed to work with "all" (yeah right) EOS cameras. It does not; however, work on the D30.

Is this a compatibility problem with the module?

Will I need to purchase a different flash unit?

Any suggestions?

I am not a photographer by any stretch of the imagination. At this point I am just poking around and trying to learn a few things - so a non-technical "Flash for Idiots" type of answer would be great!

TIA,

Carole

[Pekka]

Hi carole,

First: There is no such thing as a totally stupid "newbie" question. Answers may be stupid, but not questions :)

http://www.photozone.de/canonflash.htm lists EOS compatible flashes. Quantaray is not on that list....

Quantaray must have reverse-engineered Canon flash logic chips to get EOS compatibility (like Sigma and Tamron), but in time Canon makes small changes into their cameras so older third-party stuff may not work any more. Often manufacturers like Sigma get you a free chip update so that device will work again in new cameras, but this is something you have to ask directly from Quantaray.

Also, it might be wise to the nearest camera shop and try your D30 with some other flashes just to see that D30 has no problem there.

[KHogan]

Carole,

To add to what Pekka has said, I've heard a number of times that the Quantaray products are actually Sigma products distributed under a different name. I haven't verified this, it's just heresay. But, I have found out that other manufacturers are distributing Sigma flashes. For example, here in Canada one cannot purchase the Sigma EF-500 flashes. But Vivitar now has one out called the 880AF which is available here in Canada. I was curious about this flash since it's touted as a Canon 550EX clone and after some investigation, I have discovered that the Vivitar 880AF is in fact a Sigma EF-500 Super repackaged for Vivitar and sold in Canada.

All that to say that your flash may in fact be a Sigma flash with Quantaray's name on it. Might be worth looking into.

Good luck!
Kharim

[jadams]

I've used a Quantary flash on my 1D without any problems. I have the one with the "flash" and the "module". I just bought the Canon EOS Compatiable Module, and it works.

What model are you using? Is it a single piece flash unit, or is it the flash/module combo like I described?

Jasper

[Rafael]

This is not an answer to your question just a comment on what a nice dad you have :-)

[Carole]

jadams wrote:
I've used a Quantary flash on my 1D without any problems. I have the one with the "flash" and the "module". I just bought the Canon EOS Compatiable Module, and it works.

What model are you using? Is it a single piece flash unit, or is it the flash/module combo like I described?

Jasper


It is a separate flash and dedicated module. The module itself says it works with "all" Canon EOS cameras and to be fair it does work with both my 35 mm Rebel and my dad's APS format EOS.

It does not work with the D30.

If I have to buy a new flash it isn't a big deal - basically I just wanted to be sure that I wasn't missing something really obvious.

Thanks for all of the helpful answers!

This is a really cool forum!

And yeah - my dad is a really cool guy. He retired recently and has taken up photography as a hobby. Well - he has fallen in love with digital photography and wants to share his new love with his family. He gave my husband a Sony Mavica FD95 and my daughter a Sony Cyber-shot. But since I'm his "little" girl - I got a D30!

I'm having fun - although I admit to not having a clue as to what I'm doing yet... but I figure if I mess with it long enough I'll get the hang of it.

Thanks again,

Carole

P.S. - Hope it is okay if I hang around and pester you nice folks with questions. I've looked at some of the photos at the links you all have provided (like Pekka and Picnic) and all I can say is "WOW" - I'd totally love to be that good with a camera!

[chris maddock]

Carole wrote:
And yeah - my dad is a really cool guy. He retired recently and has taken up photography as a hobby. Well - he has fallen in love with digital photography and wants to share his new love with his family. He gave my husband a Sony Mavica FD95 and my daughter a Sony Cyber-shot. But since I'm his "little" girl - I got a D30!

P.S. - Hope it is okay if I hang around and pester you nice folks with questions. I've looked at some of the photos at the links you all have provided (like Pekka and Picnic) and all I can say is "WOW" - I'd totally love to be that good with a camera!

Lucky "little girl"! You got the better part of the deal, IMO.

I'm sure that no-one will object to your questions. I suspect that many here, like myself, have learnt most of what we know from fora like this one.

Have you found the DPReview forum yet? Very useful, although much faster traffic and a higher signa/noise ratio;
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1019&page=1

KRs
Chris