D30 and 420EZ

[Clement]

Will a 420 EZ flashgun work with a D30? I had heard that the EZ measured light on film and hence cannot work with a digital SLR.

All help gratefully received.

[Motorsports Photo]

Nope, it won't work. You need an EX flash.

My older flash worked fine with A2e, but not at all with D30. An undedicated flash will also work, but without any special Canon features.

-PS

[Clement]

Thanks.

[gmitchel]

The D30/D60 use E-TTL, not TTL.

They use the evaluative metering sensor that sits above the focusing mirror. A preflash fires before the mirror moves, and the flash is metered.

The process is so fast, you're unaware there is a preflash, the mirror moves and the shutter opens, then a second flash fires and that's what's used for the actual exposure.

TTL uses a sensor that reads light reflected off of the film's emulsion. It's not blocked by the mirror, so there is no preflash.

The EZ flashes also support A-TTL. That was the forerunner of E-TTL. It uses a preflash. Other than that, it's pretty much the same as TTL.

Because the D30/D60 do no have a sensor that measures reflected light from the CMOS sensor, TTL is not supported.

You can use an EZ flash with the D30/D60, but you'll have to use it as a manual flash.

Mitch