300d flash

[rizla]

The flash will not pop-up on my 300d,anyone have any ideas or had this same problem before or is it a case of returning to canon.

regards
rizla

[rizla]

cactusclay
yes power is on,
flash wont automatically pop up or when i try manualy, i think its us

[rebel61021]

does it flash if you push the manual button?

[robertwgross]

Switch on, switch mode to Green Box, half-press the shutter button a couple of times. If the flash did not pop up normally in a dark room, then press the manual flash button. If it doesn't pop up then, there may be something wrong. The typical user error is to leave it in a non-flash mode and expect it to pop up.

---Bob Gross---

[rizla]

I have tried all the above recomendations with still no joy, i think it's got to go to canon repairs.
Thanks for all who tried to help.

rizla

[mhanlen]

Let me know what you find out. I took a class yesterday and everything was working fine. I put a flash in the hot shoe at the dealer to look at it. After I got home the built-in flash will not pop up. We tried a large number of settings in the class and I feel that the problem may lie in something I did there... but what

[Jon]

In "Green box" or Portrait (Basic) modes, the flash should pop up automatically if it's needed. In Sports or Landscape it won't. IIRC it will in Macro. In the "Creative' (P, Av, Tv, M) modes it won't deploy unless you hit the flash release button on the left side of the lens mount above the lens release (with the camera in working position).

[rizla]

Thanks for the reply jon,............i have tried all that you sugest but its not having none of it !!
going to take it to a repair centre when i can.

regards
rizla

[mhanlen]

I contacted customer support at Canon about my flash. I'm lucky because it is still under warranty (barely). The tech support guy said that there is no reason (i.e. settings) that would disable the flash in full auto mode. So I am sending mine back today at his recommendation. He said turnaround time for repair is about 10 working days after they receive it. I would like to add that their tech support was EASY to contact and DID NOT make you jump through hoops to get anything done. Very pleasant experience.

[KeithMcC]

This is a problem I have experienced with my 300 D. The pop-up worked superbly exactly as expected, in all modes, until one day I bought an external flash unit - the 420EX which is one of the few of Canon's own dedicated flashes for digital SLRs. At first the unit didn't seem to want to slide into the hot shoe, but after a little wiggle it went in and worked a real treat.

However, after that first time of putting it into the hot shoe, the pop-up flash has died totally !!!!! No amount of coaxing, changing modes, tweaking at the edges while holding the manual button etc etc etc..................nothing. Nobody seemed to have any idea, and Canon just said "Send it in for hardware repair". No chance!!

An american camera Forum came up with the same issue last year apparently, and it has now become a common affair. It seems that there is a physical link between the hot shoe and the pop-up electronic control so that when an external flash unit is in the hot shoe the pop-up is disabled - 'cos yopu don't want it popping up too, do you! However, when taking the flash gun out of the hot shoe it seems that the link can get stuck in the 'OFF' position and there is nothing you can do about it! Talk about a design fault! But try to get Canon to agree and sort it for free when you are out of Warranty!!

So, I will just have to keep mine as a camera without a pop-up facility.............................unless someone else knows better? If so please let us know.

[robertwgross]

I would have a very close look at the hot shoe.

There is a tiny little microswitch along the underside of one of the two metal rails. Normally, that microswitch's plunger is up when there is no external flash unit there. Then when an external flash is slid in, the plunger is forced down. That way, the camera knows not to try to pop up the built-in flash when an external flash is already there.

The problem is when that plunger gets forced down and then it sticks there, perhaps due to dirt.

---Bob Gross---

[KeithMcC]

Thanks Bob, that's very helpful. Now to find my miner's headlamp, my jeweller's magnifying glass and a toothpick....and maybe some WD40!!

I also found a website for Canon 20Ds where they are having the very same problem, but apparently someone there thinks the switch is under the hot-shoe plate.

So Golden Lesson is "Don't put anything in there to protect the hot shoe either, 'cos it'll stop your pop-up working"

[Titus213]

Originally Posted by robertwgross

I would have a very close look at the hot shoe.

There is a tiny little microswitch along the underside of one of the two metal rails. Normally, that microswitch's plunger is up when there is no external flash unit there. Then when an external flash is slid in, the plunger is forced down. That way, the camera knows not to try to pop up the built-in flash when an external flash is already there.

The problem is when that plunger gets forced down and then it sticks there, perhaps due to dirt.

---Bob Gross---

Yup, the little micro switch is on the right rail under a spring steel track of my 300D, on the left rail for the 20D. If the spring rail gets stuck down I would expect the on-board won't pop up.

[robertwgross]

Originally Posted by Titus213

If the spring rail gets stuck down I would expect the on-board won't pop up.

Either the spring rail sticking down, or the plunger itself sticking down.

---Bob Gross---

[KeithMcC]

I have now solved the problem. My camera works beautifully again. The pop-up has never popped so much in its life.

What did I do? I took Bob's advice and had a very close look under the spring on the right hand side i.e. the side nearest the ON/OFF switch. Yes there it was...the top of a tiny plastic plunger, stuck down level with the bottom of the hot shoe - not up to the spring at all.
Right - off with the hot shoe. But how? The metal springs and central plate slide out towards you after lifting the front edge very slightly. The spring edges are just a part of the whole black plate along the base of the hot-shoe, and is itself made of extremely thin sprung steel. Mine was a little sticky coming out because of the 'gunge' that had accumulated in the hot shoe (causing the trouble of course). So that got a good cleaning first. Then I was able to get at the four really tiny cross-head screws that hold the metal frame of the hot shoe onto the camera body. Out with my watch repair kit and select the small screw-driver that fitted. Unscrew the four screws, lift off the hot shoe and ...........there it was......... the small plastic plunger sticking up just 1mm above the camera body (the thickness of the bottom of the hot shoe). Being very careful not to press it down further I gently eased it up with a finger nail and it suddenly popped. A tiny smear of WD40 on a lint-free cloth and a tooth pick allowed me to clean and lubricate the plastic plunger and check that it plunged freely again - which it did. So, back on with the hot shoe body and its four little screws, slide in the spring plate so that it clicks back into place and try it out.

Yes, it worked first time. Pop after Pop after Pop. No problems at all
Flashing away.

Now to try the external flash unit again, being very careful inserting it into the hot-shoe. Yes the pop-up flash was properly 'isolated' as it is supposed to be and the flash gun works. Remove the flash unit and BINGO the pop-up works again.

Yeah !!!!!!! I am the happiest man alive.

Thanks again guys. The whole thing took less than 20 minutes too, once I plucked up the courage to actually do it!

Keith McC