D30 and 420EZ

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.

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

Thanks.

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