I have a question about external flashes?

Question

Are all hot shoe "outlets" the same? Can external flashes such as the Canon Speedlight be used on other makes or are they Canon-specific?

Silly I know, but all information is helpful. Thanks :)

Answer 1

No. Canon and the rest use their own electronics, their flash units are for their cameras. However, there are off brands made for Canon that may be used.

Answer 2

No, they are not the same.

There is one basic element that is the same in all hot shoes, that's the center pin, which is actual trigger. So in manual or automatic mode (if it has one) pretty much every flash will work with just about every camera. Just make sure it isn't one of those flashes that sends the high voltages through the camera, or it can fry electronics inside.

As to TTL functionality, when camera fully controls the flash and metering it's output through the lens - each flash will only work with their brand of camera. Third party flashes are often made in several versions to work with different camera makes or come with adapters.

LEM.

Answer 3

With the advent of digital SLR's camera companies have built-in many more features when dedicated flash units are used on these cameras.

Using a Canon flash on a Canon camera will provide the best possible number of options when using flash.  The same goes for Nikon flash units on Nikon's, etc, etc.