Does 60D have issues with off brand flashes?

[Soulephoto]

I have a Zeikos TTL flash I use for a backup that I have had for 6 yrs when I bought it for my Rebel.  Never really used it that much with my 60d on hotshoe(mostly off camera with remote). Well last week I put it on the 60d and it gives an "ERR 20" when the flash is on anything but TTL (Manual, Multi).  Also it randomly does not get recognized and will only show the AF assist beam, but does not fire.  Every so often it will fire, but completely not in sync with shutter.

I was planning on getting a popular off brand TTL for a backup.  The only concern was I found a few reviews that it did not work with the 60D, but worked with their other eos cameras.

[Soulephoto]

Also it seems most other cameras have firmware updates but not the 60D.  What's up with that?

[ebiggs1]

It isn't the 60D that has the problem with off-brand flashes, it is the flashes have the problem withthe 60D.

Canon does not tell anyone how its cameras work.  So flash and even lens makers "guess" how.  Sometimes they guess wrong.

I know the price is tempting but the risk is not.  Some flashes can actually damage the camera.  Especialy older manual units.

[Soulephoto]

Yes, I know that off brands have to reverse engineer the electronics and algorithms, so there is a possibility of not having a 100% functionality or even complete incompatibility.  Just found it odd that the flash works on all my other cameras, but has issue with my 60D. Was wondering if it had a sensitivity to off brand flashes or hotshoe issues in general, sense I have seen people have problems with Canon flashes communicating with the 60D.

I never throw anything away, I still have every piece of equipment I've ever owned.  Old manual flashes have a higher voltage at the shoe so you definitely don't want to put them on a Dslr and most new cameras don't supply enough voltage to trip the flash anyway.  I have an old Sunpak flash from the 70's that I love to use off camera with a remote.  Big power dial on it and it recycles faster than anything new.  Put it at 1/8 (sometime 1/4 with good rechargables) and the camera buffer fills up before the flash gives out.

[ebiggs1]

You sound like your know your way around but I am going to say it is the flash and not the 60D.  You might try the Yongnuo brand.  I know some folks swear by them.  I don't use them but some on this forum do.

[Soulephoto]

Hah ... That is the flash I was thinking about.  I like that the firmware is updatable.  So they at least try, and have the capability of, fixing compatibility issues.  And I like that they make a RT TTL receiver that will work with the Canons RT so I can use my old TTL flashes.   I don't know why Canon has not come out with more accessories for their RT system.  Just the 600EX-RT and ST-E3-RT that I know off.

[RobertTheFat]

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@Soulephoto wrote:

I have a Zeikos TTL flash I use for a backup that I have had for 6 yrs when I bought it for my Rebel.  Never really used it that much with my 60d on hotshoe(mostly off camera with remote). Well last week I put it on the 60d and it gives an "ERR 20" when the flash is on anything but TTL (Manual, Multi).  Also it randomly does not get recognized and will only show the AF assist beam, but does not fire.  Every so often it will fire, but completely not in sync with shutter.

I was planning on getting a popular off brand TTL for a backup.  The only concern was I found a few reviews that it did not work with the 60D, but worked with their other eos cameras.

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I don't believe any recent Canon camera supports TTL. Instead they support E-TTL ("Enhanced Through-The-Lens") metering. I think some flash units support both, but I'm not aware of any cameras that do. And IIRC, the effect of using a TTL flash on a camera that expects E-TTL is extreme overexposure. I seem to recall that happening to me once when I hadn't adequately checked my settings.

[ebiggs1]

Its always a risk when you go off-brand.  I even have a Canon scanner, a Canon printer plus my 1 series and they all get along like they were made for each other.    Even the flashes like ach other.

[Soulephoto]

All my TTL flashes are E-TTL II (2004-present), I was just using shorthand sense all manufacturers have their own designations.

E-TTL (one, 1990?-2004) doesn't work with post 2004 cameras either (so they say, except manual), and I have never owned one, because at that time I was on film (Rebel X, AE-1, Minolta srt-201) and was a poor college student so I had only manual flashes (with a piece of toilet paper taped to the head as a diffuser) that would work on all my cameras.

A-TTL (1986-1990?) was use on Canon T series and early EOS.  "A" for Advanced or analog (WHAAAAAAT?) and measured the real time light bouncing off of the film.