Hot shoe issue

[Jonahfer1]

Hello everyone. New to the community and looking for help. Have a 70D that fell from my tripod with mic attached. The hot shoe mount pulled out all 4 screws. Read a bit online about using a blue or purple lock tite to reattach. No luck. 1screw hood fine - the others striped the plastic. No wires pulled out. Everything seems intacked and if I gently hold an external flash it works fine. Thoughts? I only use the hot shoe for mounting a mic 

[Waddizzle]

Sounds like your hot shoe is shot.  You may want to explore alternative mounting options for an external microphone.

If you send it in for repair, do not be surprised if the repair estimate is for a completely new top assembly, which would include LCD, hot shoe, and mode switch.  Take a careful look at the camera, and you should see that all of that stuff is attached to a single piece of body shell.

In recent years, manufacturers have moved away from stocking a multitude of small parts, most of which rarely moved off of the shelf, to stocking partial assemblies that contained many of the small miscellaneous parts, such as your hot shoe.  

While changing out the entire assembly may seem like overkill, the labor involved in disassembling the top assembly in your camera, repairinng it, and then putting all back together again, far surpasses the costs of swapping out the assembly.  Furthermore, the new assembly is likely to be more reliable than one repaired by hand.  There are too many opportunities to introduce human error with more labor hours.  Replacing assemblies takes a lot of human error out of the picture.

[lly3988]

The cost of repair can be up to $400 if the top plate has to be replaced.

If locktite won't work, the thread must have been badly damaged. Try using JB weld epoxy instead. Mix the two materials according to th instruction and use a toothpick or a thin wire to insert a tiny bit of the epoxy into the scrow holes. Before it becomes harden, screw the mount back in. Aloow it to set totally for a day.

I have tried this method before and it works. I have no problem mounting a full size speedlight on the camera and it has been very secure.

[Ray-uk]

See this thread:

http://community.usa.canon.com/t5/EOS/70D-mount-won-t-reattach/td-p/240035

As you can see there is a metal plate inside, it is very unlikely that the threads are stripped on the plate. I would suggest that either the the threads are stripped on the screws or the plate is misaligned.

[RobertTheFat]

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@Jonahfer1wrote:

Hello everyone. New to the community and looking for help. Have a 70D that fell from my tripod with mic attached. The hot shoe mount pulled out all 4 screws. Read a bit online about using a blue or purple lock tite to reattach. No luck. 1screw hood fine - the others striped the plastic. No wires pulled out. Everything seems intacked and if I gently hold an external flash it works fine. Thoughts? I only use the hot shoe for mounting a mic 

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When a camera hits the ground that hard, you have to wonder if there is other damage, either to the camera or to the lens. Such damage may not be obvious to the eye and may manifest itself only in diminished image quality, less accurate focusing, etc. So it's probably a good idea to send it to Canon for a complete inspection before spending any money to repair the hot shoe.

But since the camera is a 70D, there's something else you may want to consider, especially since the presence of a microphone suggests that you've been using it for video. If you search this forum, you'll discover that the 70D is prone to an expensive failure of a component on its main circuit board when it's been heavily used for video. Unless you've already had the board replaced, you may decide that this is a good time to replace the camera, rather than spending money to repair it.

[ebiggs1]

You need to call Canon service.  Nobody here can tell you what the damage is or the cost to repair it.  Canon can and your camera will be completely gone through to make sure it is OK.

Call 1 (800) 652-2666

[elarson]

Adding details of my journey for anyone else who stumbles along. I made a lot of mistakes and wanted to help anyone else who damages their Hot Shoe on their Canon 70D. There is a lot of mis-information and missing steps on the internet for this repair job. Good luck!

I had my external flash (Metz 48) attached to my camera and my wife dropped it. Landed sideways on the flash. The plastic hot shoe on the bottom of the flash broke and the metal part of my camera's hotshoe bent/broke. This also forceably removed two of the tiny little screws which were lost. 

I took it to my local camera shop and was told it would cost a minimum of $125 to send the camera in to Canon for evaluation and repair. They also told me they hadn't seen a bill come back from Canon repair for <$200. I naively thought this a ridiculous price for two little pieces of metal and a few small screws. 

I found this thread and a few YouTube videos along with some other random descriptions of broken hot shoes. Almost ALL of my searches found people focusing on tightening the tiny metal screws down . . . not actually replacing the metal hot shoe. Based on this thread I called the Canon parts line and they identified the metal hot shoe pieces and shipped them out to me ($10 for parts + $8 for S&H . . . about). 

TIP #1: The Hot Shoe parts DON'T include screws! When I called back to complain about this, I was told that the people answering the phone are there to get you parts only . . . and have no technical expertise to guide you on which parts to order. They usually deal with professional repair people and it up to the caller to know the exact bits and pieces they need to order. 

So I ordered two new screws ($0.50 for parts + $4 S&H). 

With all the parts arrived, I took my precision phillips head screwdriver and removed the remaining two screws that were keeping the bent and broken hot shoe in place. They came out quick and easy. 

Tip #2: When removing these tine screws, there is a metal plate INSIDE the camera that screws are actually screwed into. There are no threads on the plastic holes external to the camera. When I removed these screws all at once, the little metal plate dropped down inside the camera . . . because IT IS NOT SECURED. Thankfully the drop was small (1 mm?) so I could see it and the holes the screws are supposed to thread into. Unfortunately, the screws are so precise and fine, that with that 1mm drop, they wouldn't engage the metal holes in the plate and, therefore, wouldn't secure the new hot shoe pieces. 

Tip #3: There is a very small, plastic piece on the R side of the hot shoe. When depressed (b/c there is an external flash) this tells the camera NOT to pop up the onboard flash. This very tiny plastic piece is NOT SECURED. I touched it wondering what it was and it disappeared into the camera never to be found again!!! My camera now believes it is in the "depressed" state and will NEVER pop up the onboard flash again. I count myself lucky b/c when I need a flash, I use my exeternal flash 75% of the time. . . . To the next consumer coming along with this, DO NOT POKE that little piece of plastic. Very carefully ignore it and it will hopefuly stay up and visible. 

Tip #4: When the metal plate dropped that the screws have to secure to, I placed the new hot shoe pieces onto the camera. I then, very carefully, used two thin paper clips and inserted them into two of the holes; making sure they aligned with the holes on that metal plate. I do not know what sensitive equipment is in there, but it worked out for me. To thin rigid plastic pieces would probably be safer. I managed to manipulate the paper clips enough to elevate the metal plate and by applied angular pressure to the holes, kept it in place long enough for me to engage one of the metal screws. With that screw holding the metal plate up, the other 3 went in and secured without issue. 

In retrospect, $150 to $250 for Canon to do this correctly doesn't sound too terrible. If I ever want to use my pop up flash again I'll have to pay canon. But, to save the money (about $22 out of pocket), this is a repair that can be done at home. It takes a lot of patience, steady hands, and an understanding that if you mess up, you'll have to pay Canon. 

NEXT, I tried to repair my Metz 48 AF-1 external flash hot shoe! That requires a Torx T6 screw driver first and foremost. I found the part from USACamera.com. With part in hand the T6 Torx, I starting talking that apart. 

After removing the main part of the hot shoe (4 torx screws), there is a cable and an electronics board visible. There are 3 torx screws to remove from the electronics board to get the bottom of the hot shoe off. With those screws removed, it will fall apart if you aren't carefully. This could send springs and metal contacts flying everyone . . . ask me how I know this. 

Tip #5: Make sure the little plastic lever that withdraw the metal pin that secures the flash in the hotshoe at the FRONT of the hot shoe is kept in the correct orientation. Otherwise, that metal pin will not withdraw when you unscrew the flash and getting the flash OFF the camera is very difficult. 

Tip #6: Make sure the plastic screw ring that secures the flash down to the camera is transferred to the new hot shoe piece before reassembling. 

Tip #7: The new Metz hot shoe piece is plastic and the Torx Screw holes that secure the electronic board down are NOT pre-threaded. With the electornic board safely off to the side, screw the Torx Screw into place once as deep as you can go. Be careful not to strip the screw head or your Torx Screwdriver. 

Tip #8: If you don't screw the electronic board down tightly, the entire assembled flash will wobble when applied to the camera. Those 3 screw secure the ENTIRE HOT SHOE assembly. 

Total cost to me (Parts, S&H, and a Torx Screwdriver set) was about $50. Total cost to repair the DSLR through canon would have been about $150 to $250. Cost of a new External Flash would have been $150 to $250 as well (depending on quality of new one I bought). 

Best of luck! It was a giant pain in the butt causing immense frustration, some tears, and a lot of nervous sweating but I managed to repair my DSLR and my external flash. 

[Stephen]

Hello!

We're glad you were able to get your gear up and running again! In the future, we'd feel much better if you were to send it to Canon to have it evaluated. We don't charge for estimates, so you only pay once you decide to move forward with a repair. Any work we perform on your gear has a 6-month warranty as well! 

You can start the repair process on our site HERE.

Alternatively, if you have any questions, or would like advice, you're welcome to reach out to our friendly, US-based support team at 1-800-OK-CANON (800-652-2666). They're available weekdays from 8am to Midnight (ET) and Saturdays from 10am to 8pm (ET). 

[misterguru]

Edit: It looks like they are M1.7 .35mm pitch 3.76mm long from flat top to tip.
Also... did not use gravity... I remember that did not work. Instead I lined it up with 2 pieces of thin wire (paperclip will work, not tight!) and then put a small ceramic disk magnet on top to attract the plate.
The magnets are in the hardware isle of your local Big Box lumberyard... I remember a rare earth magnet was too much force, not allowing me to squeeze the screws in.
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What were the screw sizes?
When the screws didn't reach down to the plate I turned the camera upside-down, letting gravity bring the plate towards the screw.
The first repair lasted 2 years until I knocked it over again! I came here looking for screw sizes, possibly replacing 1-2 of them with an oversize or different thread type...