Very Confused by Wording in new R7 Manual Regarding Multi-Function Shoe

[swetzel9]

I just upgraded to an R7 from an older T7i.  I have two 430EX units that I'd like to use with the new camera.  The manual has the following (emphasis mine):

• The following accessories cannot be attached directly to the multi-function shoe.

  • Speedlite EL-1/600EXII-RT/600EX-RT/580EX II
  • Speedlite Transmitter ST-E3-RT (Ver. 2)/ST-E3-RT
  • Off-Camera Shoe Cord OC-E3
  • GPS Receiver GP-E2
• To use the accessories listed above with the camera, you will need Multi-Function Shoe Adapter AD-E1, sold separately. For details, refer to the AD-E1 Instruction Manual.
• When attaching accessories other than these that are designed for regular hot shoes, insert the accessory's mounting foot all the way in, then slide the mounting foot locking lever to secure it. For details, refer to the accessory's Instruction Manual.

I'm assuming that when it says "Other than these" it refers to the 4 items listed above.  From that I'd interpret that since my 430 is not listed as one of "these" and is also designed for a "regular hot shoe" (Is the Canon hot shoe a "regular" hot shoe with its additional pins?") I would be able to use it without the AD-E1 adapter. 

The R7's multi-function shoe seems to have the 5 pins the 430 has, and I would have just tried it but the wording from the manual is confusing enough that I wanted to check here.  Its surprisingly difficult to find straightforward info on what I can use and can't.  Would 3rd party flashes with a single sync pin require the adapter?  From the wording of the manual I'd say yes, but if that's the case what does the adapter actually do that only those 4 things need it?

Any perspective would be appreciated.  

[MikeSowsun · Accepted solution]

Those items that are listed as incompatible all have an extra rubber weather sealing gasket. Canon sells the adapter to maintain the weather sealing function of those units on the new style hot shoe used in the R series cameras.

Every other flash or accessory will function without the adapter. The weather sealed units will also function, but lose their weather sealing ability. 

I have read that flash units like the 600EX RT with the rubber gasket can be difficult to mount and offer some resistance when being mounted. I bet removing the rubber gasket would eliminate that problem. 

[swetzel9]

So one of those two older flashes I mentioned in the original post just stopped working.  To replace it I picked up a used 580EX II.  It does indeed have that exact rubber seal at the base, and attempting to fully lock the shoe latch on the flash is very difficult because it compresses the seal in a way I'm guessing the shoe isn't designed for.  

So I can confirm that removing the seal eliminates the difficulty of mounting the flash, and it seems to be working fine without it.  The seal itself just slips right off and is easily put back on if I need it.  If I ever feel like using a flash in the rain I'll pick up the adapter, but for the indoor shooting I usually do this seems like it will work just fine.

[deebatman316]

All of Canon's speedlites WITHOUT weather sealing will slide in and lock into place as if its a regular hot shoe. The legacy 5 pins are still there for proper E-TTL and other communication to work correctly. So there IS NO need for the adapter in your case.

[swetzel9]

Thanks both of you for the quick replies.  It would have been a lot easier to understand if it was noted the weather sealing was the point of compatibility rather than anything electronic.  

Also, I tried to accept either of the posts as the solution but keep getting this error:

Request Entity Too Large

The requested resource does not allow request data with POST requests, or the amount of data provided in the request exceeds the capacity limit.

[Danny]

We marked one of the answers as a solution for you.  As the for error message you got, try closing and relaunching your browser and that should get it working again.  Hope this helps!

[rs-eos]

Quick note on the "Request Entity Too Large" bug.  This happens from time-to-time and I have noticed that when it does happen, it's when I'm logged in to this site and then I search usa.canon.com for some product or user manual.

I have to quit my browser (Safari on macOS in my case) for things to work again.

One workaround I have found is that before I visit other Canon sites to look up specs, manuals, etc., I'll create a new private browing window and do my searches in there.  Bug never occurs in this scenario.  My guess is that there's something to do with various Canon sites wrecking havoc with browser cookies that then messes up your session here on the forums.

[shadowsports]

@Ricky,

I found this as well.  I just log out and back in.  This creates a new session ID and seems to resolve the error.  You have a good solution as well.