What Is a Hot Shoe Adapter? What Do You Have to Pay Attention To?

Many modern digital cameras have an integrated flash and can also be operated with a plug-on flash. The most important requirement here is an appropriate hot shoe. Hot-shoes with and without contacts are used on cameras.

The main task is using an external flashlight device, which is much more powerful than the integrated flashlight. This is synchronized and triggered via the center contact and other contacts with the camera. In addition, a flash shoe is also used to attach camera accessories.

Camera accessories for hot shoes

• Camera lights*
• Spirit levels*
• Rangefinder*
• Exposure meter*
• Remote*
• optional viewfinders

I have also used the flash shoe as a mounting point on the camera. Quite practical, I found an optional viewfinder, as I did not always want to look at the rear display. The actual hot-shoe shape is standardized according to ISO 10330 and therefore forms the basis for all possible clip-on accessories. However, I have noticed that the contacts for triggering a flash are executed differently by each camera manufacturer. This raises the question of what task a hot shoe adapter has.

What is a hot shoe adapter, and what is it needed for?

In many cases, a hot shoe adapter produces a flexible ball head holder. In the lower part of such an adapter, a plastic plate can be inserted exactly into the camera’s hot shoe. On it, for example, there is a ball head holder with an individually adjustable ball head. This can be a tripod thread with a 1/4 inch diameter. Theoretically, I could use it to operate two cameras on top of each other at the same time or attach a studio light or a studio reflector to the screw thread. I only have to note that no contacts to the attached device are passed on via the pushed plastic plate.

I also found various aluminum adapters that can be plugged directly into a hot camera shoe. In a bracket like that, I can easily attach a studio lamp. The deferred adapter is secured to the hot shoe using a clamping screw and ensures a firm lamp attachment.

In addition, I also found the real hot shoe adapters, which can not only be easily pushed onto an existing hot shoe but also transfer the contacts precisely. These adapters are needed if, for example, I want to use a flash from a completely different camera manufacturer on a Canon SLR camera. For example, the contacts on a Canon camera are designed differently than on a Sony digital camera. I can therefore use these special adapters if I also want to use the contacts for flash synchronization at the same time. In addition to the plug-in adapters, there are also those with spiral cable extensions so that I can easily operate an external flashlight device. Otherwise, the simple hot-shoe adapters are completely sufficient for most plug-in devices.

What do I have to pay attention to when buying a hot shoe adapter?

If you are interested in such an adapter, you should first check what kind of flash shoe is mounted on your camera. In addition, you have to decide whether only clip-on accessories or flashlight devices should be used on this flash shoe. Inquire about your camera’s bitz system. In addition to the original TTL exposure metering, which transmits the measurement results to the hot shoe contacts for the flashlight device, I also find the so-called pre-flash measurement in modern SLR cameras. Canon E-TTL, Nikon D-TTL or I-TTL, Pentax P-TTL, and Sony ADI.

This information is important when looking for a hot shoe adapter for different systems. However, the standard ISO measurement for an adapter is sufficient for attaching a studio light, a remote release, or a viewfinder. The contacts are not needed in this case. I find it advantageous that the different hot-shoe adapters are already available quite inexpensively compared to the other photo accessories.

Result

Hot shoe adapters are available for a wide variety of applications. I can put these directly on an existing flash shoe. In addition to the contactless ISO adapters, there are also those with contact transmission. The latter is primarily used for the control of special flashlight devices. Otherwise, I can attach all sorts of accessories, from a spirit level to a rangefinder or a camera light to an optional camera viewfinder. I think it’s nice that the different hot-shoe adapters are relatively inexpensive. Most adapters are in the price segment of around 10 euros.