Hot shoe wobble

[Robpendragon]

I just started to notice when I have my FL-50 flash on my Olympus E-500 the flash seems to wobble slightly. It's the hot shoe it seems a bit loose. Is this normal? I really don't want to take it apart. I could take it somewhere for professional repair but I won't bother if this is normal...I'm planning on making an E-3 purchase in the near future.

[keepright]

I've tried the FL50 on my E-510 to see how it compares. There's a little bit of flex in the flash and the body, so the flash does yield slightly. If I shake the camera, I can feel a little movement. The flash will also rotate slightly in the hot shoe even when it's locked in place. The key here is slightly If it seems to be significant, or enough that you can see/feel it in normal use, you might have a problem. On the other hand, if it doesn't seem to be in danger of failure, you might want to wait until you have your E-3 to take its place. And if your E-500 isn't in warranty, it's working alright, and is about to be demoted to backup status anyway, I'd probably leave it alone.

If the camera's still in warranty, then by all means send it in. In fact, I find that my cameras are prone to developing odd problems that get them sent in to the service centre for an overhaul before the warranty runs out.

[Paul Shields]

I used to have the FL-50 and never experienced any wobble so I'd be a little concerned if it moves more than a little. I did drop my FL-50 once and and had to reset the tightening screw. it was never quite as secure after that, but was fine before .

[keepright]

There's a tightening screw...?

Just to clarify my earlier post, the movement that I feel is flex in the plastic itself, and needs a fair bit of persuasion to happen. There's no play in the flash to camera mount except for the slight rotation.

[Paul Shields]

Yeah, I'm referring to the wheel that tightens it to the mount. I agree it's normally pretty solidly mounted so any undue flexing I would definitely check out.

[Robpendragon]

Thanks guys, I'll be swinging by a camera shop today to have them check it out. If it's going to be a major issue I'll keep the flash mounted on the flash bracket until I get the E3.

[KerryG]

I had the same problem with the FL50 on an E-500. It drove me nuts. I was constantly reaching down to make sure it was tightend down good but you could see the hot shoe flex on the top of the plastic camera housing. I checked it out and it didnt seem to present any problem, but it was annoying.

[Bill Huber]

Just a note, the screw on the bottom of the flash should never be really tightened down. If you will not that when it is turned there is a pin that comes out of the bottom that goes into a hole in the mount.

So the nut on the flash should just be snugged down and not really tightened down. When the nut on the flash is really tightened it can bind and this will make if very hard to get off the camera. The pin is what really holds the flash in place.