PC Flash Covers.....

CMoore · May 16, 2019

Not even sure what PC stands for.....Pronto/Compur, or something like that.?

There are a lot of members on APUG that have known way more photographers than i have , but i have known and took classes with quite a few over the years.
I realize that professional wedding photogs used them a lot, and other Pros would have cause also.
But for the Millions of hobbyists, I think the PC connector on your typical 35mm SLR is one of the lesser used features of the camera.
Yet it seems like most SLR that i see, they are all missing that little PC cover.
You wonder how it happens....most guys never take them off. Even circa 1978, when a lot of these SLR were rather new, they would be missing that little cover.
And they were, usually, a fairly tight fit. They do not just fall off.
Why were those covers always missing.?
I guess a person would take it off the first time, and then immediately lose it.....

narsuitus · May 16, 2019

Some of my cameras have a PC connection but do not have a hot shoe. When I have to make a flash connection, I remove the PC cover and forget where I put it. Other times, they fall off and I don't notice that they are missing. Since I loose them so often, I bought a box of replacement covers.

Thanks to this thread, I have just replaced five missing covers.

By the way, all this time I thought PC stood for personal computer, politically correct, or pussy cat.

AgX · May 16, 2019

CMoore said:
Not even sure what PC stands for.....Pronto/Compur, or something like that.?

Yes, both shutter manufacturers introduced this new type of connector.

(But Prontor not Pronto... Pronto is the designation of just one of their shutters.)

wiltw · May 16, 2019

I have purchased a number of SLRs (Topcon, Olympus) as new products starting in the mid-1960's, and I cannot recall ever getting a PC protector cover with any of them...and I tend to store things like that (original 'accessory' items. For cameras with TTL flash connectors with multiple contacts (OM-4, ETRSi), covers were provided for those, but not for simple PC connectors.

AgX · May 16, 2019

And that PC connector cover I consider the most scarce part of the Canon AE-1's (a camera that was delivered with such cap).

Such cover made sense with (some) cameras that in addition to the PC-connector als got a hot shoe. With the hot shoe being "heated", to stay in the picture, the same voltage was at the PC-connector and that could get trickling if the PC- connectior is in prominent position (as with AE-1).

MattKing · May 16, 2019

The biggest reason for those covers is to keep the connection dry, clean and undamaged.
There is a similar cover for the proprietary TTl flash connection on several Olympus OM models. They are also easily lost.

AgX · May 16, 2019

MattKing said:
The biggest reason for those covers is to keep the connection dry, clean and undamaged.

If so they would have been ubiquous.

I have not seen any PC-connector obviously damaged by outer force.

(Unrelated: These days when releasing the leaf shutter of an old camera first time, the inner tube plus isolator literally flew out. Funny.)

BrianShaw · May 16, 2019

I’ve never seen damage from not having them, but when mine get lost I replace them. They are like paper clips... often getting lost and replaced.

ciniframe · May 16, 2019

On all my cameras, when they are gone their gone. Went years without them, never had a flash failure due to damaged PC plug.

Chan Tran · May 16, 2019

I don't think without the cap there would be any harm to the camera but I keep them covered. I don't lose them though but of course when I buy used cameras most of them are lost.

AgX · May 17, 2019

How many models got them actually?

I referred to the AE-1 (thus likely all A-series models). Aside that I got one on another brand model (forgot which), but that is all that I remember having come across.

CMoore · May 17, 2019

I assumed that all cameras had one when they were new.....is that not true.?

AgX · May 17, 2019

As indicated to me the cap makes only sense if the camera in addition got a hot -shoe. And if the PC connector is located where it easily may be touched.

But I am not SLR knowledgable enough to know how the out of the box state of these cameras once was.

Marco Gilardetti · May 17, 2019

AgX said:
I referred to the AE-1 (thus likely all A-series models). Aside that I got one on another brand model (forgot which), but that is all that I remember having come across.

Funny thread! For sure Nikon provided them at least at some point in time: F3, FM, FM2, FE, FE2 are all cameras that came with those little caps, which in Nikon's case were threaded and had to be screwed-in.

I suppose these things get lost as when you remove them you don't know where to put them. As a matter of fact I particularly appreciate those cameras that also have dummy receptacles to hold these kind of little things that tend to get lost: for example when a winder is mounted on a Canon A-1, AE-1 or AT-1 a protective cap has to be unscrewed below the camera body, but there is a clip on the winder's body where this protective cap can be slit and kept there until the winder is removed. Other example: the Mamiya RB67 has a slit that would hold the volée while you're exposing the film, so you won't put it in your back pocket and bend it or ever worse lay it on the ground and trample or forget it. Little smart details that I appreciate very much.

RalphLambrecht · May 17, 2019

CMoore said:
Not even sure what PC stands for.....Pronto/Compur, or something like that.?

There are a lot of members on APUG that have known way more photographers than i have , but i have known and took classes with quite a few over the years.
I realize that professional wedding photogs used them a lot, and other Pros would have cause also.
But for the Millions of hobbyists, I think the PC connector on your typical 35mm SLR is one of the lesser used features of the camera.
Yet it seems like most SLR that i see, they are all missing that little PC cover.
You wonder how it happens....most guys never take them off. Even circa 1978, when a lot of these SLR were rather new, they would be missing that little cover.
And they were, usually, a fairly tight fit. They do not just fall off.
Why were those covers always missing.?
I guess a person would take it off the first time, and then immediately lose it.....

I have quite a few cameras with a PC port but, none have or ever had a cover for it with the exception of my Nikon D800 ,which has a rubber PC port coveralso firmly attached to the camera body, You cannot lose it unless you very forcefully rip it o0ff the camera; quite ingenious really.

narsuitus · May 17, 2019

Marco Gilardetti said:
Other example: the Mamiya RB67 has a slit that would hold the volée while you're exposing the film

Earlier this year, I was shooting in the field with my RB67 and lost my dark slide. I had put it into the slit while I was shooting but it must have fallen out while I was moving the camera and tripod to a different location. It cost me $17usd to replace it.

By the way, until this thread, I had never seen the French word "volée" used to describe the dark slide.

benjiboy · May 18, 2019

I have one plastic screw in PC sync socket cover for each of my Canon F1 bodies that I take great care not top loose because they are very rare, I used to have a source for them in the U.S that dried up several years ago and there will never be any more.

Chan Tran · May 18, 2019

RalphLambrecht said:
I have quite a few cameras with a PC port but, none have or ever had a cover for it with the exception of my Nikon D800 ,which has a rubber PC port coveralso firmly attached to the camera body, You cannot lose it unless you very forcefully rip it o0ff the camera; quite ingenious really.

Actually I dislike those rubber cover. You don't lose it but the tend to get damaged if you open and close a lot.

benjiboy · May 18, 2019

CMoore said:
Not even sure what PC stands for.....Pronto/Compur, or something like that.?

There are a lot of members on APUG that have known way more photographers than i have , but i have known and took classes with quite a few over the years.
I realize that professional wedding photogs used them a lot, and other Pros would have cause also.
But for the Millions of hobbyists, I think the PC connector on your typical 35mm SLR is one of the lesser used features of the camera.
Yet it seems like most SLR that i see, they are all missing that little PC cover.
You wonder how it happens....most guys never take them off. Even circa 1978, when a lot of these SLR were rather new, they would be missing that little cover.
And they were, usually, a fairly tight fit. They do not just fall off.
Why were those covers always missing.?
I guess a person would take it off the first time, and then immediately lose it.....

P.C stands for prontor/ Compur.

CMoore · May 18, 2019

benjiboy said:
P.C stands for prontor/ Compur.

10-4..... Thank You

PC Flash Covers.....

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