G1 problem with non Lumix external flash

[philjharrison]

The G1 has a hotshoe which dos'nt have a stop at the front of the shoe to stop the flashgun foot from sliding straight through to the front of the camera. Or it would slide through if one of the pins didn't jamb into the locking hole thereby leaving you with a flash stuck in the wrong position and extremely difficult to remove.
This is not a problem with a Lumix flashgun as it has stops at rear of the its foot. I have a Metz 36AF-40 flash and a ttl extension lead which don't have stops and both slide through and stick. Both these items work perfectly on the FZ50. I have modified the Metz with two small screws at the rear of the foot and this completely solves the problem.

Has any one else had this problem. It would seem that Lumix has made a small design error with the hot shoe.

[nspur]

The Panasonic and Olympus flashguns have a pin at the front of the shoe that descends when you turn the screw thus making a tight fit. I don't think this is an error, My Oly FL36 worked fine with my FZ50 as well as my G1 and E-P1.

[philjharrison]

My problem is with the lack of a method of stopping certain flashguns from sliding through the shoe. I realise that there is a locking pin which drops into the hole in the front of the shoe. Unfortunately when my Metz slid too far into the shoe one of the flash contacts dropped into the hole thereby jambing the flashgun. Most flashshoes have something at the front of the shoe to keep the flashgun in the correct position in the shoe. The G1 has nothing.
This will lead to problems when non Lumix equipment is used i.e metz or studio flash hotshoe adaptors. The FZ50 has a stop at the front of its hotshoe which allows the metz to be positioned correctly. Compare the hotshoes of the two cameras and you should see what I mean.

Apart from this minor problem the G1 is brilliant.