Trying out NEX-5N hot shoe adapters - JJC MSA-10 and NEEWER HOT-F7S

So, I've got a fancy new flash. I need a better way to trigger it than relying on optical slave.  One of my goals is to use the flash in bright sunlight (I'll explain why some other time), so I want to use wireless radio triggers. For that, I could either use one of a couple of triggers available that are designed to fit the proprietary port on top of the camera, or I could buy a hot shoe adapter and use standard triggers that would work with the NEX or other camera systems if I ever need.  I opted for the latter option.

The first adapter I ordered was the NEEWER HOT-F7S on Amazon for under $7.  It arrived quickly, seemed well built, and mounted securely to the camera.  I could mount the Yongnuo 560-II flash to the hot shoe, and it would fire the flash every time.  Seemed like a good option.

That is, until I received the Yongnuo RF-603 C3 wireless triggers that I also ordered.  These would NOT slide into the hot shoe adapter.  It didn't seem to be a problem with the fit of the shoe itself, but the pins were hanging up on the plastic edge of the adapter.  So I was never able to test whether  these triggers worked with this adapter, simply because they wouldn't mount to it.

I also have an older flash - a Metz 45 CT-4 that my father gave me. It had the same problem - the plug wouldn't slide onto the adapter.  Just didn't seem to fit.  So I decided it must be a problem with the adapter.  I did a ridiculous amount of digging through online forums (considering I was trying to buy a roughly $10 product) and decided on the JJC MSA-10.

If you're a digital photographer and you don't regularly visit www.dpreview.com, stop reading this and go there now. There is a wealth of information not only in the product reviews, but the forums are rich in information and helpful people.  It was there that I found several other users of my camera that had tried out various adapters.  Several people used the JJC adapter with good results, so I gave it a shot.

The JJC adapter mounted easily to my camera. Some users reported it took a little pressure to get it to slide into the Sony port, and that was true for me too, but not what I felt was an unreasonable or unusual amount.  The adapter comes with a ridiculously tiny screwdriver that you can't even really use to mount this thing to your camera.  Throw that away, or toss it in a drawer if you ever need to fix your glasses.  I grabbed a slightly larger screwdriver and used it to mount the adapter to my camera.

The fit is very secure, no perceptible wobble.  And it is considerably smaller than the NEEWER adapter.  I like that.  See pix below comparing the size of the two adapters.  Also, the JJC is black, so it matches the camera better. Not a big deal, but it looks just a bit more like it's supposed to be there.

I would consider leaving this mounted to the camera all the time, as it wouldn't be in the way.  The downside is that you can't remove it without a screwdriver.  Other adapters use a thumbscrew for mounting, for easy removal on the fly. If you wanted to mount the Sony flash that comes with the camera, or the optional external microphone for video recording (which I have), you'd need a screwdriver to take this off first.

SO, how does it work?  Well, just like the NEEWER adapter, my Yongnuo flash mounts to it easily, and fires the flash.  The Yongnuo wireless triggers slide onto it, no problem.  And the Metz flash also connects to it, and fires every time.  Seems to work great.

Any problems?  Yes, one.  My wireless triggers would NOT fire.  They also never seemed to talk to each other.  If you press the trigger button on one, the LED on the other should (in theory) light up to indicate it received the signal.  They didn't do that.  When connected to the flash and my camera, the flashes wouldn't fire.

To fire, the adapter and flash use the large center pin contact, along with the outside edges of the hot shoe to fire.  Those are the only connections that need to be made.  The Yongnuo triggers have several pins even though they are manual-only triggers (no TTL or fancy automatic settings). I have no idea what those other pins were for.  But long story short, the triggers didn't work.  I'm not sure if I got a defective set.  I returned them to Amazon, and literally the day after I sent the prepaid UPS package back to Amazon, the purchase was refunded to my credit card. Lovely.

I've ordered a new set of triggers for about the same price.  I'll report on those once they arrive...

In the meantime, enjoy these suitable-for-framing (ha!) photos that compare the adapters.  The NEEWER adapters is on the left, the JJC on the right.

Here's that Metz 45 CT-4 flash connected, working fine.