R8R said:
I thought so myself. Then one day I pulled the camera out of the bag and couldn't get the speedlight to slide on. I know the camera wasn't dropped or abused so it must not have taken much to bend the hot shoe rails inward. Prying them back out was nerve wracking.

Yes I can see the logic R8R, but you might have found had the cover been in place, that you'd have crimped the rails anyway, and found yourself in the situation of not being able to remove it? I cant see that little piece of plastic, resisting the force necessary to bend the rails. Any ideas what might have caused it in your case?

sevencrossing said:
I keep mine, along with all the other packaging, neck strap, instruction book, CDs and various cables in the nice gold box that Nikon provide for keeping these things

Ahh (glazed eyes) Gold boxes, my favourite. Yep me too seven :-) I never throw any of my boxes out, and there is some quite valuable accessories in most of them. If I ever do come to have a clear out, my neighbours will think I've won the lottery and the dustmen will be confronted with a scene not dis-similar to the stockroom in best buy, when they come on collection day :-).

That is why they are called photographers vests - they have pockets for all that stuff!

Lost mine so ordered one from B&H with some other stuff. Lost it before I ever used it (dang).

I use flash a lot, no way that I would want to make the mounting process any longer.

TaoTeJared said:
What? That little black thing - thought that was part of the packing. ;)-

It is, isn't it ?

I keep mine, along with all the other packaging, neck strap, instruction book, CDs and various cables in the nice gold box that Nikon provide for keeping these things

Thanks Jonnyapple!

1,999 - Pad photo will be 2000!

That's me, too, TTJ. Actually, I guess I only think about putting it back on or using it. Like SkintBrit, I use the hotshoe quite a bit and I reckon the risk of having a nerve-wracking rebending party appeals to me more than dealing with remembering it's there every time I want to use the flash. Going from CF to SD was a nightmare for me because of how easy SD cards are to misplace—I pretty much have to use a card wallet or they find their way into small places in my bag or my desk and don't show up for 6 months or so.

Back on topic, I do occasionally find the flash cover, remember what it is, and put it back in the bag. It's like camera bag hide and seek. At $2 each, I'm thinking I should get five more and make it more of a party.

Edit: BTW, TTJ, let me offer you an early congrats on your 2,000th post. I haven't been around as much lately and I'll probably miss it. Thanks for all your contributions here.

What? That little black thing - thought that was part of the packing. ;)-

I keep it on until I loose it in a bag at an event. Then I find it a few months later and it is back on. Then lost again, found in the wash machine, lost again, found on the floorboard of my truck.... If it is there, I use it. When not I never go for another one.

SkintBrit said:
Can't picture any circumstances where I could damage the hotshoe

I thought so myself. Then one day I pulled the camera out of the bag and couldn't get the speedlight to slide on. I know the camera wasn't dropped or abused so it must not have taken much to bend the hot shoe rails inward. Prying them back out was nerve wracking.

I use flash almost every single time I use the camera so I never put it back on. Still know where it is though, I'm good at not losing stuff :p

I take mine off and put it back on every time. I only use my SB400 eery so often so I just throw it in the soft case the SB400 is in while I am using the flash and put it back on when I am done.

Can't picture any circumstances where I could damage the hotshoe, so unless there is a very real chance of them getting wet, I always leave the cover off. I would find removing the cover (and trying not to loose it) in the middle of a frantic shoot, would be just too time consuming. Obviously if there was no or little chance of me attaching anything, that would be different.

I use the Nikon BS-2 cover on my D200 and D800E. It's a D3 accessory, but fits my cameras well except that it stops the pop-up flash from popping up. It is secure and offers better protection from rain.

http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-Hot-shoe-Protection-Coolpix-Digital/dp/B000KZ70JE

Ha! Just lost mine last week while using a flash and was debating the wisdom of replacing it. Thanks for making my decision easier.

I keep mine on all the time. It comes off only when I use my flash. Been thinking about getting one of those bubble like you spraynpray.

I have a bubble level in there so it is always in place when I am not using flash.

If it came with a chain, I wouldn't loose them all the time.

I usually don't use flash so the hot shoe cover is always on.

I find the hot shoe cover keeps items from catching on the sharp edges, so I keep it on...

Ok...who puts the hot shoe cover back on every time?

Seems dumb, right?

I learned the hard way years ago that if you leave it off and the camera gets a nice bump from the top, it can crimp the rails and you will have to very, VERY carefully bend them back out to get anything to mount on the hot shoe again. After that, I've kept it on religiously.

Anyone else do this?