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Hot shoe
A hot shoe, also known as an accessory shoe, allows an external flash or other device to be connected to a camera. A hot shoe is a slotted bracket that is generally located on the top of a camera.
When an external flash is inserted into the the hot shoe, it's electrical contacts touch the contacts on the foot of the flash. When the shutter-release button is pressed, the flash goes off in sync with the shutter.
Though almost all digital cameras have a built-in flash, not all have a hot shoe. It is primarily found on advanced, prosumer digital cameras and digital Single Lens Reflex cameras.
If you take a lot of inside photos, seriously consider purchasing a digital camera with a hot shoe and an external flash.
When a camera doesn't have a hot shoe
If your digital camera doesn't have a hot shoe but you want some of the benefits of using an external flash, get a slave flash. A slave flash in an external unit that is triggered when the built-in camera flash goes off.
Slave flashes often come with a bracket. The flash is mounted on the bracket, which attaches to a tripod mount on the bottom of a camera.
