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05/21/2013 01:13:47 AM · #1 |
I have two old flashes...wondering if they are of any use still, perhaps as slaves.
Do I have to worry about trigger voltage if they are cold shoes? Both have cold shoes and PC cables. One I do believe is like 45v trigger voltage (from my Internet search)
Vivitar Auto Thryistor 225
Honeywell Auto Strobonar 110
They are very old but both in good shape (and light).
Are they worth messing with as slaves?
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05/21/2013 05:55:44 AM · #2 |
Well I only use old flashes,i have two Minolta Auto 320's and use them with Yongnuo RF602's.
And all of my images are wonderful !!?/
I have never had problems anyway.
Cheap as chips and nearly as tasty. |
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05/21/2013 06:06:37 AM · #3 |
Not sure of they type of flash you have but if you can adjust them manually (1/1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 ....) you can use them as portable lighting.
Just buy some triggers (RF602's or the Cactus 5) umbrellas and stands and you are set to go.
I wouldn't put them directly on the camera as they won't do TTL and you would have to check the voltage to ensure you don't fry your cameras.
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05/21/2013 08:02:10 AM · #4 |
| Most Nikons only warn against voltages over 250V or reversed polarity. Canons are much more delicate in that regard |
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05/21/2013 01:14:07 PM · #5 |
| So is the voltage concern only for hotshoes? Or is it for PC Cord connections as well. Would I have to worry about wireless triggers being overloaded? |
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05/21/2013 01:21:41 PM · #6 |
You also need to worry about the PC Cord. It carries the same voltage as the shoe. But as Spork said, Nikon is much more forgiving.
Old flashes can be great slaves, but you often have to rig up some way to control the light output. I have an old Vivitar 285 that can be flipped between 1/1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/16. But it still needs a few more stops of light control before it becomes very useful. With a little wiring you can replace the light sensor with a variable POT to control the light output.
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05/21/2013 01:25:30 PM · #7 |
Good point--I guess they're not worth worrying about because both are "automatic" (light sensors) and neither has an adjustment.
Maybe I'll donate them to the electronics store (where I take all my computers when I don't want them anymore!) |
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05/21/2013 01:57:35 PM · #8 |
To be safe use this.
But for the same price you could probably buy a more modern and powerful flash that would be more useful, like the Vivitar 283. |
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05/21/2013 02:25:02 PM · #9 |
What I know about flash photography could fit inside a thimble and there'd still be room for your finger.
I have a Nikon SB-28 and it seems to fire on manual(don't know what that even means) but it is not TTL so I've never really used it. Is it useful to me as a slave if I ever buy a newer Nikon flash? Does my pop-up flash on my D700 work with it somehow?
Can someone suggest a good book to introduce me to the world of flash? |
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05/21/2013 02:25:58 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by Neil:
I have two old flashes...wondering if they are of any use still, perhaps as slaves.
Do I have to worry about trigger voltage if they are cold shoes? Both have cold shoes and PC cables. One I do believe is like 45v trigger voltage (from my Internet search)
Vivitar Auto Thryistor 225
Honeywell Auto Strobonar 110
They are very old but both in good shape (and light).
Are they worth messing with as slaves? |
Just because they say "auto" doesn't mean they actually vary their amount of light. I have an old Vivitar that's very similar to yours (Thyristor Zoom 2500). The likelihood of it communicating with your camera is essentially zero, so just think of it like a nonadjustable manual flash that always fires at full. The slider thing does nothing but tell you what to set your aperture for given the subject distance/ISO.
Here is your manual for the Vivitar, and this might be the same flash as your honeywell. Note the honeywell will only sync at 1/60.
Here is a listing of some trigger voltages. Canon are generally not recommended to use above 6v, as Spork noted. Nikon's are more resilient, and Fuji's are even more so, from all the reading I've done on it. I fired my 2500 on my D300 no problem, but only in full power/manual mode.
Is it useful? Well, that depends. Can you use them with triggers? Definitely, but you can't control their power. Sounds pretty useless at first, but you can use them as a background light and just vary the distance. Or shoot them through a larger diffuser. Or hell, put some nd gel over the top of them to make them a standardized weaker power. I keep mine hanging around just in case I need it, especially since you won't get much of anything for selling them. |
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05/21/2013 02:30:36 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by chazoe:
What I know about flash photography could fit inside a thimble and there'd still be room for your finger.
I have a Nikon SB-28 and it seems to fire on manual(don't know what that even means) but it is not TTL so I've never really used it. Is it useful to me as a slave if I ever buy a newer Nikon flash? Does my pop-up flash on my D700 work with it somehow?
Can someone suggest a good book to introduce me to the world of flash? |
The SB28 is a pretty good manual slave. I don't say GREAT because it lacks it's own optical slave (like the SB26 and the newer ones), which means you will always need a trigger on it for it to work, but it's very good in that it has a quality zoom function and 1/1 to 1/64 power in 1/3 stop adjustments (which means you have a TON of adjustment).
Get yourself a long PC sync cord (male to male) or some radio triggers and you're good to go. Keep in mind you will always need to alter power settings at the flash itself, not from your camera. This sounds tedious but it really isn't so bad.
ETA: Here's your manual If you have any further questions, go ahead and ask me.
ETA2: One more thing- You'll probably want to get in the habit of turning off the standby mode every time you turn it on unless you want to have to wake it up by triggering it an extra time. To do this, when the flash is off, hold Mode then press On/Off (it's in the manual, as well). If you did it right, you will NOT see a STDBY on the bottom right corner of the screen. The normal standby on this flash is 80 seconds and you can't make it higher, so turning it off will make your life much easier.
Message edited by author 2013-05-21 14:36:42. |
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05/21/2013 02:32:44 PM · #12 |
Originally posted by spiritualspatula:
Originally posted by chazoe:
What I know about flash photography could fit inside a thimble and there'd still be room for your finger.
I have a Nikon SB-28 and it seems to fire on manual(don't know what that even means) but it is not TTL so I've never really used it. Is it useful to me as a slave if I ever buy a newer Nikon flash? Does my pop-up flash on my D700 work with it somehow?
Can someone suggest a good book to introduce me to the world of flash? |
The SB28 is a pretty good manual slave. I don't say GREAT because it lacks it's own optical slave (like the SB26 and the newer ones), which means you will always need a trigger on it for it to work, but it's very good in that it has a quality zoom function and 1/1 to 1/64 power in 1/3 stop adjustments (which means you have a TON of adjustment).
Get yourself a long PC sync cord (male to male) or some radio triggers and you're good to go. Keep in mind you will always need to alter power settings at the flash itself, not from your camera. This sounds tedious but it really isn't so bad. |
Nice. Thanks for the info. I got the flash and a Nikon D1 and assorted old lenses for $45 on ebay. ; )
I'll start messing around with it. |
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05/21/2013 02:37:41 PM · #13 |
Note my late additions as well- they're worth your while. And I got my SB28 through buying an F100, so similarly.
Message edited by author 2013-05-21 14:38:09. |
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