Sunpak 3000 help

Hi everyone,

I recently picked up a Sunpak 3000 auto zoom flash and slave unit and extras off ebay for £30. Everything works perefectly, but obviusly I can only use it on my canon eos 350d in manual mode.

Since Im new to the realm of flash photography Im not particularly clued up on the technical side of things. I now how to set up the flash for specific distances and lens apertures, but Im not sure how to set up the camera itself? If I set the shutter speed at 1/100 of a second or faster I get black across the bottom of the shot, So Im wandering what speed I should be setting the camera at, Im looking to use the setup for portraits in the future so I could do with finding out how to set up for this. Many thanks.

Also does anyone know of any low cost flash stands and soft boxs that I could use with the slave unit.

The flash setup can be seen here: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk …d=1&rd=1#ebayph​otohosting

Many thanks.

Tom

tompotts wrote in post #2835811
If I set the shutter speed at 1/100 of a second or faster I get black across the bottom of the shot,

That seems to indicate the flash is not syncing properly. You should be able to use any shutter speed up to 1/200 with the 350D.

Beyond that issue, I would be concerned about the trigger voltage of that unit. Take a look at this web page. The maximum allowable trigger voltage for your camera is not well-documented, but you might consider a Wein Safe-Sync to avoid potentially expensive problems.

As for the other settings, just set your aperture/ISO combination to match the settings & distance scale on the flash. Test, chimp and adjust. Correct improper exposure errors with minor adjustments to distance and/or aperture.

Hi Curtis,

Thanks for the advice, Im pretty new to the world of flash photography and not very clued up.

the link you gave me states that the Sunpak autozoom 3000 isnt Eos safe. Ive tried it out already though and it seemed to work ok, but could I have knackered my camera?

If it all seemed to work does that mean its ok?

I really know very little of how it all works, how can the voltage of the flash effect the camera. I thought that the camera just sent a signal to the flash to tell it to fire, since its all set on manual.

Any more basic flash info would be massively appreciated. Is it for the best that I put the flash back on ebay then?

Many thanks,

Tom

One more thing,

Ive had a look at the Wein safe sync.

Theres one available for £45 on the net that fits to the camera hot shoe and lets the flash fit onto it just the same, it sounds perfect.

But would this allow the flash to function properly on my camera?

Or is the best option just to get rid of the flash all together. I hope I can ork round this, as its a cracking flash and Ive got the slave unit and all, which is spot on for what I wanted to do with it.

Thanks in advance.

Cheers, Tom

To fire the flash, the camera merely closes a switch to complete a circuit between the contacts on the flash foot. In the old days, this was a mechanical switch that could tolerate high voltages. Modern cameras do this electronically and have various voltage tolerances.

The damage caused to modern cameras by high voltage flash units can sometimes be cumulative, such that long term use eventually fries the camera circuitry.

The documentation on maximum trigger voltage for the 350D is ambiguous, so my recommendation for the Wein Safe Sync "just to be on the safe side".

The Safe-Sync unit that you describe should fire the flash. However, my best guess is that flash is a dedicated unit designed for film cameras (the "auto zoom" name leads me to this assumption). EOS Digital cameras use an entirely different system. It is likely that the 350D will not recognize that flash. If so, will only work in manual mode, and the head will not auto zoom.

For more information on Canon flash systems, take a look at The EOS Flash Bible (link in my signature).

Fantastic, thanks for your help Curtis, Im starting to get my head round this whole flash thing now. Just got to figure out how to take flash photos now, lol!

Im going to get a Wein safe sync to use with the flash and just work with it in manual mode. I want to try out using the flash and the slave unit to do portraits like I said, and judging by the price of other units out there that are compatible with the eos I think I will have to live with the drawbacks of the manual system.

Thanks again, you are an invaluable source of knowledge and greatness! And it is hugely appreciated!

Cheers, Tom

tompotts wrote in post #2842893
judging by the price of other units out there that are compatible with the eos I think I will have to live with the drawbacks of the manual system.

Manual flash is fine when you have time to set it up and make adjustments. For more dynamic situations it's tough.

Before you invest in the Safe Sync, you might want to price an automatic flash that has a safe trigger voltage. Two popular units are the Sunpak 383 and the Vivitar 285HV. These aren't dedicated units but they do have an auto mode that will work fine. In the US they go for $80 to $90.

I don't know about UK pricing, but there are aftermarket E-TTL compatible flash units starting at around $150 US. The economy models often lack features like manual mode, but work fine on the hotshoe in E-TTL mode. One example is the Sigma EF-500 DG ST.

Cool, Ill look into them on ebay.

Since The auto zoom 3000 uses such a high voltage, will the other parts of the setup I got be suitable for the eos? By that I mean the remote type bit that sits on my eos' hot shoe, (its the bit in the pictures with the coiled wire that im asking about) Sorry for being so un-educated on all this.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk …d=1&rd=1#ebayph​otohosting

Tom

...

The module that attaches to the hotshoe is where the trigger voltage comes from. From the pictures, it looks like you might be able to just use a PC cord to connect the safe sync to the flash and avoid the module, if you're using only manual mode anyway.

I can't say for sure without examining it.