Flash photography advice on a vivitar please

Hi

While on the getting to know my way around my EOS 350D, can anyone tell me if the vivitar Zoom "thyristor 285 vari power" flash units are still compatible with my camera?

If so can I just stick it onto the hot shoe and fire away using the vari power control which is part of the flash unit. I have 2 of these units and a small Starblitz 2000BTZ which I believe was made by Hanimex.

I would like to like to use the 2 vivitar flash units together as I once did many years ago. I have the old pistol grip with hot shoe and camera mount bracket from my old AE1 program camera.

I am frightended of causing damage by putting on these old flashes which are in perfect working order.

Finally there used to be a sensor for firing both 285s at the same time instructions went years ago along with my memory.

Maybe by now it is apparent that I have suddenly rekindled my passion for photography which years ago was put on back burner due to family and cost even in 1980 a box of 8x10 sheets of colour paper cost £50.00.

Thanks look forward to some more expert advice.

Regards JB

I think I remember hearing that you will end up with very bad results (fried camera, fried flash-units)...

I could be mistaken, someone will reply with hard info soon though I don't think it's a good idea....

Highlander1 wrote in post #2885693
Hi

While on the getting to know my way around my EOS 350D, can anyone tell me if the vivitar Zoom "thyristor 285 vari power" flash units are still compatible with my camera?

If so can I just stick it onto the hot shoe and fire away using the vari power control which is part of the flash unit. I have 2 of these units and a small Starblitz 2000BTZ which I believe was made by Hanimex.

I would like to like to use the 2 vivitar flash units together as I once did many years ago. I have the old pistol grip with hot shoe and camera mount bracket from my old AE1 program camera.

I am frightended of causing damage by putting on these old flashes which are in perfect working order.

Finally there used to be a sensor for firing both 285s at the same time instructions went years ago along with my memory.

Maybe by now it is apparent that I have suddenly rekindled my passion for photography which years ago was put on back burner due to family and cost even in 1980 a box of 8x10 sheets of colour paper cost £50.00.

Thanks look forward to some more expert advice.

Regards JB

Check this site to see if your flashes are compatible, trigger voltage wise. The 350D can handle up to 250V of trigger voltage. As long as your flash has a trigger voltage less than that, you'll be OK.

http://www.botzilla.co​m/photo/strobeVolts.ht​ml

If you flash is not listed, then you can measure the voltage yourself if you have a good VOM or voltage meter, preferably a digital volt meter. Measure the voltage across the hotshoe center pin and the ground pin on the side of the shoe.

I don't know if there's a difference, but I've been using a Vivitar 285HV on a 20D. The 285HV is known to have a sufficiently low trigger voltage. According to the link in the previous post the 285 seems to vary widely. You might want to measure it. I use the varipower - just set the camera on manual and adjust it like you used to. Some people say the old flashes aren't accurate or consistent enough for the newer digital cameras, but you'll have to be the just for yourself. I've been using a Canon 580EX on the hot shoe and my 285HV in an umbrella connected with a sync cord or light trigger. It works great. Good luck.

Older Vivitar 283 and 285's sometimes have tremendous sync Voltages (newer ones are a lot lower).

I have personally measure several Vivitar 283 units in excess of 300 Volts. And, one unit I personally measured was in excess of 500 Volts.

So measure the sync Voltage on your 285, if it is in excess of 250 Volts, do not use it on your Canon 350XT.

It is easy to measure, just follow PacAces's instructions above.

Enjoy! Lon

If the trigger voltage is too high, there is a device made by Wein called "safe-sync" that you can mount on your hotshoe to protect the camera.

Old-fashioned automatic flashes have their advantages, but a dedicated flash designed to work with your camera's E-TTL system will prove more versatile. If you enjoy flash photography, I recommend reading The EOS Flash Bible (link in my signature) to learn about modern flash metering systems.

Hang onto those 285s though. They are perfect for off-camera use with slave adapters and will serve you well when you decide to dive into that arena.

911 - need help ASAP - flash question very time sensitive

Quote:
Originally Posted by PacAce

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Check this site to see if your flashes are compatible, trigger voltage wise. The 350D can handle up to 250V of trigger voltage. As long as your flash has a trigger voltage less than that, you'll be OK.

http://www.botzilla.co​m/photo/strobeVolts.ht​ml

If you flash is not listed, then you can measure the voltage yourself if you have a good VOM or voltage meter, preferably a digital volt meter. Measure the voltage across the hotshoe center pin and the ground pin on the side of the shoe.

Any flash under 250v. can be triggered by your XT...that does not indicate that the flash is fully compatible with your XT in other things apart from triggering (I can trigger a flash with a paper clip, too!) and might not 'work with your XT' per se.

fuel123 wrote in post #2886893
Does this mean any flash that is below 250v on that list will work with my rebel xt? Please some one answer this quick I am trying to bid on 2 on ebay right now and would hate them to not work they are less thn 250v each

No, the trigger voltage does not determine flash/camera compatiblity. It just tells you whether the flash can potentially fry your camera or not. For the flash ot be compatible with your XT, it'll either need to be ETTL compatible or be a non-dedicated automatic or manual flash with a trigger voltage less than 250V. Of course, with the non-dedicated flashes, you lose all ETTL functionalities.

thanks I just was told I am getting a flash for my b-day so I will just get one from calmuet

You can go with wein safe sync and that will protect your camera for sure. But it tends to slide off with the flash attached directly.

To trigger them at the same time you need an optical slave. They cost about 15 bucks a piece and a cable too. There's a PC to vivitar cable and a hot shoe to PC cable. The optical slaves usually have PC female connectors.

Hi everyone thans for your advice Iwill use these for my reference and have some fun with the flash. It's nice to know if the pictures not right I can delete and try again rather than waste a roll of film or polaroids.

Ahh Progress Thanks JB