Is it possible, nikon and 3rd party flashes

Not sure if this been asked before or not. But i've wanted to know if/how I can get my fathers nikon flash and i believe a vivitar flash to work with my canon 420ex. Is it possible?

The 420EX can olny be used a an ETTL flash. You can't combine it with a Nikon Flash. That would require the 420 EX to have a Manual Mode, which it does not.

ok so the nikon can't be used, but if the other flashes i have are ettl i can use them? sorry for the questions, but i almost never use my canon flash let along more then 1.

The 420EX can be used as wireless slave with the following flash units as master:
550EX, 580EX, 580EX II, ST-E2 transmitter.
Also, the Sigma EF-500 DG Super and the Metz 58-AF C1.
That is all, as far as I know.

Yeah, sell the Nikon, get a Canon, and then insert the flash. Voila !!...

Personally, whether is Nikon or Canon or Pentax, I prefer not to mix parts around. They are competing entities, and therefore some of their architecture is opposite. It is a good way to burn a canon flash on a Nikon camera, or the other way around.

2005GLI wrote in post #3283258
Not sure if this been asked before or not. But i've wanted to know if/how I can get my fathers nikon flash and i believe a vivitar flash to work with my canon 420ex. Is it possible?

First find out the trigger volage of the Vivitar and Nikon flash units.
(triggering the flash with a voltmeter is the best way)
Use the one that is with in the safe trigger voltage limit for your camera in the cameras hot shoe(its in the manual usualy).
If both are above the safe limit then you need a safe sync between the flash and the camera hot shoe.

Then you need to locate one of the optical triggers that works with the EX series speedlites, and find a second optical trigger for either the Vivitar or Nikon flash.

Remembering that the 420ex will fire at full power you can now use it with the other 2 flashes.
Ulitmatly its not an idea situation, as a 420ex, despite its age, still has rather a lot of power, but, it shows you can run it with 2 other flashes from different manufactorers.


Another option would be to look around trading sites, second hand shops etc, and pick up a cheap second hand flash that has manual control.
As more people switch to digital the more older style flashes that are not fully compatiable enter the market, often at very good prices.