Sunpak Autozoom 2600 - 70's flash :-) Safe for XT?

My father-in-law was big into photography in the 70's and 80's. He still has most of his old equipment (Minolta SR-T 303 body + a bunch of nice glass) and I found this flash. It's a Sunpak Autozoom 2600 complete with original instruction manual 8)

My question is if this is safe for my XT. I will admit I fired a shot on the camera but then realized this might not be such a good idea.

I can't find anything in the instruction manual that talks about volts, etc.

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According to this site the voltage is 73V.

Strobe Voltages

shooterman wrote in post #4236214
According to this site the voltage is 73V.

Strobe Voltages

Thanks for the link, I didn't find that in all my Google searching (your hyperlink is kinda messed up, though).

In other words, I'm lucky I didn't start my camera on fire?

Messed up link is fixed now. That's what happens when trying to help daughter with homework and play here at the same time.

I'm not sure what the safe voltage level is for the XT.

I wouldn't bother with it even if it is safe. That flash wouldn't give you any better quality light than the built-in popup flash. Both are direct. You need something that can bounce and/or swivel to get natural, soft, quality light.

cdifoto wrote in post #4236332
I wouldn't bother with it even if it is safe. That flash wouldn't give you any better quality light than the built-in popup flash. Both are direct. You need something that can bounce and/or swivel to get natural, soft, quality light.

There is an "elbow" adapter that my father-in-law is looking for that will allow me to swivel and bounce. Good luck finding one of these on Ebay!

The only reference to non-Canon flashes in the XT manual says, "do not attach a high voltage flash unit on the camera's hot shoe. It might not work." Doesn't say anything about damage...

This flash is probably quite a bit more powerful than the on board flash, so this could be useful for fill for a group of people, for example?

A little update. I made a call to Canon technical support. In the rep's words "The Rebel XT, and every other camera except the MkIII have 6v triggers on the shoe. The models with PCs have a 250v on the PC. Only the Mk3 can handle 250v on the shoe itself and the PC." Ok, everyone knows this information already, but "if you fired the flash and your camera is still working, it's probably safe to use BUT this is entirely your call." I have a call into SunPak's technical support line and will let everyone know what I find out from them. It'll be interesting if they tell me a voltage much different than the 73v published on that site.

If you have a meter it's easy to measure the voltage yourself. Put the red probe from the meter on the center contact of the flash shoe, and the black probe on the side rail contact. It may be hard to make contact with the side rail if you don't have skinny probes.

Check this sticky?

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=228311

mrludecrs wrote in post #4264432
A little update. I made a call to Canon technical support. In the rep's words "The Rebel XT, and every other camera except the MkIII have 6v triggers on the shoe. The models with PCs have a 250v on the PC. Only the Mk3 can handle 250v on the shoe itself and the PC." Ok, everyone knows this information already, but "if you fired the flash and your camera is still working, it's probably safe to use BUT this is entirely your call." I have a call into SunPak's technical support line and will let everyone know what I find out from them. It'll be interesting if they tell me a voltage much different than the 73v published on that site.

Unfortunately, it seems like you'll get a different answer for the "Canon safe hot shoe voltage" question depending on who you ask. This states that the safe voltage for the XT is 250V.

http://www.digitaljour​nalist.org/issue0703/t​ech-tips.html

Not to mention, your Canon rep's comment about "if you fired the flash and your camera is still working, it's probably safe" seems to differ from other statements that say the damage is cumulative.

On that note, I'd play it safe and use the flash wirelessly or with a voltage
regulator.

Titus213 wrote in post #4264720
Check this sticky?

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=228311

Yes, I have. My conclusion was that I needed to do my own research on this flash and not rely on websites that haven't been updated in years. It seems like I have a rare flash unit, so good information is sparse.

No, I don't have a meter.

I think at the end of the day, I'm going to end up buying a 430EX or something like that around $200. It's really not worth hassling with a potentially dangerous unit that is full manual control. It'll be good to know, though, in case I ever do want/need to use it as a backup.

ghostman wrote in post #4264788
Unfortunately, it seems like you'll get a different answer for the "Canon safe hot shoe voltage" question depending on who you ask. This states that the safe voltage for the XT is 250V.

http://www.digitaljour​nalist.org/issue0703/t​ech-tips.html

Not to mention, your Canon rep's comment about "if you fired the flash and your camera is still working, it's probably safe" seems to differ from other statements that say the damage is cumulative.

On that note, I'd play it safe and use the flash wirelessly or with a voltage
regulator.

Thanks for the comments. Yes, different answers are everywhere. I hope the answer from Canon's own rep was the right answer.

Ah, cummulative damage. That reminds me of something I read before. I might not have problems now, but down the road...

If I want to use this wirelessly, I should be looking at a 580EX II then, right? I think I've seen hot shoe voltage regulators on Ebay. But, I think I'd rather use this as a secondary flash than on the body itself even with a regulator.

mrludecrs wrote in post #4236550
There is an "elbow" adapter that my father-in-law is looking for that will allow me to swivel and bounce. Good luck finding one of these on Ebay!

The only reference to non-Canon flashes in the XT manual says, "do not attach a high voltage flash unit on the camera's hot shoe. It might not work." Doesn't say anything about damage...

This flash is probably quite a bit more powerful than the on board flash, so this could be useful for fill for a group of people, for example?

There are adjustable hot shoes available, but the cost is prohibitive in this situation:

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …versal_Flash_Ad​apter.html

I tend to think any flash is useful. Just add a cheap optical trigger and you've got an additional flash (hair light?). No worries about damage to the hot shoe and you can position it however you want.

From SunPak's customer service (via email): "The Voltage of the 2600 is 73 volts and we highly recommend that you do NOT use it with your digital camera."

That's enough for me. It is NOT going on the camera ever again.

So, the question becomes how I can use this flash off camera? What would be a relatively cost effective way of using this on, say, a tripod for some cross/back lighting while using on onboard flash?

The way I understand it is I'd need a 580 and a transmitter to fire wirelessly OR I can use a 430 with an optical trigger on the off-camera flash. Is this right or am I confused?

The 580EX will not give you any inherent mechanism to fire you Sunpak wirelessly that you won't get with a 430EX. You will need to connect a triggering device to the Sunpak - optical, radio, or cable to camera. An EX flash would have to be in manual mode to trip an optical slave and to use it off-camera with a radio system.