Hanimex TZ 3600 flash, need a manual

Hi, I recently bought used flash Hanimex TZ 3600. I searched Internet

for some kind of manual, but the only page I found was from the site

where I have to pay $15 for the info :(

Can some one help me to find the manual, please? The flash controls

look cryptic. On the back I can select 5 modes listed as O, N, M,

C/P, and Standard. On the front I can select 3 colored markers -

white, green and red. The flash has 6 contacts, to communicate with

the camera. Does it mean it is TTL, and if yes can I use it with my

Canon Elan II?

Thank you,

Nick<div></div>

Hi Nick,

I also recently borrowed one from my Uncle, and accidentally

dropped it, breaking the molding. He as used it on his Canon

PowerShot G2 and it seems to work good. I was (before my accident)

triggering it with one of my 550ex's and seemed to be working

well.

Would you be interested in selling it? :-)

Thanks,

-Joe

For starters:

1. In the trade, the company is whymsically referred to as "Ham-n-eggs."

2. The white is probably full manual and the red and green are thyristor settings.

3. The flash is multi-dedicated. The letter settings dedicate the flash for Olymous, older Nikons, probably manual-focus Minoltas, probably Canon FD cameras and older Pentax cameras.

I have a copy of the original manual. It should be suitable with most cameras and works with my Canon.

The lettered modes that you mention are for making the flash dedicated to your own camera - C/P stands for Canon/Pentax, so you should move it to that (you need to press the push release button to move this). It's good to dedicate the flash to your camera type so the camera will be set automatically on the flash's shutter speed, which is 1/60 sec.

The part at the top (the zoom head) should be set to match the lens in use (i.e. 35mm usually).

The dot switch you mention is the Auto/Manual switch. For manual use, move it to the white dot. For computer use, set it to green for close range and red for wide range.

The dial with 'ASA' and 'DIN' is for you to set you film speed - I believe ASA is the same as the ISO number. When you've put in the right film speed that you have in your camera (e.g. ISO 400 is good indoors so you can use a softer flash) then look at the scale below to see what aperture you should set your camera to based on the distance to the subject. I.e. say you are using ISO 400 with wide 1, then you should use aperture 8 if the subj is 7.5m away, ap 32 if subj is 1.9m away and so on.

Auto check light doesn't operate in manual mode.

For automatic mode, set the dot to red for wide 1 (35mm) for aperture F2.8 and distance of 1.3 to 10.7 metres.

Set it to green for F5.6 and 1 to 5.3 metres.

I can give you the settings fir lenses other than 35mm, but it really is better to use the manual mode than auto.

Just let me know if you need any further information!

Paula :)

"Can I use this flash with my Nikon Digital camera?"

- If you want an underpowered piece of old garbage stuck on top of your Nikon; then yes. But the TTL mode won't work and you'll have only a choice of two auto apertures. You'll probably have time to make a cup of coffee between recycles as well.

My advice is to throw, or give, this 'junk bin' relic away and get something halfway decent.

Can I use this flash with my Nikon Digital camera?

Actually since it's supposed to be dedicated to Nikon it might not work. I use totally incompatible flashes without problem but with some Nikon dedicated flash (not made by Nikon) won't fire when mounted on a Nikon DSLR.

That Hanimex/Cobra flash was designed in the film era, and was well outdated 15 years ago when this thread was started.

As a film TTL flash, it 100% won't give TTL control on a DSLR. As I said, you'll be able to use it in AA mode with a choice of 2 apertures (wowser!). There appears to be no manual power control apart from 'full'.

These types of flash are commonly found in remainder bins in the few bricks & mortar camera shops still remaining. They fetch between £2 to £3 here in the UK ($3 to $4 US). Pay any more and you've been screwed over.

I'm really not even sure if Barbhandy was serious about using this cheap old flash on a Nikon digital.

That Hanimex/Cobra flash was designed in the film era, and was well outdated 15 years ago when this thread was started.

 

As a film TTL flash, it 100% won't give TTL control on a DSLR. As I said, you'll be able to use it in AA mode with a choice of 2 apertures (wowser!). There appears to be no manual power control apart from 'full'.

 

These types of flash are commonly found in remainder bins in the few bricks & mortar camera shops still remaining. They fetch between £2 to £3 here in the UK ($3 to $4 US). Pay any more and you've been screwed over.

 

I'm really not even sure if Barbhandy was serious about using this cheap old flash on a Nikon digital.

You may be able to use it. I have a Sunpak and a Quantaray both dedicated to the Nikon film cameras. Putting it on the D1x the camera recognizes the flash but it won't release the shutter because it detects something is wrong.

It could be switched to Canon dedication, where the Canon dedication pins won't contact the Nikon hotshoe pads, or to 'standard', where only the central triggering pin is active.

Actually, I'm not sure this flash even offers film TTL mode. Back before flash (OTF) TTL, there were levels of 'dedication' that simply involved communicating the flash ready-light to the camera viewfinder, or just switching the shutter speed to X-synch.

In any case it's still a cheaply-made and ancient flash that's hardly worth taking up storage space in a gadget bag.