michael_levy3 Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Will a Vivitar 285 Flash work on an M10? Can it fry the M10 circuitry? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Katz Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 I don't know what the M10 flash sync circuits are rated at, but here is a source of trigger voltages for vintage flash units: Photo Strobe Trigger Voltages From what I see, I would definitely test the unit as described above, and/or use a safe sync type device. Then again, maybe buy a modern flash unit since I would guess that any damage to your M10 will cost a small fortune to fix. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_levy3 Posted March 6, 2018 Author Share Posted March 6, 2018 I don't know what the M10 flash sync circuits are rated at, but here is a source of trigger voltages for vintage flash units: Photo Strobe Trigger Voltages From what I see, I would definitely test the unit as described above, and/or use a safe sync type device. Then again, maybe buy a modern flash unit since I would guess that any damage to your M10 will cost a small fortune to fix. Thanks for the warning.... I'll stick to a safe option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCL Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 You could easily test the trigger voltage with an inexpensive multimeter. I have a similar vintage flash, the model 2800 which I've measured at 153 v trigger voltage. It worked fine on all my film cameras and my Nikon DSLR. I've also tried it on my Olympus m4/3 without issues, even though the specs suggest a lower voltage max. So check your camera manual for acceptable voltage as well as measuring the flash voltage. You might be surprised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_de_caluwe Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 Some time ago I mailed the Leica company about these issues and got following reply concerning M8 and subsequent models. " In general, we do not recommend the use of old flash units on modern digital cameras. For safety's sake, assume that voltages above 24 volts pose a risk - it may be sufficient to turn on the flash unit pushed onto the hot shoe to damage parts of the electronics. In ISO standard , which defines the characteristics of the standard hot shoe, the ignition voltage is specified at a maximum of 24 volts, and voltages within this range would have to be handled by standards-compliant cameras. However, the actual exposure limits of the cameras are quite different. I can therefore unfortunately no recommendation for the use of older flash units." 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJG Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 The original 285 had a fairly high sync voltage; the later 285 HV is much lower and I have used them on many DSLRs without incident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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