Any alternative for the SC-17?

A couple of years ago I purchased a sync cord with the impression

that it was a viable alternative to Nikon's own SC-17. However, just

last week I lent the cord to a friend, along with my Nikon N6006, and

Vivitar 636AF TTL dedicated flash. When she showed me her test

shots, all were very overexposed. Very bright---as though way too

much light was on the subject. Now, the flash unit was manufactured

to match up with Nikon's N2020 AF body. But I was under the

impression that my N6006's circuitry was similar, and therefore,

compatable with the Vivitar flash. So, could it be that the sync

cord was at fault. Was it not carrying all the messages from camera

to flash as it should? Could it be that there is no real substitute

to Nikon's SC-17? Or could it be that the flash and camera are not a

good match up, so that even that a SC-17 won't function properly? Is

my only real solution to purchase a Nikon speedlight and Nikon sync

cord, and quit trying to hang on to some of my hard earned dollars?

Help!! Thanks much. Bob

Robert,

Before you do anything else, clean the contacts on your flash, cable and camera. Fire a couple of shots in a bright setting and note how long it takes the flash to recycle. You should be able to tell if it is doing a full flash or not by the recycle time. I have had a vivitar 3700 flash, but only on full power on my FE2 simply because it was not making a good connection.

<i>...Could it be that there is no real substitute to Nikon's SC-17? </i><p>

Maybe not, but for sure there is no real substitute for a Nikon flash. I'll put my money on that first. Third party is famous for compatibility issues.

Robert:

What kind of sync cord did you buy. If it was a standard PC (Pronto-Compur) sync cord it will only fire the flash at full power (or whatever power you set manually). To get TTL flash you need a cord that plugs into the hot shoe and has enough contacts to send and receive the correct information.

Bill