Any info about COBRA? Or flashgun D650?

I have been looking for the information abaout COBRA's flashguns.

 

COBRA seems quite popular in UK, however when I search on Google,

I cannot find any website with its products.

Does anybody know about the company?

I especially would like to know the specifications on D650

flashgun...

I have a cobra 700af with canon fit for my eos outfit and i have never had any problems with it. I don't have a web address for them but you can contact them here.

5 Capstan centre, Thurrock park way, Tilbury, Essex RM18 7HH, England. Tel: 01375 840540. You might want to check out Jessops.com as they stock a large selection of Cobra flash equipment.

I have some info, but I'd love to get a copy of the user manual by email or to download.

 

If I can quote Roger Key from lists.tako.de:

"The Cobra is interesting. It comes with a handle (like a cheap BG2) to take the flash off-camera. The flash itself can be used on a hotshoe[using a dedicated module], or directly on the handle. The handle has a built-in cable that connects to the [normal,camera] hotshoe.

 

The flashgun head:

# rotates about 300 degrees

# angles up to 90 degrees

# zooms from 28mm to 85mm.

 

# For auto and manual, pushbuttons are used to select f-stop and film speed, which are shown on a large LCD screen (illuminated as required).

# The LCD screen turns itself off after 3-4 minutes inactivity.

# Manual output can be adjusted down to 1/16.

# Guide number at 28mm setting is 22-23, and at 85mm is 45 (metric, 100asa)...." [end quote]

 

Very useful info from Mr. Key. However...

I've just bought a used Cobra D650 myself, and I'd be thrilled if anyone who has the original instruction manual for the flashgun and grip, might possibly email a copy to me at: write2me @ gofree.indigo.ie

 

It would doubtless fill in the blanks of trying to figure out the LCD operations and the background information on using the flash properly.

 

Many thanks,

John.

write2me @ gofree.indigo.ie

I was lucky enough at the time to have a photocopy posted to me by a very generous person.<br>

<br>

For anyone interested in the user manual, I've thought of putting a scan up on mediafire as a PDF file...<br><br>

filename: scan_CobraD650.pdf (2MB)<br>

link: <a href="http://www.mediafire.com/?fyjdippzzjw">http://www.mediafire.com/?fyjdippzzjw</a><br>

<br>

Cheers, John.<br>

<p>It seems the mediafire sharing expired so I've refreshed the upload. The .pdf is now at:</p>

<p>http://www.mediafire.com/file/zncryza4zmm/scan_CobraD650.pdf</p>

<p>Cheers.</p>

<p>As a permanent location it's probably more reliable to put the scan of the D650 user manual in a Google Docs shared folder.<br>

See <a href="http://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0BxQhWTt51q6IYzgwMzAxY2QtYjM3MS00MGMwLTg4MjAtZDhmNDA4YzAwNTQy&hl=en_GB">here</a> [NB: PDF file opens in web browser, can be downloaded or just read online]</p>

<p>Hopefully that's the final solution required :-)</p>

<p>Anyone has the Nikon version of this and can tell me how to set TTL? At least on my Nikon adapter you can't switch TTL on as it is described in the manual.</p>

I just acquired a Nikon dedicated Cobra D650 flash, it looks like quite a useful piece of kit. Johndreaming's second link to a download of the scanned manual is still working!

 

Here it is again: LINK --- --- --- scan_CobraD650

That would be film-only TTL dedicated I expect?

 

From limited previous experience with Cobra flashes, I'd rate the build quality as only slightly higher than Hanimex or similar low cost brands.

 

OK if bought for next-to-nothing or free, but not a patch on proper camera-brand film era flashes that only cost a few quid more these days.

I like it because it has a simple control system with modes TTL (yes, film only), Non TTL auto, and manual with settings down to 1/16 selected by a simple slider. There are just two control buttons, one for aperture, one for ISO, and the settings and available distances are displayed on a nice clear LCD. Much more versatile than the later Cobra 400 AF and 700AF which are TTL auto only and therefore pretty useless with DSLR's. Build quality is not up to Nikon standards but it's better than many. Mine came with a small job lot I bought mainly for a lens, so it cost basically nothing.

That sounds OK, but what's the recycle time like?

I've found that one of the major differences between the top/camera-makers flash brands and 'others' is in the recycle time. With better flashes recycling from a full pop in 2.5 to 4 seconds, while a lesser make can keep you hanging around for 8 to 10 seconds. Especially if you use rechargeable cells and the flash wasn't really designed for them.

 

A 5 second or longer recycle time isn't usually an issue, but I do get carried away sometimes and hit the 'go' button only to be greeted with a lack of flash and a black frame.

Edited October 26, 2021 by rodeo_joe|1