Sunpak 444 and Nikon D50? Please?

I could use some help. I am a very experienced photographer, many years and

in many formats, but I am new to the high-end digital world. I just got

myself a D50 for my first ventures into digital and it's great. I use it in

my studio with a little remote-flash thing in the hot shoe and my Norman

strobes supplying the light.

 

I'd like to use some of my shoe-mounted flash equipment if I could. I have a

Sunpak auto444-D flash. It is very capable. It has a Nikon NE-2D module on

the bottom. Problem is, when I put it into the D50 hot shoe and set the

camera to "Manual" I can'g get the camera to shoot/fire at all.

 

Someone please tell me if what I am trying to do is even possible. Should I

get a different module? Just forget the whole thing and get a SB-600? Try

other settings on the camera or flash?

 

Thanks!<div></div>

" thing and get a SB-600?" but get SB-800. D50 or SB-600 cannot be a commander.

 

Remove if possible the Nikon NE-2D as it is not apropriate for D50. Use Sunpak without any dedicated module, in flash Auto mode of Manual.

The SB-800 is the only flash to get for your camera. It is powerful and works great. I love mine. Merry Christmas to all

"The SB-800 is the only flash to get for your camera."

 

I beg to differ. I'm a big fan of older, semi-auto flashes like these Sunpaks. They're cheap

and powerful, with simple and direct controls. I prefer the Euro units, like my Metz 32.

Freed from the demands of dedication, I can sync the flash at any shutter speed I want. I

use it in A mode and adjust aperture and power as needed. Sure, it's not the fastest way to

work. I lose plenty of features compared to the SB-800, including fine-tuning of exposure

and D-metering. But it's a valid and confortable way for me to work now. And the flashes

work just as well on my Konica Minolta 7D as my D50.

 

So if I had a Sunpak 444 (I did, back in the day), I'd use it till the mount foot falls off.

Which it will. Nikon finally got smart with the SBs and added a metal foot, so that's

progress, at a price.