vivitar 285 flash

[gary_sempler]

<p>will a vivitar 285 flash work on a d-90 or d700 thanks Gary Sempler</p>

[Matt Laur]

<p>Sure, those cameras will trigger the flash. But you won't have any of the Nikon's CLS behavior, or iTTL integration.</p>

[ramon_v__california_]

<p>yes, manual control only. well, maybe a little bit of auto. but you won't enjoy the fun with nikon's CLS.<br>

one of the best professional workhorse in the film days.<br>

i have used it extensively in my D70 when i didn't have the<br>

SB-800 yet.</p>

<p>i still use it when i play with my F2AS.</p>

[robert_hooper1]

<p>Be very careful Gary. Some of the old Vivitar flash units use a lot of voltage/amperage at the hot shoe and might just fry the electronics of your digital Nikon bodies. Absolutely not worth taking a chance, in my opinion. Buy the appropriate Nikon speed-light for your flash needs. Forget the antique after-market products.</p>

[bob_sunley]

<p>The Vivitar 285HV is a current product. :)</p>

[scott_ditzel1]

<p>Best to measure the voltage with a multimeter so as to be certain it won't fry the camera's electronics. There were several versions of this flash made (older ones in Japan, newer in China) & yes the newer current models should be fine, however the OP didn't specify if it is the 285HV model. If it's not, it will eventually fry the circuit board inside the camera. Maybe not after just one use to two, but eventually it would. It can only be used in auto or manual modes & it's possible that several of the pins on the foot may need to be covered in tape for it to work...If it is an older model, use a "Wien Safe Sync" between the flash & the camera to ensure no damage being done to the camera.</p>

[User_502260]

<p>A few years ago I was at an event where the photographer was using a pretty old flash unit on a DSLR. After the first few shots there was a loud pop. I think he fried both the camera and the flash. Luckily I was able to supply photos using my Pronea 6i and the excellent 20-60 IX Nikkor.</p>

[gary_sempler]

<p>Thanks. great feedback. My flash is a 285hv. boy Im glad I ask.I am building a nikon system that will include a sb 900.Just wanted to use the 285 for backup so I can spend more on glass.thanks Gary</p>

[john_tran14]

 

<blockquote>

<p ><a href="../photodb/user?user_id=5989889">gary sempler</a> <a href="../member-status-icons"></a>, Apr 04, 2010; 09:32 p.m.</p>

</blockquote>

 

<blockquote>

<p>Thanks. great feedback. My flash is a 285hv. boy Im glad I ask.I am building a nikon system that will include a sb 900.Just wanted to use the 285 for backup so I can spend more on glass.thanks Gary</p>

</blockquote>

 

If you use it for backup, then you dont save a dime and in fact spend more for 2 flashes instead of one. You must check the voltage before use, that is not hard, not dangerous at all, and can be done in a few minutes. Without the SB900 you do save money, you wont have CLS nor any TTL but you will enjoy a lot more fun using manual flash mode.

 

 

Using the 285hv vs the SB900 is simply similar as using the FM vs the N50, the Minolta SRT101 vs the Maxxum QTsi, Pentax K1000 vs ZX-70, Canon FTb vs EOS Rebel G,... It is the fun of manual control vs the ease of automatic

 

 

[john_tran14]

<p>Also, I wonder why they still put a useless integrated flash on all the low-priced models. We all get a flash light anyway (anywhere between the 283 and the SB900). I am not saying that the integrated flash is "worthless", I only say that it is "useless" simply because we dont want and dont need to use it (ie useless). In fact that flash still worths something and costs some money. That's why they should drop it to save us some money. Isn't it important to have a lower price for those of us who have to go for "low-priced" models?</p>

[conrad_hoffman]

<p>There's a table at <a href="http://www.botzilla.com/photo/strobeVolts.html">http://www.botzilla.com/photo/strobeVolts.html</a> but I don't trust measurements made by anybody but me! All it takes is a brief spike to do damage, and a multimeter reading may not tell the whole story. That said, my ancient 283, s/n 40965xx, made in China, measured very low with both a scope and meter. The thing has to be 10-20 years old. BTW, there are actually two completely different style 285 units. One was from the early '70s, with internal NiCads. It was surprisingly powerful for its size and had a two position mount. The other is the style you see today. I assume all the early internal battery versions are long dead, but you never know.</p>

[steve m smith]

<blockquote>

<p>Some of the old Vivitar flash units use a lot of voltage/amperage</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Voltage yes, amperage no. And most Nikons (and other makes) are o.k. to 250 volts.</p>

<p> </p>

<blockquote>

<p>All it takes is a brief spike to do damage, and a multimeter reading may not tell the whole story.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>You will not get a brief spike on the hotshoe as it is the voltage across a small capacitor charged by a high value resistor.</p>

<p> </p>

[andrew_fedon]

<p>I think there is too much generation gap between the 283/285 vivitars and current DSLRs, as the posters above state, not worth the risk. I still have a 283 in the cuboard and it must date back to my Pentax KX or my Nikon FE, at least 30 years old. Besides, even if it did fire and you could get a correct exposure from it, its a fixed zoom head (i think) and was designed to be used with a standard 50mm lens only.</p>

[andrew_fedon]

<p>Ok, I stand corrected on the zoom head, it does have a zoom head. Checked the Amazon site and Vivitar have updated the flashguns for the digital age. the 283 is now the DF283 for either Nikon, canon, etc with a zoom head that will presumably work with those brands. If the 285HV is the current model sold by Amazon the voltage issue should not be an issue.</p>

[chris_raney1]

<p>I'm in need of a better flash unit for my Leica M4-P than the Nikon Speedlight I'm currently using. It will be used off-camera on a flash bracket (an old Vivitar); I can't stand walking around with a top-heavy camera. Since my camera has no circuitry to fry am I still in danger of damaging my it if I get my hands on a Vivitar 285 with its high trigger voltage? Be damned if I want to have to send my body off for another expensive repair.</p>

<p>Since there is no TTL communication between camera and flash I'm open to suggestions on a generic, hot-shoe coupler. I don't like the idea of that P.C. cord getting in the way as it is so near the eyepiece.</p>

[steve m smith]

<blockquote>

<p>Since my camera has no circuitry to fry am I still in danger of damaging my it if I get my hands on a Vivitar 285 with its high trigger voltage?</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>No. It was designed for cameras like yours and your camera was designed for flashes like the 285.</p>

[pinaki_sekhar_gupta]

<p>I'm already using an old 'Vivitar 285HV ZOOM THYRISTOR' 'vari power' 'MADE IN JAPAN' Flashgun with a Nikon D3000 Camera body with 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 kit lens ( & Sony UV filter).<br>

It never blown up my camera body. Mine is a very old second-hand flashgun. Although newly manufactured 285HV is available even today at a very very high cost in ebay.in, amazon.in, junglee.com, but mine is an old one.<br>

Only problem it takes as much as that of a Nikon Speed-light SB800, in my guess it takes even more. Its a hungry monster that can eat up mountains at a go. If zinc-Chloride batteries are used it would las for first 20 shots if it set to RED in its 'vari power' dial. There are five modes 'YELLOW', 'RED', 'GREEN', PINK/PURPLE', 'MANUAL'. Manual takes most energy and yellow takes least. Zinc batteries will not be dead after 30 shots but the recycle time will be nearly 1-3 minutes before you can use it. Alkaline from 'Duracell' works little better, nearly 35-40 shots but after first 20 shots it recycles very slowly. I consulted with a camera/flash repairer he checked it's capacitor, it's ok, not leaked. So the slowness is either a default behaviour of 285HV or may be due to my batts. I have never tested Ni-MH, and I can't tell anything about it.<br>

But the point is, it will not blow up the DSLR camera, as it did not do any harm to my camera for years.</p>