jonathan_reid

Mamiya Press 23. It's as big as a suitcase and weighs a ton, but is lovely to use and gives great results.

I use evostick impact glue for camera use. It sticks well, but always retains a rubbery consistency and can be removed later if needed without damaging anything.

Although this is very old post, I've just encountered and remedied the same problem, so thought it a good idea to post my findings for others in the same predicament. There were two issues with my film back; - the large diameter roller inside the film gate on the left had become stiff and wasn't turning when the film was wound. - a small piece of foam inside the top cover of the film back had perished and was catching the metal ribbon that drives the movement. I fixed the problem by removing the foam and cleaning the inside of the top cover. Also, removing the film type wheel on the bottom of the film back allowed me to remove the sticky grease from the film roller, and then I added a very small amount of watch oil to the top and bottom spindles of the roller to get it moving freely again. Now the back winds, the counter works and all seems well again.

I'm so pleased that someone with direct experience has made a comment. I'll use the flash with my old fm. Thank you.

Not everyone wants a dedicated flashgun. I have cameras from a number of manufacturers, and it can be handy to have one unit that fits all. At least that was my initial intention. I also seldom buy new equipment (i.e. almost never).

Just curious... Anyone else here use Flickr?

Nope, I think its all there. Thanks for hunting this out. It just demostrates that a little information gets misunderstood, repeated with alterations several times over and eventually a new 'truth' is created. Presumably there weren't any problems with cooked cameras when these flash units were originally made, or else Vivitar would have stopped making them. They certainly wouldn't have gained the reputation they have anyway. This reminds me of a whispering game we used to play at school when I was a kid. Each kid would pass on a message to the kid sitting next to them and we would compare the first message with the end message 30 or so times later. It was never the same.

I was just pondering whether to try making a voltage reducing circuit board to fit inside, as per the 'instructibles' guidance on the web? This should be very cheap to make, plus I've carried out quite a few minor repairs on cameras before and am pretty handy with a micro-soldering iron. That way the voltage would be properly reduced to 5v. As I've mentioned before, my initial intention was to try to learn fill flash to the point where it lights the scene, but without being obviously a 'flashed' photo. I also have a d300, which sees little use as I'm much more comfortable with film. Presumably the gun, if tamed to 5v would be ok to use on the d300 too, and being able to view the results of my efforts immediately would make the learning process easier. I know you can probably do all of this via modern cameras very easily, but I want to learn to do it myself rather than relying on a computer to do it all for me.

£15 for a radio trigger. £25 for a different second hand flash £50 for a wein sync Or maybe just resell the vivitar for a small profit and forget about flash altogether. Decisions, decisions.....

Yes it does, but they cost £50, which is more than a brand new flashgun...

Ha ha... cheers Jose.

Having considered everything that people have said, including the very conflicting results of my own internet research on the subject, brings to mind one of the reasons why I've preferred the simplicity of manual camera, prime lens and no flash all of these years...

Thanks. That's really helpful. Jonathan

I've just had a quick look at ebay, there are a few sb24's going for £40 to £50. However, I haven't used flash for about 15 to 20 years and I've just come up with challenge of trying to learn to fill flash in such a way that it balances a photo without it looking as though flash was actually used, I decided to see if I could set up on the cheap. I recently bought the 283 on ebay as untested, and actually only paid just under £4, although it works fine. This works well with my theory of try it cheap and I've lost nothing if it doesn't work out. So I won't be buying a Nikon flash just yet... Thanks for all of the advice, it's really appreciated. I think I may go for a £10 radio trigger, that way I know that there is absolutely no risk to any of my cameras. No matter which one I choose to try flash with.

I have a vivitar 283 which I've measured the voltage across the shoe mount poles with a good quality multimeter. It came out as 112v. I also have the variable control unit for this flash gun?, which I intend to use for very carefully balanfed fill flash (i.e. so subtle that it isn't obvious that flash was used).

I've heard that the chinese made 283s have much lower (less than 10v) trigger voltages. Presumably these are safe to use with any film camera if I can find one?

It''s ok. I recieved it as an email. Jonathan

If the voltage reducing wein safe sync modules were reasonably priced (which they aren't), I would buy one of those. What about using a cheap radio trigger on the hotshoe, with the flash on a separate mount? I've seen them on ebay for £10 to £15.

As wein safe syncs are very expensive (about £50 in the uk), what if I was to fire the flash using a wireless flash trigger? Maybe fitting the flash on a bracket to the side of the camera.

The fm and fm2 are fully mechanical, but the f3 has an electronically controlled shutter. Would this make any difference?

Hi Has anyone had any problems using high trigger voltage flash guns with fm, fm2 or f3 film camera bodies? My vivitar 283 gun is producing 112v to the hotshoe mount. I've heard that this may cause problems with the elecronics in some cameras. Thanks in advance. Jonathan

Hi I've been using film cameras for over twenty years, but have only recently decided to try to teach myself fill flash. There is a lot of information on the web about being careful with high trigger voltages on digital cameras, but there is also often reference to being careful with 'electronic' cameras in the same way. Has anyone experienced any problems with om1 and om2 bodies using high trigger voltage flash units? I have a vivitar 283 which I've tested and found it to be producing 112v. Thanks. Jonathan

Hi Just a quick update. Got the camera back from my local repairer today. He glued a small mirror back in place inside the prism area and the window now works perfectly. Thanks again for everyone's help and advice. Jonathan

I've always known them as that. I'm from England, maybe different from America.

Thanks. I'll have a chat with my local repairer about it to find out about cost before deciding whether to just live with it for now. J