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Seems like I heard somewhere that you couldn't use just any flash with
digital cameras. I think it may have something to do with voltages or
something. I just bought an Olympus 8080wz and am wondering if my Vivitat
283 will damage it or even work with it?

Pbug

On Thu, 12 Aug 2004 14:35:14 -0400, pbug wrote:

> Seems like I heard somewhere that you couldn't use just any flash with
> digital cameras. I think it may have something to do with voltages or
> something. I just bought an Olympus 8080wz and am wondering if my Vivitat
> 283 will damage it or even work with it?

Depends how old it is. New 283 - fine. Old 283, maybe, but if not it will
fry the camera. Test the voltage across the contacts, the new type will be a
few volts, the old one runs into hundreds.

If in doubt don't try it.

--
John Bean

Drinking makes such fools of people, and people are such fools to begin
with, that it's compounding a felony (Robert Benchley)

"pbug" <> wrote in message
newsLOSc.1081$...
> Seems like I heard somewhere that you couldn't use just any flash with
> digital cameras.

Depends on the camera. My slightly older Fujifilm MX-2900 has a standard hot
shoe and works fine with any standard, non-dedicated flash such as your
Vivitar 283. Also, my Minolta 7i and 7Hi cameras have a standard PC terminal
for connecting to any standard electronic flash, though I haven't had
occasion to use it. These latter also have Minolta's unique hot shoe for
Minolta flash units, but only the newer D series flash units are recommended
for it. I don't think using an older Minolta-shoe flash would damage
anything, but just wouldn't function 100% correctly.


> I think it may have something to do with voltages or
> something. I just bought an Olympus 8080wz and am wondering if my Vivitat
> 283 will damage it or even work with it?

Doesn't your owners manual tell you this?

"Nostrobino" <> wrote in message
newsKSSc.1398$ ...
>
[ . . . ]
> Vivitar 283. Also, my Minolta 7i and 7Hi cameras have a standard PC
terminal

Oops. Correction, the 7Hi has that PC terminal, not the 7i.

"pbug" <> wrote in message
newsLOSc.1081$...
> Seems like I heard somewhere that you couldn't use just any flash with
> digital cameras. I think it may have something to do with voltages or
> something. I just bought an Olympus 8080wz and am wondering if my Vivitat
> 283 will damage it or even work with it?
>

Works great with my 5050, but it has protection against high sync voltages.
Haven't heard that about the 8080. You might want to check the 8080 Yahoo
newsgroup http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Olympus_405080/ or Alfred Molon's
8080 site http://www.molon.de/8080.html.


Dave

"Nostrobino" <> wrote in
newsKSSc.1398$ :

>
> "pbug" <> wrote in message
> newsLOSc.1081$...
>> Seems like I heard somewhere that you couldn't use just any flash
>> with digital cameras.
>> I think it may have something to do with voltages or
>> something. I just bought an Olympus 8080wz and am wondering if my
>> Vivitat 283 will damage it or even work with it?
>
> Doesn't your owners manual tell you this?
>
>

Here's a source of trigger voltages of various strobes:

http://www.botzilla.com/photo/strobeVolts.html

Tim

--

"The strongest human instinct is to impart information,
and the second strongest is to resist it."

Kenneth Graham

Try here: http://www.botzilla.com/photo/strobeVolts.html There are devices
called "Safe Sync" sold which will isolate high transient voltages from the
camera circuit.


"pbug" <> wrote in message
newsLOSc.1081$...
> Seems like I heard somewhere that you couldn't use just any flash with
> digital cameras. I think it may have something to do with voltages or
> something. I just bought an Olympus 8080wz and am wondering if my Vivitat
> 283 will damage it or even work with it?
>
> Pbug
>
>
>
>