charlesphoto99 Posted September 17, 2007 Share #1 Posted September 17, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Shot a wedding this weekend and gave up with the Sf-20. Used the Vivitar 285 (HV) directly on hot shoe with no ill effects and it worked like a charm. Tried the wein safe sync thingy first but it is really poorly made to hold a hot shoe flash. Anyway, the Vivitar 285 is a great flash I've used for almost 30 years and has never let me down. I tape diffusion on the head and it still has lots of power. Plenty of accessories for it, and can be used with a variety of external batteries (I use Quantums). I do wish Leica would come out with a reasonable (both in price and functionality) TTL flash for the M8. I do use the sf20 on auto for intimate pics (works better on m7 with its ttl function) but it gives a limitied range of fstops and distance. The sf24 seems like a joke with its pre flash and I really can't afford (or want) to get into a Metz system. The 285 works on every camera I own. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted September 17, 2007 Posted September 17, 2007 Hi charlesphoto99, Take a look here FYI Vivitar 285HV works great on M8. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
grober Posted September 17, 2007 Share #2 Posted September 17, 2007 Agreed that tried-and-true Vivitar flash units work fine on the M8. (In my case it's a battered V283 instead of the V285.) BUT . . . you're really tempting the electronic gods if you don't place a Wein Safe-Synch voltage protector (or equivalent) between any non-Leica flash and the M8. Why risk frying a $5000 camera with a $50 flash? -g Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wparsonsgisnet Posted September 17, 2007 Share #3 Posted September 17, 2007 If you go to this site, Photo Strobe Trigger Voltages you will see that the voltage of the 285 likely exceeds the 6v limit of the M8. If you get fried eggs instead of pictures, you have only yourself to blame for not using a Wein. Personally, I carry a pair of Wein HSHS adapters in my camera bag. They always hold my Vivitage 283's handily and also give me a pc-sync to attach to *any* strobe cable. Forewarned is forearmed. Let's see: $5k, $50; $5k, $50; hmmmm...... The following comes from the description of the 285 at the url, above: 7.45-7.8V, according to "Bob from MediaPlus.com," Mike Dubbs, and "Steven at bellatlantic.net." Peter Savage checked his 285 and 285HV units, and read only 6V. Mike Flaherty measured around 8.5V on his 15-year-old 285, and feels safe using it on his EOS D30. Older units may rate higher. One correspondent had three units ranging from 8.3V to 33V... Alan Latafat Correa checked with Vivitar and they clarified: The 285HV has a voltage of 12V. The 285 has a voltage of 350V. Hope this helps you. (Thanks Alan!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlesphoto99 Posted September 17, 2007 Author Share #4 Posted September 17, 2007 Okay, warnings taken. I therefore don't recommend it to anyone else. Worked just fine for me though, and that Wein thing is a piece of crap imo for holding a flash. A bit like your digital guru Guy M on here using canned air to clean his sensors. Some of us are risk takers and just want to get the job done. But yes, it would have been a shame to fry my M8. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean_reid Posted September 17, 2007 Share #5 Posted September 17, 2007 I use a plain 285 for weddings all the time. I use the Wein but I never mount a flash on a camera so I never noticed any weakness in the materials. For me, it's always the remote sensor in the Wein shoe and a 285 in my left hand. The Wein does its job, which is to buffer the trigger voltage. Cheers, Sean Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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