Sunpak 444D flash with M8

[pklein]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Folks: I just obtained a lightly-used Sunpak 444D with a Contax TTL module, for a very good price. I don't anticipate ever having a Contax film SLR. So I've done a little surgery on the hot shoe and removed the dedicated contacts, so now I have a generic flash with manual and auto-thyristor operation, essentially like the Sunpak 383 Super.

 

Questions:

 

1. I've measured the trigger voltage with a DVM, and it's 11.4 volts. Is this safe to use on an M8, or do I need to buy a Wein Safe Sync? How about on an Olympus E-510? Neither camera's manual gives a maximum safe trigger voltage. I've read things ranging from "anything over 6v is suspect" to "the ISO standard specs call for protection up to 24v." (Photo Strobe Trigger Voltages)

 

2. Sunpak made a generic hot shoe module, the STD-1D, which includes a coiled sync cord. The flash's sensor is in this module. Does anyone know (from experience, please) if this module allows off-camera operation WITH the module's sensor still controlling the flash, or can you only use manual settings off-camera?

 

 

While I'm primarily an available light kind of guy, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. :-)

 

--Peter

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[wparsonsgisnet]

According to this site

 

Photo Strobe Trigger Voltages

 

your measurements are correct.

[pklein]

Thanks, Bill. Mark Norton, who's had the M8 apart, says that the M8 hot shoe is protected by a high voltage transistor. He "wouldn't hesitate" to use flashes with ~11 volt triggers.

 

That said, I decided to get the Safe Sync anyway. Olympus USA's FAQ for my E-510 says 6 volts or less for non-OEM flashes. In other countries, people have reported higher quotes from Olympus. But why worry--$55 is cheap insuranced amortized over the lives of many cameras.

 

I don't like the way the Safe Sync wobbles in the hot shoe. With either my Sunpak 444D or Vivitar 2500, the combination of Safe Sync and flash feels pretty rickety.

 

The 444D is heavy enough that I think I will use it with a bracket and off-camera cord, so only the sensor module will be on the camera and Safe Sync.

 

A bit of serendipity: I found that the little Olympus FL-20 that came bundled with my E-1 makes a nifty auto-flash for the M8. No TTL, but the auto mode works fine. And only 3v on any of the contacts. It's small and light enough to take with me anywhere for times when I'm desperate enough for direct flash. :-)

 

--Peter

[jevidon]

I've used my old Nikon dedicated SB22 set on auto on my M8 with no trouble. I suspect that any flash that is set on auto will work just as well.

 

Jim Evidon

[marknorton]

All this stuff about flashes cooking cameras is baloney.

 

In the old days, before automatic flashes, the hot shoe did indeed present about 150v, not dangerous because it was delivered from a high source impedance but enough to give you a nip in damp conditions and that relatively high voltage was used to trigger the flash and dump the contents of the flash capacitor into the flash tube. Arguably, these old flashes could damage a camera, though as I say, the M8 has a high voltage transistor to take care of business.

 

Nowadays, a special transistors or thyristors are used in flashes to allow the light duration to be controlled accurately and the triggering mechanism is completely different. The trigger voltage present will tend to be either 5 or 12 v, depending on the battery voltage being used, completely harmless to both user and camera.

[pklein]

II'm sure Mark is right about the M8. I'm 99% sure he's right about most other cameras. My problem is that Olympus specifically states that its pro DSLRs (E1, E3) are protected to 250v, but its other DSLRs, such as my E-510, are only protected to 6v. What we don't know is the camera manufacturer's motivation, which could be:

 

1. They want you to buy their flash instead of using the perfectly good old one you've got lying around. You buy the camera manufacturer's flash, or you buy a Safe Sync. An additional sale is made, you feel safe, and the free market is saved for another day.

 

2. They don't want to deal with product liability issues---most customers have no idea of the difference between a flash with a 6-12v trigger and a ~150v trigger, so it's less hassle for the company to say "nothing under 6v."

 

3. The manufacturer really did use a component rated to only 6v in the flash trigger circuit. While 12v is probably OK, it might cause the component to fail over time in 13.379 percent of cases of heavy flash use. After great ruminations over statistical spreadsheets, and a visit to the shrine of the CEO's ancestors, the executives solemnly decide to place the 6v figure in the manual.

 

4. The tech writer asked his boss. The boss, too busy to look it up, said, "oh, six volts." And that's the way it's been since 1985.

 

I read that C@non specifies 6v for many of its cameras. Yet one of their top people is on the ISO committee that wrote the specification stating that all digital cameras conforming to the spec shall be protected to at least 24v. Go figure. (ahem).

 

It's probably a good use of FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) to sell stuff.

 

--Peter