Vivitar 283 Flashgun with Nikon DSLR voltage help

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madmat01

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I've got hold of a Vivitar 283 Flash Gun complete with the quick release pistol grip and sensor adapter cable and I want to use it with my D40 and D7000.

I have read that the voltage from the Flash can be too high to use with modern SLR's and I've been told that a Wein adaptor would avoid this problem. I have tried using the sensor adapter cable between the camera and the flash and this works, but is this damaging my camera still????
 
The old 283 can have a trigger voltage of up to 600v, so if it was me I'd be wanting to check it before putting it anywhere near my camera. Even if it's one of the low voltage examples it would, before anyone suggests using these, kill pretty much any of the off-camera triggers on the market.
 
I used to use a vivitar 285 with my d40 without problem - I measured the voltage and it was about 250 volts

I think it was just canon slrs that were easily damaged by old flashes
 
tim_uk said:
I used to use a vivitar 285 with my d40 without problem - I measured the voltage and it was about 250 volts

I think it was just canon slrs that were easily damaged by old flashes
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There's a difference between a 283 and a 285, in fact even between the different versions of the 285 (HV versus non) and Japanese HV versus Chinese HV have wildly different trigger voltages.

The best advice is always to measure the voltage first and not just assume that because it worked once or twice it isn't damaging the camera.

When you can buy a brand new "safe" flashgun for as little as £40 is it really worth risking a £1000 camera just to save twenty quid?
 
Graham's right, The voltage varied enormously between models of those guns. Great flashguns and still very usable today but check the trigger voltage - it's not worth the risk.
 
Thanks for the responses guys. I'll get my multi-meter out tonight and take a look.

To avoid the problem I may buy one of these: CowboyStudio NPT-04 4 Channel Wireless Hot Shoe Flash Trigger. (It'll work with my girlfriend's Canon too)

I would like to wirelessly trigger eventually anyway, so this might be the best way forward.
 
madmat01 said:
Thanks for the responses guys. I'll get my multi-meter out tonight and take a look.

To avoid the problem I may buy one of these: CowboyStudio NPT-04 4 Channel Wireless Hot Shoe Flash Trigger. (It'll work with my girlfriend's Canon too)

I would like to wirelessly trigger eventually anyway, so this might be the best way forward.
Click to expand...

See my above post - the triggers are only designed to handle 12v, if you put a 250+ volt flashgun on them you'll kill them.
 
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