[jv6856]

okay, so i have two sunpak 383 flashes that work on camera with only the 1/180 shutter speed. my question is, will i be able to use radio slaves to shoot off camera and be able to shoot higher than 1/180?

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Last edited by jv6856; 08-12-2007 at 10:03 AM.

[and]

nope..................

[jv6856]

so the only way to shoot higher than 1/180 with flashes is to get the pentax flashes? or flashes with high speed sync mode?

any more info?

[harjon]

Whats wrong with standard slaves? Or slave attachments? These were all very satisfactory before wireless, & still are, & still cheap, too.

[harjon]

Incidentally, do your sunpak 383s work OK on the K10D, without frying the insides?

[jv6856]

yes, the 383's put out pretty low voltages so they were alright on-camera.

i was going to order the rf616 radio transmitter and the receiver for it and was trying to find out if i use it off camera i can use a fast shutter speed than 1/180 which is the max for on-camera.

[Entropy]

yes, the 383's put out pretty low voltages so they were alright on-camera.

i was going to order the rf616 radio transmitter and the receiver for it and was trying to find out if i use it off camera i can use a fast shutter speed than 1/180 which is the max for on-camera.

1/180 is the max, period, unless you are using a special flash that supports high speed sync. HSS works by increasing the flash duration so that it is longer than 1/180 (but not as bright) so behaves similarly to ambient light with respect to the shutter. Doing this reduces the output capability of the flash by 1-2 full stops, which means there is a "dead zone" between 1/180 and 1/360 or even 1/720 where HSS will gain you nothing in terms of balancing with ambient, and that's really the only reason to use HSS.

In fact, off-camera won't help you - you can only use HSS with Pentax P-TTL flashes (and maybe the Sigma EF-500) when they are wired, so you need to either use them on-camera or use some VERY expensive P-TTL sync cords and hotshoe adapters off-camera. The only reason off-camera helps with some Nikon bodies (and pretty much only lower-end ones) is because they use electronic shutter to achieve shutter speeds faster than the max sync speed, rather than focal plane shutter. FP shutter is usually a better (but more expensive) solution, with the exception being when trying to sync flashes at high speed.

If you're having trouble balancing daylight, I suggest getting a second manual flash such as the Vivitar 285HV rather than a Pentax AF-540FGZ.

The Gadget Infinity slaves will actually lose you a little bit of sync speed when used with Pentax cameras unfortunately. General experience is that they only sync up to 1/125 when used with Pentaxes. Pocket Wizards may or may not sync up to 1/180. Off-camera wired sync cords will of course sync to 1/180 with no problem, and if you're not going for P-TTL, off-camera cords are FAR cheaper than Pentax's off-camera P-TTL system. (For example, I got a 9-foot sync cord extension from the dollar store - that's because I use "household" sync cords and adapters.)

[FotoPete]

I heard that most if not all Vivitar 283's will fry your camera. Are there any exceptions? I can get one with the sync cord module...but I'm guessing that doesn't fry your camera any less does it?

[Macneil]

I heard that most if not all Vivitar 283's will fry your camera. Are there any exceptions? I can get one with the sync cord module...but I'm guessing that doesn't fry your camera any less does it?

I'm pretty sure the only Vivitar flash(283///285) that is safe to use on camera is the 285 HV..

[Chickenhawk]

The 283/285 have been made for many years, so I would recommend simply testing the trigger voltage yourself. I have a very old 285, but the voltage is still under 4 volts. (Simply turn the flash on and put a digital voltmeter between the ground pin and the center pin and read the voltage.)