i need some advice with an old flash i got?

jolepp · 12-07-2010, 05:48 AM

A cheap new manual option with a safe trigger voltage would be the YN-560. I got one from ebay for US$ 65 and it works fine with the k-x. This has a tilt/swivel head, adjustable output, zoom (for controlling the width of the beam), and a slave mode which seems to ignore the pre-flash pulses from the k-x built-in flash. This is mode S2, in the plain slave mode S1 I get erratic results (dark and/or out-of-sync frames) with the built-in as master so I presume the built-in is sending the control pulses, which apparently cannot be turned off. Another thing I might want to turn off in the slave mode would be using the flash as an AF assist lamp as this sometimes triggers the slave. No big deal though, if I eventually get the radio trigger set I ordered from ebay and it actually works (~US$25 shipped for two receivers :-).

lguckert79 · 01-28-2011, 12:31 AM

well i hooked up a car volt meter to my sunpak flash and it said 2-2.5 volts now i dont know if this is right so im going to try to get anouther reading from a different volt meter just to confirme that the 2-2.5 is the right read out so I am thinking this flash is probablly safe on my k100d but still i want a second opinion. The volt meter i used was an older one and one for a car so i dont know if that really makes a differents but better safe than sorry.

magkelly · 01-28-2011, 10:59 AM

For those looking for a good deal on these:

Amazon.com: SMDV Hot Shoe Hotshoe Safe Sync Adapter SM-512 for Pentax K-5, K-r, K-7, K-m, x70, X90, K200d, K20d, K100D Super, K10D, K110D,K100D, *ist DL2, *ist DS2, *ist DL, *ist DS, K2000, K-X: Camera & Photo

Under $20 shipped.

Ira · 01-28-2011, 11:28 AM

Originally posted by magkelly

For those looking for a good deal on these:

Amazon.com: SMDV Hot Shoe Hotshoe Safe Sync Adapter SM-512 for Pentax K-5, K-r, K-7, K-m, x70, X90, K200d, K20d, K100D Super, K10D, K110D,K100D, *ist DL2, *ist DS2, *ist DL, *ist DS, K2000, K-X: Camera & Photo

Under $20 shipped.

Hey! That's great! Thanks for posting that!

Soldbear builds his own for like a BUCK, so the Wein at 50 doesn't make sense.

Mike Cash · 01-28-2011, 05:14 PM

Originally posted by lguckert79

well i hooked up a car volt meter to my sunpak flash and it said 2-2.5 volts now i dont know if this is right so im going to try to get anouther reading from a different volt meter just to confirme that the 2-2.5 is the right read out so I am thinking this flash is probablly safe on my k100d but still i want a second opinion. The volt meter i used was an older one and one for a car so i dont know if that really makes a differents but better safe than sorry.

You need to use a digital multimeter. Analog multimeters can give false results for reason far beyond my understanding.

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12-07-2010, 05:48 AM	#16
jolepp Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Finland Photos: Albums Posts: 3,196	A cheap new manual option with a safe trigger voltage would be the YN-560. I got one from ebay for US$ 65 and it works fine with the k-x. This has a tilt/swivel head, adjustable output, zoom (for controlling the width of the beam), and a slave mode which seems to ignore the pre-flash pulses from the k-x built-in flash. This is mode S2, in the plain slave mode S1 I get erratic results (dark and/or out-of-sync frames) with the built-in as master so I presume the built-in is sending the control pulses, which apparently cannot be turned off. Another thing I might want to turn off in the slave mode would be using the flash as an AF assist lamp as this sometimes triggers the slave. No big deal though, if I eventually get the radio trigger set I ordered from ebay and it actually works (~US$25 shipped for two receivers :-).

01-28-2011, 12:31 AM	#17
lguckert79 Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 601 Original Poster	well i hooked up a car volt meter to my sunpak flash and it said 2-2.5 volts now i dont know if this is right so im going to try to get anouther reading from a different volt meter just to confirme that the 2-2.5 is the right read out so I am thinking this flash is probablly safe on my k100d but still i want a second opinion. The volt meter i used was an older one and one for a car so i dont know if that really makes a differents but better safe than sorry.

01-28-2011, 10:59 AM	#18
magkelly Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,901	For those looking for a good deal on these: Amazon.com: SMDV Hot Shoe Hotshoe Safe Sync Adapter SM-512 for Pentax K-5, K-r, K-7, K-m, x70, X90, K200d, K20d, K100D Super, K10D, K110D,K100D, ist DL2, ist DS2, ist DL, ist DS, K2000, K-X: Camera & Photo Under $20 shipped.

01-28-2011, 11:28 AM	#19
Ira Inactive Account Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Coral Springs, FL Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,216	Originally posted by magkelly For those looking for a good deal on these: Amazon.com: SMDV Hot Shoe Hotshoe Safe Sync Adapter SM-512 for Pentax K-5, K-r, K-7, K-m, x70, X90, K200d, K20d, K100D Super, K10D, K110D,K100D, ist DL2, ist DS2, ist DL, ist DS, K2000, K-X: Camera & Photo Under $20 shipped. Hey! That's great! Thanks for posting that! Soldbear builds his own for like a BUCK, so the Wein at 50 doesn't make sense.

01-28-2011, 05:14 PM	#20
Mike Cash Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Japan Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,950	Originally posted by lguckert79 well i hooked up a car volt meter to my sunpak flash and it said 2-2.5 volts now i dont know if this is right so im going to try to get anouther reading from a different volt meter just to confirme that the 2-2.5 is the right read out so I am thinking this flash is probablly safe on my k100d but still i want a second opinion. The volt meter i used was an older one and one for a car so i dont know if that really makes a differents but better safe than sorry. You need to use a digital multimeter. Analog multimeters can give false results for reason far beyond my understanding.