[lguckert79]

well i picked up this lens at a thrift store for 1.00 and i think i got a good deal. It says it is for pentax at the base so it workes with my camera, i have a k100D. so do you think this will work on the camera i have or should i just get a new one. Considering i got it for a dollar it was not that much and i think it will work on my k1000 also so either way im keeping it so what do ya think?
thank you





"you can never hav enough lenses"

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Last edited by lguckert79; 12-06-2010 at 07:05 AM.

[Adam]

Yes, it'll work, but you'll have to set your aperture manually. There's no automation with old flashes, not even the TTL ones.

[lguckert79]

thanks adam

[RioRico]

It would help to know what model of flash it is. Older flashes of the film era often use trigger voltages that can FRY THE ELECTRONICS of a modern dSLR. I *never* put an older flash on my K20D, even one that is quite safe on my K1000 or ZX-M. You might google the flash model and see if you can find specs that state the trigger voltage.

[noblepa]

Yes, it'll work, but you'll have to set your aperture manually. There's no automation with old flashes, not even the TTL ones.

According to the PDF manual that was attached to the OP, that flash has a "thyristor", or builtin light sensor on the flash itself. That means it is one of the generation of "auto" flashes. You probably set the aperture to some fixed value, based on the ISO your film/sensor is set at. The flash then measures the light bouncing back off the subject and shuts itself off when sufficient light has been received.

It will not work with the P-TTL system on new Pentax dslrs or even on the TTL systems used on Pentax film slrs and the early dslrs.

The trigger voltage is definitely a potential problem. This is easily measured with a digital multimeter. These gadgets are inexpensive and handy to have round the house, so if you don't have one, get one. If the trigger voltage is more than about 25 volts, I wouldn't use it on the camera. Use it with an optical or radio slave, off-camera, but don't mount it directly on the camera, unless the voltage is low, the lower the better.

[lguckert79]

here it is i found the specs online

[GhoSStrider]

Agree on the trigger voltage thing. There's a list of trigger voltages of many flashes here. Unfortunately, your's isn't listed. Before I put it on your K100D, I would certainly try to figure out what the trigger voltage is.

[lguckert79]

thank you i will try to find the voltage out ill let you know

[eddie1960]

if you want to be safe wein makes a few safe sync adaptors

Safe Syncs

I use one for my Old Metz Potato Masher even though it's output is supposed to be in a safe range it's close to being a problem)

[SOldBear]

This thread is worth a read.

[Ira]

This thread is worth a read.

Exactly.

But even with a Goodwill old flash that IS rated safe for a dslr, I would be very, very skeptical about ever using it.

I just don't think that a $1 bargain is worth the possibilty of destroying my K-x.

[eddie1960]

Exactly.

But even with a Goodwill old flash that IS rated safe for a dslr, I would be very, very skeptical about ever using it.

I just don't think that a $1 bargain is worth the possibilty of destroying my K-x.

Which is why I suggested a SafeSync, I've used several old flashes on all my DSLRs (pentax and Oly) with one of these
If you are in the habit of grabbing odds and ends in thrift shops for next to nothing (or at yard sales where I got My big metz for a whopping $15 with charger, aa pack and almost dead nicad) it's monet well spent
admitedly though I am far more inclined to use my AF360fgz with the digital pentaxes, but i have numerous film bodies I use the others with

[Ira]

Which is why I suggested a SafeSync, I've used several old flashes on all my DSLRs (pentax and Oly) with one of these
If you are in the habit of grabbing odds and ends in thrift shops for next to nothing (or at yard sales where I got My big metz for a whopping $15 with charger, aa pack and almost dead nicad) it's monet well spent
admitedly though I am far more inclined to use my AF360fgz with the digital pentaxes, but i have numerous film bodies I use the others with

Eddie, I'm going to PM you, if you don't mind.

I want to buy an ECONOMICAL flash with full tilt and swivel. It doesn't have to be P-TTL, because I use mostly manual lenses anyway. But I really want an old potato masher on its bracket with the swivel capabilities, but theses voltages confuse the hell out of me.

I don't mind shooting manual , and I want to attach an inflatable diffuser for portraits. But this whole voltage thing is beyond my understanding and IQ. I love the old potato mashers because of how they put the light output so far displaced from the lens. (And yeah--I understand that I need one or two adaptor accessories to link it to the body's hot shoe.)

So what exactly is SafeSync?

[SOldBear]

...I really want an old potato masher on its bracket with the swivel capabilities, but theses voltages confuse the hell out of me.
.....
So what exactly is SafeSync?

I'm no Eddie, but if you don't mind, here's my take:

SafeSync is a little device that relay the flash sync signal from the camera to the flash. In general, a Wein SafeSync is attached to the camera's hot shoe. It has a hot shoe on top to which you can attached a shoe-mount flash unit and a PC terminal if you don't want to use its hot shoe.

The SafeSync's circuit that on the camera side is isolated from the circuit on the flash side. With the SafeSync, you don't have to worry about the flash's trigger voltage. No matter how high the flash's trigger voltage is, the voltage the SafeSync presents to the camera is about 6V, safe for any camera.

Extra notes:

- There are reported that you can use a SafeSync for 2 flash units at the same time: one attached to the hot shoe and one using the PC terminal. My experience tells me that this is not reliable. In my experiment, sometimes both flashes fired, sometimes only one of them did (which one firing was totally random).

- The SafeSync's foot does not have any way to ensure the solid contact in the camera's hot shoe. It just slides in. I don't recommend attaching any decent-sized flash unit (e.g. Pentax 360) to the SafeSync which is in turn attached to the camera.

- If you have basic electronic skills, you can make your own SafeSync. I made about 10 of them for various flash units (Sunpak 611, Metz 45-CT1, Sunpak 522). The total materials cost for 10 of them is about $30.

- If you want an inexpensive potato masher flash unit with low voltage (no SafeSync needed), get a Sunpak 555. With GN 140 (ft, 100 ISO), it is the most powerful among the Sunpak 5xx series. Its trigger voltages is around 6 - 7V. As a bonus, if you want a remote sensor (not needed but is nice to have), it uses the same modules as the ones for the Sunpak 4xxD (36DX, 30DX for Europe) series. The Metz 45 Digital units also have low trigger voltage, but they tend to be more costly.





Of course you can make any shoe-mount flash into handle-mount. You just need to find a handle. The handle in the photo below is recycled from a broken Sunpak 522.

[Ira]

I'm no Eddie, but if you don't mind, here's my take:

SafeSync is a little device that relay the flash sync signal from the camera to the flash. In general, a Wein SafeSync is attached to the camera's hot shoe. It has a hot shoe on top to which you can attached a shoe-mount flash unit and a PC terminal if you don't want to use its hot shoe.

The SafeSync's circuit that on the camera side is isolated from the circuit on the flash side. With the SafeSync, you don't have to worry about the flash's trigger voltage. No matter how high the flash's trigger voltage is, the voltage the SafeSync presents to the camera is about 6V, safe for any camera.

Extra notes:

- There are reported that you can use a SafeSync for 2 flash units at the same time: one attached to the hot shoe and one using the PC terminal. My experience tells me that this is not reliable. In my experiment, sometimes both flashes fired, sometimes only one of them did (which one firing was totally random).

- The SafeSync's foot does not have any way to ensure the solid contact in the camera's hot shoe. It just slides in. I don't recommend attaching any decent-sized flash unit (e.g. Pentax 360) to the SafeSync which is in turn attached to the camera.

- If you have basic electronic skills, you can make your own SafeSync. I made about 10 of them for various flash units (Sunpak 611, Metz 45-CT1, Sunpak 522). The total materials cost for 10 of them is about $30.

- If you want an inexpensive potato masher flash unit with low voltage (no SafeSync needed), get a Sunpak 555. With GN 140 (ft, 100 ISO), it is the most powerful among the Sunpak 5xx series. Its trigger voltages is around 6 - 7V. As a bonus, if you want a remote sensor (not needed but is nice to have), it uses the same modules as the ones for the Sunpak 4xxD (36DX, 30DX for Europe) series. The Metz 45 Digital units also have low trigger voltage, but they tend to be more costly.





Of course you can make any shoe-mount flash into handle-mount. You just need to find a handle. The handle in the photo below is recycled from a broken Sunpak 522.

Thanks for the info! The SafeSyncs aren't cheap though--like 50 plus bucks.

But I see some SunPak mashers on eBay that I might be able to nail for a decent price, so it might be worth it.

I have to find the link here that has the voltage listings, though. I already put in two lowball bids for now.