MX Flash Sync only on second port? Why?

PNTXFTW12 · 06-27-2010, 01:46 PM

So my Dad found an old Hanimex TX-60 manual flash. I popped it on my MX and shot a role of cheap stuff just guessing exposure, since i have NO idea how to set the thing properly.

I developed the role, and all the pictures were severely underexposed, but i could still recover some image.

I had taken one shot of myself in my washroom mirror for technical purposes, and what do you know...the flash isn't even lit up (instead it's just giving off a slight glow like it does right after it fires).

I got my camera, opened the back door and put my eye where the film would be, i fired a shot up against a wall at 1/60th...i should have seen a bright circle for the split second the shutter opened, but instead i just saw darkness.

After fiddling around with the camera and flash for a bit, i plugged the unit into the second, lower port, and tried my little experiment again. Opened opened the back door and put my eye behind the shutter...fired a shot at 1/60th and BAM a bright white light pierced through the lens into my eye.

A tried a few more times trying the first flash port and i can confirm that only the second port is actually syncing the flash to the shutter. I know now to only use the second port but still...why is the first port pre-maturely firing the flash?

Someone explain?

Ole · 06-27-2010, 02:13 PM

An electronic flash must be connected to the contact marked "X", which is wired so that it will fire the flash in the right moment for an electronic flash (it must fire at the instant the shutter is fully opened). The other contact, marked "FP", is for slow burning bulbs, which need to be triggered earlier (when the shutter just starts to open). I don't think such bulbs even exist anymore. Those "FP" bulbs could be used at all shutter speeds all the way up to 1/1000s on an MX.

PNTXFTW12 · 06-27-2010, 02:57 PM

Ahh, i didn't even notice those markings, darnit!
Thanks so much for that clarification

Ratmagiclady · 06-28-2010, 11:11 AM

Originally posted by Ole

An electronic flash must be connected to the contact marked "X", which is wired so that it will fire the flash in the right moment for an electronic flash (it must fire at the instant the shutter is fully opened). The other contact, marked "FP", is for slow burning bulbs, which need to be triggered earlier (when the shutter just starts to open). I don't think such bulbs even exist anymore. Those "FP" bulbs could be used at all shutter speeds all the way up to 1/1000s on an MX.

Not commonly, they don't exist anymore, at least. As one of the youngest people in the country who remembers the milkman and not-computers, what those are like (discovered along with an old Baby Graphic in someone's folks' closet) is a kind of treasured memory.

06-27-2010, 01:46 PM	#1
PNTXFTW12 Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Vaughan, Ontario Photos: Gallery Posts: 269	MX Flash Sync only on second port? Why? So my Dad found an old Hanimex TX-60 manual flash. I popped it on my MX and shot a role of cheap stuff just guessing exposure, since i have NO idea how to set the thing properly. I developed the role, and all the pictures were severely underexposed, but i could still recover some image. I had taken one shot of myself in my washroom mirror for technical purposes, and what do you know...the flash isn't even lit up (instead it's just giving off a slight glow like it does right after it fires). I got my camera, opened the back door and put my eye where the film would be, i fired a shot up against a wall at 1/60th...i should have seen a bright circle for the split second the shutter opened, but instead i just saw darkness. After fiddling around with the camera and flash for a bit, i plugged the unit into the second, lower port, and tried my little experiment again. Opened opened the back door and put my eye behind the shutter...fired a shot at 1/60th and BAM a bright white light pierced through the lens into my eye. A tried a few more times trying the first flash port and i can confirm that only the second port is actually syncing the flash to the shutter. I know now to only use the second port but still...why is the first port pre-maturely firing the flash? Someone explain?

06-27-2010, 02:13 PM	#2
Ole Administrator Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Copenhagen, Denmark Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 4,408	An electronic flash must be connected to the contact marked "X", which is wired so that it will fire the flash in the right moment for an electronic flash (it must fire at the instant the shutter is fully opened). The other contact, marked "FP", is for slow burning bulbs, which need to be triggered earlier (when the shutter just starts to open). I don't think such bulbs even exist anymore. Those "FP" bulbs could be used at all shutter speeds all the way up to 1/1000s on an MX. Last edited by Ole; 06-27-2010 at 02:22 PM.

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06-27-2010, 02:57 PM	#3
PNTXFTW12 Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Vaughan, Ontario Photos: Gallery Posts: 269 Original Poster	Ahh, i didn't even notice those markings, darnit! Thanks so much for that clarification

06-28-2010, 11:11 AM	#4
Ratmagiclady Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: GA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 13,563	Originally posted by Ole An electronic flash must be connected to the contact marked "X", which is wired so that it will fire the flash in the right moment for an electronic flash (it must fire at the instant the shutter is fully opened). The other contact, marked "FP", is for slow burning bulbs, which need to be triggered earlier (when the shutter just starts to open). I don't think such bulbs even exist anymore. Those "FP" bulbs could be used at all shutter speeds all the way up to 1/1000s on an MX. Not commonly, they don't exist anymore, at least. As one of the youngest people in the country who remembers the milkman and not-computers, what those are like (discovered along with an old Baby Graphic in someone's folks' closet) is a kind of treasured memory.