[Russell W. Barnes]

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I don't know what powers them, but Vivitar made 352 and 3900 handle-mount flashes. They also made a 365 that looks like a 285 mounted to a handle, which does use a battery pack of some sort.

It was the 365 I had - just looked it up. I think I fancied myself as O. Winston Link and shudder to think what a loco driver would think had I actually fired that thing trackside!

[tonyzoc]

Was that Vivitar molded handle the one that took a cable release as well?
I remember someone made a grip with a hot shoe and a pass-through for a cable release so you could shoot from the grip...
I tried one once and it completely ruined the balance of the camera, but not everyone used a Super Program at the time...

-Eric

I still have a Vivitar bracket. The grip is nicely moulded and has a hole to feed the cable release through. The flash mount was a cold shoe but it swiveled left and right. The bracket has two type of camera bases that snapped into it, one long for 35mm and square for medium format. I've never found a better bracket system yet. Here is the bracket... https://www.ebay.com/itm/274475851259

I mounted either a 285 or 283 (GN120 in feet at ASA100) and I built a somewhat heavy lead-acid battery pack that got me up to 800 full power flashes, so it lasted all day.

[Hepcat]

Nice looking F2, is the Ai lens correct for the F2?

I just happen to have this for an early AI f/1.4 I have for sale.

[LesDMess]

My first Nikon F2A. I used to have a Nikon FTN but sold it many years ago. I've always admired the F2 and now it easier to find at a better price. I paid $142 for this one. The camera battery socket had a broken negative terminal so I epoxyed it back into position and it's working fine now.

As ground breaking as the original F was, the Nikon F2 made a few key updates not the least of which is the film back and MLU functionality.

[TwoUptons]

I still have a Vivitar bracket. The grip is nicely moulded and has a hole to feed the cable release through. The flash mount was a cold shoe but it swiveled left and right. The bracket has two type of camera bases that snapped into it, one long for 35mm and square for medium format. I've never found a better bracket system yet. Here is the bracket... Vivitar 285 Flash with PG-1 Grip Handle Bracket with Cable Release | eBay

I mounted either a 285 or 283 (GN120 in feet at ASA100) and I built a somewhat heavy lead-acid battery pack that got me up to 800 full power flashes, so it lasted all day.

I had the Quantum Battery back then that I used with my AF200 and AF280 flashes on-camera. Between that and a Stroboframe bracket and a TTL cord, I looked totally professional

For the big flash, I never really needed the extra shots. I wonder why... I guess most of the event work I was doing, where I needed lots of shots, was inside smaller spaces, where I didn't need the range...

I sold the Quantum when the non-rechargeable lithium batteries came out. I could get them at a serious discount, and two packs of spares was vastly lighter than lugging an external battery everywhere...

-Eric

[Hepcat]

I still have a Vivitar bracket. The grip is nicely moulded and has a hole to feed the cable release through. The flash mount was a cold shoe but it swiveled left and right. The bracket has two type of camera bases that snapped into it, one long for 35mm and square for medium format. I've never found a better bracket system yet. Here is the bracket... Vivitar 285 Flash with PG-1 Grip Handle Bracket with Cable Release | eBay

I mounted either a 285 or 283 (GN120 in feet at ASA100) and I built a somewhat heavy lead-acid battery pack that got me up to 800 full power flashes, so it lasted all day.

I've used Canon 430s and 580s over the years... and now I have a Nikon SB800, but in the final analysis none of them light or perform any better than the old Vivitar or Sunpak thyristor flashes.

I still use Vivitar 285s and Sunpak 544s as my flashes of choice for portable (as opposed to studio use where I still use Norman corded lights) flash. They are cheaper than dirt and extraordinarily flexible and useful. And I mount the 285s on Vivitar brackets as well. I still use a Quantum battery pack with both the Vivitars and Sunpaks. I have both the square and 35mm brackets for the Vivitar grips as well. And I agree they're the best brackets I've ever used.

[Lord Lucan]

I still have a Vivitar bracket. .... The flash mount was a cold shoe but it swiveled left and right. ....... Vivitar 285 Flash with PG-1 Grip Handle Bracket with Cable Release | eBay... I mounted either a 285 or 283

Looking at the picture in the link, it looks like the shoe at the top of the handle mount is plain metal. Surely that shorts all the flash gun contacts together? Is that OK? I would have thought that it would be triggering the flash every time it reached sufficient charge, out of control, assuming it did not damage the electronics. Or is there a way of isolating the contacts on the foot of the 283?

I have a similar metal cold shoe on the top of the grip of my 6x7. Using a AF280T unit, I have always put an intermediate adaptor in there which has a sync cord to the camera PC socket.

[tonyzoc]

I had the Quantum Battery back then that I used with my AF200 and AF280 flashes on-camera. Between that and a Stroboframe bracket and a TTL cord, I looked totally professional

For the big flash, I never really needed the extra shots. I wonder why... I guess most of the event work I was doing, where I needed lots of shots, was inside smaller spaces, where I didn't need the range...

I sold the Quantum when the non-rechargeable lithium batteries came out. I could get them at a serious discount, and two packs of spares was vastly lighter than lugging an external battery everywhere...

-Eric

I made my own battery. Originally I bought a rechargeable battery pack for the 283/285...I think in Shutterbug Ads ( back when it was a yellow newspaper). I might have paid $100-$125 for it. It was constructed with 3 D cell sized Lead Acid batteries joined in series (can't remember to voltage..6v I think) inside of a zippered pouch. It had a stereo jack that connected to a coiled wire connected to a wooded block shaped like the 283 battery block. That was it. It was ok and I would get 200 or so full power flashes off it. When the batteries started to go, I looked into replacing it. I found a 6v lead acid battery with 5x the Ah...it was bigger...maybe 6x3x2 in...and was heavy. It put it in an old plate film carrier I could that had a shoulder strap. It was a monster but it worked great and I never had to worry about flash (shooting weddings). I think the battery was $12 back in the early 80s.



---------- Post added 08-31-20 at 07:03 AM ----------

Looking at the picture in the link, it looks like the shoe at the top of the handle mount is plain metal. Surely that shorts all the flash gun contacts together? Is that OK? I would have thought that it would be triggering the flash every time it reached sufficient charge, out of control, assuming it did not damage the electronics. Or is there a way of isolating the contacts on the foot of the 283?

I have a similar metal cold shoe on the top of the grip of my 6x7. Using a AF280T unit, I have always put an intermediate adaptor in there which has a sync cord to the camera PC socket.

I think in the case of the 283/285, when the PC lead was plugged in it disengaged the hot shoe. Even without the PC connector it would only discharge one and do no damage...but they are both Vivitar. For non-Vivitar I wouldn't try it unless I knew it was ok. With a modem flash I would use a hotshoe to flash cable to maintain dedicated features.

[stevebrot]

I had the Quantum Battery back then that I used with my AF200 and AF280 flashes on-camera. Between that and a Stroboframe bracket and a TTL cord, I looked totally professional

Gotta ask...What is the "Quantum Battery"?


Steve

[stevebrot]

I think in the case of the 283/285, when the PC lead was plugged in it disengaged the hot shoe.

Yes, this is true for those models and also for the other Vivitar models I own that support both PC and hot shoes sync.

Even without the PC connector it would only discharge one and do no damage...

After frying a Yonguo speedlight on a shared circuit with my 283 on removal, I now make it my practice to manually discharge the 283 before removing and to use it with some form of isolation where possible. I know the use case is different than a metal cold shoe, but might still be pertinent.


Steve

[tonyzoc]

Gotta ask...What is the "Quantum Battery"?


Steve

Just a brand of external battery pack. If you're shooting allot of flash...like a wedding, AA batteries don't cut it. You may need up to 200-300 flashes.

[WPRESTO]

Just a brand of external battery pack. If you're shooting allot of flash...like a wedding, AA batteries don't cut it. You may need up to 200-300 flashes.

And also, recycling can be much faster, Even with a full pop, the Sunpak 510v battery will recharge either a 444 or a 522 potato masher in less than a second through 100~150 flashes and still have power for more.

[LesDMess]

And also, recycling can be much faster, Even with a full pop, the Sunpak 510v battery will recharge either a 444 or a 522 potato masher in less than a second through 100~150 flashes and still have power for more.

Seems the perfect application for supercapacitors and/or lithium batteries . . .

[stevebrot]

Just a brand of external battery pack. If you're shooting allot of flash...like a wedding, AA batteries don't cut it. You may need up to 200-300 flashes.

OK...that I sort of remember from the time. What I was unaware of it could be used with the Pentax AF280T as related by @TwoUptons . Was there some sort of adapter? The AF280T I own is battery only.


Steve

[tonyzoc]

OK...that I sort of remember from the time. What I was unaware of it could be used with the Pentax AF280T as related by @TwoUptons . Was there some sort of adapter? The AF280T I own is battery only.


Steve

I don't think the 280T has a power port for a cable, unless they made a power block that fit into the battery chamber...I doubt it though considering the flimsy door on the 280T. The 400T can use a quantum I think...I don't have one but I see quantum bundled with in on ebay