[Kaelyn84]

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Hi,
I already have a Vivitar 283(I know I can't use on my K10) I am going to buy a 285HV to use as my on camera flash and I would like to know what I need to buy, so that my 283 and the 285 fire at the same time? I would also like to have the freedom to use the 285 wireless off camera, what do I need to do that? Sorry, lots of questions.......



Kaelyn

[Mike Cash]

The simplest way to have the second flash fire at the same time is to use an optical slave.

To fire your flash off-camera you have a few options:

1.You can get a hotshoe-pc adapter and use pc cords to connect to the flash.

2. You can get a hotshoe-household adapter (and the corresponding adapter for the flash) and use plain old household electrical extension cords to connect.

3. You can get any of several different radio triggers. They consist of a small transmitter that goes onto your camera hotshoe and a receiver that triggers your flash. Prices for the models commonly known as "ebay triggers" or "poverty wizards" are somewhere around $30 for a single transmitter/receiver set. Prices for genuine Pocket Wizards are somewhere around $400 per set.....with there being very little in between those two prices.

(Here "pc" doesn't mean "personal computer". It refers to "pronto-compur", an old maker of shutters and related stuff. In the days before hotshoes were common their plugs/cables were a common industry standard. Some new cameras still have pc connections, but by and large it has gone the way of the buggy whip).

[ivoire]

i've been using the ebay triggers with a vivitar 285. they work great. you may get an occasional no-fire, but its rare in my experience.

[Clem Nichols]

Kaelyn:

A couple of quick points: The first thing you need to do is to check the trigger voltage of the 283. If your 285HV is like mine, it has a trigger voltage of about 4.5, which means it will work better with the 4-channel V2S Gadget Infinity radio triggers, but won't work with the Wein digital peanut optical trigger. On the other hand, if your 283 has a trigger voltage considerably higher (I have an old Vivitar 2200 with a trigger voltage of 150), then it should work with the Wein peanut, but may not work with the V2S system. (Apparently the 16-channel system does better with the high voltage models.) Keep in mind that if you purchase e-bay radio triggers the transmitter fits in your camera's hot shoe so you won't be able to use an on-camera strobe unless you can find some type of adapter which permits it. Remember also that your K10D does not have an outlet for a pc connection, so you would have to find an adapter with a "male" hotshoe fitting on the bottom and a "female" hotshoe fitting on the top that also had a port for a pc wire which could connect it to the radio transmitter. Again, I think the most important thing to do first is to check the trigger voltage of your 283. To do this, simply turn on the strobe, and connect one lead of a voltmeter to the pin on the bottom of the flash and the other lead to the metal inside the slide-on portion of the mount which makes contact with the metal on the lateral edge of your camera's hot shoe. I hope this helps.

CN

CN

[pentkon52]

I just picked up the Cactus V2s trigger and receivers. I was assured by the seller they would work on my 285HV, and they seem to do that.

One transmitter and two receivers from Hong Kong to Toronto was $60.00. Took about 8 days, even over Xmas.

Dave

[woof]

I have a 285HV and 283 and use both off camera in and out of the studio. Nothing I am going to say adds much to what has already been said other than that I use the various stuff suggested all the time without failures.

>> You can get any of several different radio triggers. They consist of a small transmitter that
>> goes onto your camera hotshoe and a receiver that triggers your flash. Prices for the models
>> commonly known as "ebay triggers" or "poverty wizards" are somewhere around $30 for a
>> single transmitter/receiver set. Prices for genuine Pocket Wizards are somewhere around
>> $400 per set.....with there being very little in between those two prices.

The V2 or V2S triggers work very reliably with the 285HV. Attach the 285HV to the receiver. Now get an optical slave for the 283. There are a variety of them out there, all cheap. I use the Sonia sensors (available on eBay) because they are modular and have a hot shoe with separate optical sensor attached. They are quite sensitive and do fine in broad daylight to reasonable distances. They also work very well at oblique angles... ie., they will often trigger even where they are 180 degrees out of the line of fire.

The shoe for the Sonias have a pc connection if you want to daisy chain other strobes. I have seen people more or less bungee two strobes together in a butterfly configuration and use the connector to fire the second one. Works well and throws a lot of light.

What I really like about the Sonia units is that the the sensor can be detached from the hot shoe and fits the end of your synch cord. In the studio I use the sensor on the shoe. In the field, I often let the sensor dangle from cord and attach the whole lot to a pole or something handy.

For something on the order of $55.00 or so shipped for the trigger. receiver and optical slave, you'll have everything you need and nice some flexibility too. On the other hand, you might consider asking the vendor of the trigger if you can purchase one trigger and two (2) receivers. I opted for the optical because for me this lends a certain amount more flexibility in certain situations... I suspect to that it's a little cheaper.

V2s Trigger and Receiver
Wireless Flash Trigger V2s for Vivitar 285HV DF-400MZ - eBay (item 170182315236 end time Jan-07-08 11:28:19 PST)

Sonia Optical Slave:
Sonia Optical Slave Flash Trigger/&Digital/Wireless - eBay (item 350010181429 end time Jan-03-08 12:30:10 PST)

woof

[Kaelyn84]

WOW! Everyone, Thanks so much for the great and VERY helpful info!!! I have the 285HV, one of these # Digital Slave Flash Sensor SF4 Ignores Preflash - eBay (item 120203683887 end time Jan-07-08 12:00:06 PST) and one of the sonia optical slaves coming! I can't wait to play


Thanks Again!
Kaelyn

[Entropy]

If you are using the 285HV as the "main/trigger" flash, you don't want a slave flash that ignores preflash - the 285HV does not fire a preflash.

The P-TTL preflash on the camera is more complex than the classic "white balance preflash + main flash" used by most digitals and won't work with a normal "preflash ignoring" slave.

You want the 285HV as the trigger/main flash and a normal "non-digital" slave trigger.

[pentagor]

One silly question: On ebay, there are a lot of 285HV flashes, but all for Canon/Nikon etc. Can I use it also on Pentax?

[Clem Nichols]

One silly question: On ebay, there are a lot of 285HV flashes, but all for Canon/Nikon etc. Can I use it also on Pentax?

Not a silly question at all, just a silly way to advertise. The 285HV is a non-dedicated flash which means that it can be used on any camera with a hot shoe. Even though this flash is not as sophisticated as the Pentax models, it is, nevertheless, a capable asset with 3 automatic modes as well as manual functions. One thing worth mentioning: don't purchase one of these from an e-bay seller. They charge the $89 price the same as B&H, Adorama, etc., and then add on a $20 shipping fee, whereas the aforementioned dealers charge only 5 or 6 dollars for shipping. The best price I've found is $84 at 17th St. Photo, but I don't know what their shipping charge is. Check it out.

CN

[pentagor]

Thanks mate! Since I'm from Slovenia, I know I'll have a hard time finding this flash. Can you recommend any other flash which can be used in manual mode on Pentax DSLR?

[Clem Nichols]

Thanks mate! Since I'm from Slovenia, I know I'll have a hard time finding this flash. Can you recommend any other flash which can be used in manual mode on Pentax DSLR?

As far as I know, most any flash with a manual mode and a trigger voltage of less than 10 or 12 volts can be used in the manual mode on a Pentax or any other camera with a hot shoe for that matter. From what I've seen, however, it's usually cheaper to go with a non-dedicated flash such as the Vivitar or some of the Sunpak models than to purchase a flash designed for a specific make/model of camera. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.

CN

[pentagor]

Yes, I agree with you, but I would still like someone to tell me, which are those models with trigger voltage below 30V (I think), that I could use. If I purchase this on ebay, I can not measure the voltage, so I would like to kow exact model, if someone is using such a flash.

[Mike Cash]

I have a couple of Pentax AF200T that I like. They have TTL (not P-TTL), two levels of auto thyristor, and four levels of manual (1/1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8). Only drawback is the lack of tilt/swivel. They're great off camera. Work fine on camera too if you can live without the bounce/swivel. Mine were around $20 each.

[Clem Nichols]

Yes, I agree with you, but I would still like someone to tell me, which are those models with trigger voltage below 30V (I think), that I could use. If I purchase this on ebay, I can not measure the voltage, so I would like to kow exact model, if someone is using such a flash.

Go here for the info you're seeking: Photo Strobe Trigger Voltages

DN