Can I use this flash?

[tbob]

I have a Vivitar 283 flash that I used with my 35mm equipment. Can I use this on my E510?

I see where I can manually set for external flash, but it seems as if I read somewhere that an analog flash could damage a digital camera.

Thanks.

[Greg McCary]

If it is an old flash unit I don't think I would risk it. It depends on what voltage the flash uses.

[tbob]

How would I find the voltage? Do you mean the voltage it uses when triggered, or the amoutn expended when the flash goes off?

[Greg McCary]

I guess you could put a meter on the bottom of the flash and fire it, but some of the older Vivitar 283's used high voltage that would fry the 510's hot shoe. Google the specs on the 283 and you will see.

[xwingkiller]

i found out a pretty good way to tell if your 283 is going to be good to go on your dslr.
if you look on the bottom of the flash, down by the shoe mount, there will be the name of the country it was made in. if it says Japan, do not sync it to your camera. if it says, china or korea, it "should" be ok. this is just from user information found online. i guess the only way to know 100% for sure would be to stick a meter to it and find what it's putting out there.
ive got two 283's that are made in china, and the guy i bought them from said they were fine to use with digital. i havent tried it yet though because i trigger both of them with optical slave triggers.

[Jaedon]

I use both a 283 and a 285 HV Vivitar flash on my E500 and my E510. Never had an issue with either of them synching ... never had any voltage issues, never had a bad exposure (except for me getting the settings wrong).

[Jenn_B]

If you're concerned about the trigger voltage of an older flash, you can use a Wein Safe-Sync to reduce the voltage to <6v.

http://www.weinproducts.com/safesyncs.htm

It shouldn't be an issue with flashes made after about 1990.

[tbob]

If you're concerned about the trigger voltage of an older flash, you can use a Wein Safe-Sync to reduce the voltage to <6v.

http://www.weinproducts.com/safesyncs.htm

It shouldn't be an issue with flashes made after about 1990.

I bought one of the Safe-Synchs from Adorama. It arrived looking like the package ahd been previously opened. When I attached it to my E510, then attached my Vivitar 283, set the camera to Manual and adjusted shutter speed, F stop and ISO to match the flash. I shot and nothing happened. Using a PC cord, I attached the flash to the PC socket on the Safe-Synch. Still nothing. I could press the TEST button on the Safe-Synch and get it to fire.

So, the Safe-Synch is on its way back to Adorama. In retrospect, I am wondering if it is a faulty Safe-Synch or it just doesn't work with the E510.

A previous poster on this thread commented that he uses a 283 on his camera with no problems, but I am a chicken to try it and fry a circuit. My Vivitar is pre-1990 and was made in Japan, so I suspect it has the higher voltage mentioned by another poster.

Any thoughts?

[xwingkiller]

if it says it's made in japan....i would not try to sync it directly to your camera without the safe sync.

[tbob]

Are there any other products besides the Safe-Synch that would do the same thing? In reading reviews of the Safe-Synch, there seems to be quality problems. I wonder if I got a bad unit. Trouble is, I don't want to keep paying for shipping back and forth to Adorama until I get one that works.

When I mounted the 282 to the Safe-Synch, it was quite wobbly and insecure.

[tbob]

Are there any other products besides the Safe-Synch that would do the same thing? In reading reviews of the Safe-Synch, there seems to be quality problems. I wonder if I got a bad unit. Trouble is, I don't want to keep paying for shipping back and forth to Adorama until I get one that works.

When I mounted the 283 to the Safe-Synch, it was quite wobbly and insecure.

[xwingkiller]

i never looked into those things before. they really go for about $50?

i see the 283's for sale all the time on craigslist for about $25 to $40. i got the two i have, plus optical slave triggers for both, for a total of $50.
i just checked ebay and its about the same.

if i were you, i would get a refund on the safe-sync. then i would get an optical slave trigger for the japanese 283 you have now, and buy a second 283 that is safe to use on camera/cable.

[tbob]

Good idea! I didn't know Vivitar was still making the 283s.