Need help finding a flash

[Sebastian]

Hi all.

A buddy of mine is looking for a flash for his Sony compact digital. I was thinking Vivitar 283/284, but I don't know if those have auto thyristors or if they are sync voltage safe to use on modern cameras. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[another view]

Maybe you're thinking a 283 or a 285? Believe it or not after only 20+ years on the market, they're not shown on Vivitar's website anymore. B&H and Calumet don't have them anymore either, but they're all over Ebay. The "newest" ones I understand were made in China and I think they were 6v.

They're big flashes - too big for a compact? I've used my SB28 with the Coolpix 5000 and it works but it's awkward to hang on to. The SB28 might be a little smaller than the 283/285 and maybe it's a consideration being under $100 used on ebay (the non-DX SB28, anyway). They haven't been made since about '02 which is when Nikon came out with that wonderful flash system. I know these are 6v. Really, any fairly new Nikon or Canon flash (I'm assuming their flashes are 6v) should be a good choice. I'm sure there's a good Sunpak or other Vivitar like the 5600 out there too. With any of these flashes being dedicated, he will probably only have either Manual or Auto to use but that's probably all that the camera is set up for anyway - not TTL. Does Sony have anything or is he looking for something more powerful than what they have?

[Sebastian]

Thanks Madman.

None of the Canon flashes have Thyristors, so I am trying to find him a cheap Vivitar to mess with. I just really want it to have a tilt/swivel head.

I'll check ebay.