 Steve Mason |
External flash question Just got my first dSLR (Pentax K100D Super) after several years of p&s cameras, and I can't wait to use it! My question is this - I already have an external hot shoe flash (Kalimar 175A) from my days shooting Minolta 35mm SLRs. It's a very simple flash, and I don't shoot much indoors, but when I do, I'd love to be able to use this flash. Is there any way to find out if the camera and flash are compatible, and will work without damaging each other? I don't have the manual for the flash, and the Pentax manual only talks about using Pentax flashes (of course). The guys at the camera store let me hook up the flash to the demo K100D Super, and the camera fired the flash just fine when taking pictures, so obviously the right connections are being made. But I'm concerned about any ill effects over time. Or am I just being paranoid? Does anyone have any recommendations or know of any resources I could check? Thanks, and Happy New Year! steve
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Alan N. Marcus |
Hi Steve, When the world was young, photographers used “bottled sunlight”, this was flash power. You could tell the photographers by the holes in their coat. Next was the flash bulb. The flash bulb often failed because the batteries in the flash gun were sometimes weak. To guarantee a flash, a high voltage circuit called a “BC” (battery compactor) pack was often used. These circuits put a strain on the shutter’s electrical contacts and sometimes pitted and sometimes burned them. The first electronic flash used a super high voltage battery. I once had a line drive hit the battery pack of a “Little Giant” electronic flash. It made a noise like a shotgun and burst into flames. All these anxieties are gone with the wind. Nowadays you can take comfort in the fact that a modern electronic flash uses a low amperage trigger circuit. Thus the strains on the shutter contacts are nonexistent. Happy New Year! Alan Marcus (marginal technical gobbledygook)
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Steve Mason |
Thanks, Alan. I appreciate the explanation. My flash is powered by 4 AA batteries, so it shouldn't put that much strain on the contacts. Happy New Year!
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