How to use this Flash from the 80's.

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Archive 2007 · How to use this Flash from the 80's.

golden1245
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p.1 #1 · How to use this Flash from the 80's.

My girlfriends dad handed me this old handheld flash of his. It's pretty powerful, seems more powerful than my 580ex, and uses only 4 AA batteries. He got it in the mid 1980's. It's full manual, but I've kinda got everything figured out, exposure isn't too hard but it doesn't have AF assist sadly haha.

My question is does anyone know anything about this brand? This model is called the "Popular 3800" and what is the difference between a flash like this and a shoe mounted one? The bracket allows me to mount it about 5 inches away from the camera...I dunno if that makes a difference in pictures because i haven't been able to fully test it yet.

Feb 13, 2007 at 06:22 AM

Josh Evilsizor
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p.1 #2 · How to use this Flash from the 80's.

you might want to do some research to make sure that flash won't damage your camera before you start using it.....

Feb 13, 2007 at 05:27 PM

TJ Asher
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p.1 #3 · How to use this Flash from the 80's.

Like Josh says, the sync voltage on some of those older flash units is 300 volts. That's enough to fry the circuits of modern DSLRs whose sync voltage is only around 5 volts.

Better check to make sure.

Feb 13, 2007 at 07:25 PM

golden1245
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p.1 #4 · How to use this Flash from the 80's.

dang, i can't find any info at all regarding this flash. Hmm, in that case, I probably should just give it back. I've used for about 100 shots with no problem, but i don't want anything to happen to slowly break on my camera because of it. thanks for the help guys

Feb 14, 2007 at 12:21 AM

mbellot
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p.1 #5 · How to use this Flash from the 80's.

Before you give it back why not check first...

Follow the (pretty simple) directions on this page to figure out the real trigger voltage.

You can also look for a "safe sync" (Wein) that will isolate your camera from the hgh voltage if its there.

Feb 14, 2007 at 01:52 AM


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