Question about hotshoe sync and flash

GerryDavid

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I just took my first lighting techniques photography class and it seems I need a hand held flash and since I have the canon rebel 2000, it doesnt have the port to plug a flash into, so I need to get the adapter for the hotshoe so I can plug it in there.

So here are my 2 questions:

1. does any hot shoe sync work on any camera with a hot shoe? Todays slr's have extra things on the hotshoe so the camera can talk to the flash, so im wondering if I would need a canon sync or if I could use a generic one off of ebay.

2. also the teacher recommended the vivitar 283 or 285, but again with the slr's having the extra ports on the top of the camera, will this old flash still work on my camera?

Thanks for any answers. :0)
 
Any will work, but you won't get your fancy TTL features.

Same deal with the flash. Those are my favorite flashes (I have 2 285s), but they do not work with your TTL features.

On the other hand, either Vivitar flash would be significantly cheaper than a Canon brand flash with the same guide number. And they do have their own built in auto features. They are very good flashes.

So if you really want TTL then go with Canon dedicated gear. If you want to save some money, go with the other stuff.
 
Question 1: What you're looking for is a "hot shoe to PC cord adapter". They'll run about $10 and usually have only two contacts. They can be used with most any hot shoe. You just don't get any of the TTL features.

Some of the Sunpak units have a "dedicated sensor", models 544, 555, 611, 622. These are handle mount flash units. You can get the dedicated sensor which plugs into the hot shoe, then connects to the flash and enables all your TTL features. The flash is about $190 and the dedicated sensor runs another $80. The Sunpaks are work horses and can be used in auto, dedicated TTL or manual modes. They're great if you're doing event and wedding photography.

Check out the Porters catalog. www.porters.com
 
Well this is for class so cheaper is better, since I dont want to pay it out in the first place. :0) But what ever I get, itll be nice to have it later on as well, so thats the benefit of it.

So what are the ttl benefits that im loosing by getting a non canon flash and non canon hot shoe adapter? I have to dial in the info to the flash manually instead of the camera talking to the flash and doing it for me? Or is there more?

Thanks for the advice everyone. :0) Im going to check pawn shops tomorrow to see what I can get. I read on one ebay page that the connector from the flash to the camera can break easily? Is there anything else I should look out for?
 
GerryDavid said:
So what are the ttl benefits that im loosing by getting a non canon flash and non canon hot shoe adapter? I have to dial in the info to the flash manually instead of the camera talking to the flash and doing it for me?

Exactly, you are losing the auto TTL features (which may suck anyway on a Rebel :wink: ) and you are forced to learn it yourself, which is a good thing. The basics of electric flash lighting aren't that difficult; the nuances will take years to master :D once again, that's a good thing.
 
the older vivitar flashes have a really high trigger voltage(around 900volts i think) and can mess up a newer camera. my N65's autofocus died after takign one shot with an old vivitar 283. id make sure you get a new one not used or at least know how old it is, then you know its safe to use.
 
Skyeg said:
the older vivitar flashes have a really high trigger voltage(around 900volts i think) and can mess up a newer camera. my N65's autofocus died after takign one shot with an old vivitar 283. id make sure you get a new one not used or at least know how old it is, then you know its safe to use.

Just another example of the cheap crap they are pushing on us these days. I've used a Vivitar 285 HV (stands for high voltage!) on dozens of cameras built before 1990 with no problems.
 

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