D200 with Sunpak 622 pro

[namaste1982]

I have a Sunpak 622 pro flash that came with a bunch of photography equipment that I bought on ebay a while back. My question is, can I use it with my Nikon D200 without damaging the camera?

 

[table1349]

This might help:
Photo Strobe Trigger Voltages

Maybe a Nikon user will pop in with info on the camera.

You could always use this:
Wein | Safe-Sync Hot Shoe to Hot Shoe (SSHSHS) | W990560 | B&H

 

[Garbz]

From what I've seen Nikons don't have a very critical restriction of ?was it 6V? that canon do. I have heard anecdotal evidence of D200s being fine up to about 24V. Don't ask me for the source, that was a long long time ago.

The damage is typically caused by sudden overheating due to the larger voltage, so if you do use it it may not be wise to fire quick successive bursts at high speed. But I'd do a bit more googling first. It does seem people are using the combination without issue.

 

[Dwig]

I have a Sunpak 622 pro flash ... can I use it with my Nikon D200 without damaging the camera?

Yes, but ...

The 622 series (there were 2 variants) was designed for modern cameras configured for "dedicated" flashes and electronic triggering, as opposed to purely mechanical contacts. With the proper dedicated foot on the remote sensor, it will behave like an SB-16 in terms of special Nikon dedicated function.

It will work fine provided you have the Sunpak foot with the proper Nikon dedication on the remote sensor or you use a PC cord instead of a hot shoe contact. Attempting to use it in the hot shoe of a Nikon when the sensor has another type of foot (e.g. Canon, Minolta, ...), other than the non-dedicated single contact foot, can confuse the circuits in either the camera, the flash, or both resulting in improper exposure and possibly a lockup camera until the flash is removed.

 

[namaste1982]

thank you all for your help. This may be a ridiculous question, but is a pc cord the same as a sync cord? I was planning on using the sync cord that came with the flash.

 

[Mike_E]

Yes. You might look into getting a set of cactus triggers from e-bay. They work fine (if you mod them- do a search- they have good distance and reliability) and since you won't be getting TTL with this Sunpak anyway you might as well get away from having a flash on a leash.


BTW the hotshoe max V on a Nikon is 250V. I'm not sure about the PC circuitry but I suspect it's the same. I have a D200 that has been used with some Old Metzs through the PC with no ill effects.

 

[JerryPH]

If you are not using the flash inserted into your camera's hotshoe, but are using a sync cord and the flash off camera, you are not in any danger of frying your camera.

Using that flash off camera, if it has manual settings, is an excellent way to use it too. I love off camera flash and use them all like that, except maybe my SB-800 which I use as a commander because I love that neat little trick that lets me sync any off camera flash to any shutter speed.

 

[Dwig]

... is a pc cord the same as a sync cord...

Yes, no, and maybe... . A PC cord is a sync cord, but a sync cord is not necessarily a PC cord.

A PC cord (PC for Prontor/Compur, two shutter manufacturers) is a specific type of sync cord that has two contacts and uses a PC type connector on the camera end. It is pluged into a PC socket on the body or into the PC contact on a hot shoe adapter. Either way, it only carriers the "fire" signal to trip the flash; it doesn't carry any of the other communication data lines common to modern "dedicated" flash units.

 

[Garbz]

If you are not using the flash inserted into your camera's hotshoe, but are using a sync cord and the flash off camera, you are not in any danger of frying your camera.

That's not true. The PC sync socket is essentially the centre (which can have the high voltage) pin and the ground in a cable. On the camera it would be a similar of not identical circuit since all the camera does is short the two with a FET.

But you can get the safe stobe thingamajigs for PC Sync cords too.

Regardless I agree with Mike_E, there's no real reason to use PC sync cords these days outside of a studio (and more often even inside the studio). Cheap wireless triggers cost as much as a good cable.