Dilema: Nikon D70s+Pheonix d92-bzs External Flash

[cheechwood]

I was given this external flash (refer to thread title) a while back and after spending about an hour with it when I first received it I gave up even trying to get it to work. Keep in mind, I don't have the manual to the flash either.

Recently, my interest was sparked after trying to shoot one of the local community college's volley ball games and having to sacrifice a lower iso and a lower aperture for better lighting.

I've spent some time with it again just fiddelling around with it and had some luck but have come far from perfect. It seems if I use above an f10 aperture I receive an error on my camera. It also seems very inconsistent with the exposure I get from it. If I let the external flash sit long enough while "on," it seems to totally fry my pictures. As if the flash unit is charging and blowing a whole charge on one flash...

After doing some research, I figured out the function of a couple of settings on the flash. Their's a switch that says "N, S1, S2." I now know that s1 and s2 are for single and double internal flash syncing but am still lost as to what "N" means. But can anyone tell me why it's giving me an error on my camera?

P.S. Sorry if I'm missing any vital information needed for an answer. I'll be happy to give any more information needed.

 

[Mike_E]

Hi Cheech, welcome to the forum.

Can you post some photos of the flash? Front and back so someone might recognize it?

 

[sabbath999]

One thing to keep in mind. A lot of older flashes send too much voltage through the hot shoes for DSLR's to handle, and after some use the hot shoe (or even the brain of the DLSR) burns out.

Personally, I wouldn't stick an old flash onto my DLSR without something like a Wein Safe-Sync (clicky) on it to reduce the voltage.

 

[cheechwood]

Here's the flash online. http://item.express.ebay.com/Consum...QptdiZ436QQddiZ945QQadiZ1349QQcmdZExpressItem

I've seen more then once that this flash is "compatible" with a Nikon D70s but I don't know what they mean by compatible.

 

[SpeedTrap]

If you look at the pictures on e-bay, they do not show that flash on a digital camera, that is because it is not meant for it.

If you continue to use it, you could damage your camera.

 

[cheechwood]

No offense at all but could you show me where you're getting that information from? Because almost every single reference to this flash says it compatible with DSLR's including a Nikon D70s. God, I hope you're wrong...

 

[jwkwd]

Everything mentioned about the flash, is from the the manufacturer. It is a low cost, off brand flash that is more than likely going to screw up your camera, but hey, if you want to take a chance, go ahead and let us know how it works.

 

[Mike_E]

Digital cameras are generally more finicky about flash trigger voltage than film cameras. I say generally because every Nikon DSLR that I know about has a tolerance of up to 250V (always check for yourself when it involves your camera- 2 or 4 or more different sources). Anyone shooting DSLRs other than Nikon (Nikonians should always check) should treat older flashes like Nuclear Waste until they have checked, and I would physically check by charging the flash and measuring across the center contact.

The flash voltage for most flashes can be found here...

http://www.cs.mtu.edu/~shene/DigiCam/User-Guide/FZ-10/Ext-Flash/trigger-voltage.html

For a more complete description of flashes in general try here...

http://www.chem.helsinki.fi/~toomas/photo/flash-faq.html

Cheechwood, I didn't see your flash model listed so I would measure it as well but you should be OK.

 

[cheechwood]

Thank you all for responding like you all have. If I did happen to damage my camera, could it be repaired at a camera repair shop and if so, does anyone know a price range?

 

[Mike_E]

It would be far more than a cheap multi-meter to test the flash with.

You are unlikely to hurt a Nikon with flash trigger voltages, all I'm saying is to check first. Have you called the flash's maker to ask what the trigger V is?

Breaking News: I just noticed this in the description on e-bay- "[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] X-Synch Voltage : ‹ Or = 6V"

So, you should be good to go.

happy flashing.
[/FONT]

 

[Freddie]

Is that POS flash really worth maybe ruining your camera body??? That flash is ment to operated in a slave mode. You could have bought an SB24 flash that will work in auto or manual mode with your body for what you spent on that. JMHO, anyway.

 

[cheechwood]

lol I'm an idiot... check this out. Um, wow. I diagnosed the problem while taking the picture of the flash unit itself. While taking a picture, I realized that my depth of field was not right at all for f11 and pressed my aperture review button and didn't hear the right sound. Some how, my lens had not been connected right.

In my five years since I started shooting... I'm never scared my self like this. The flash unit works fine and thanks to everyone who replied. I really do appreciate it.

P.S. I didn't buy it as it says in the original post. It was a gift. If I was to buy any flash it would either be an sb600 or sb800 which I might invest in soon.