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Can I use my Vivitar 285 (made in Japan-1983) on my Pentax K20D or my K100D?

Monday Jul 20, 2009

There are several reasons why I am asking this question. 1. I don’t believe in throwing away good equipment just because it is old. 2. I have add-ons for this flash that have been handy over the years. 3. I don’t want to ruin new equipment by using incompatible items. Yes, it fits the camera and it flashes but if it causes more harm than good, then it is time to discard it. 4. Photography is a hobby so throwing money for the sake of throwing money has never been atractive to me.

Why would you want to?

Use a modern flash and take advantage of the cameras exposure system to accurately control the flash using P-TTL.

There has been some concern that high trigger voltage for older flash units may damage the camera. But even if it is safe it will not be as good as a modern unit.

4 Comments »

shawnzmojo102:

If you own all that stuff, why don’t you just see if it fits?
References :

July 21st, 2009 | 3:01 am
proshooter:

Why would you want to?

Use a modern flash and take advantage of the cameras exposure system to accurately control the flash using P-TTL.

There has been some concern that high trigger voltage for older flash units may damage the camera. But even if it is safe it will not be as good as a modern unit.
References :
http://www.aviewfinderdarkly.com

July 21st, 2009 | 3:21 am
robert.l.sanchez@sbcglobal.net:

Buy a hot shoe current limiter to put in between them. That old unit will work, but it’s current draw can hurt the cameras electronics. Found out the hard way. Probably cost you around 40-50 bucks
References :

July 21st, 2009 | 3:38 am
Sentimental Treasures Photo:

I guess they don’t understand things called trigger voltages and how much power the old strobes have campared to new ones

Below is a link to the site that list the voltages
References :
http://www.botzilla.com/photo/strobeVolts.html

July 21st, 2009 | 4:20 am
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