Please Help/Advice regarding Flash

[jazzzzz]

Hi All,
Has anyone used/owned or Know about Starblitz flash,i am trying to find out if this Flash ,..Starblitz 3600-btz.... and the... Starblitz 300-DFNi.... Flash can be used on my FZ20, should i be worried about the voltage output........Any info will be much Appreciated.

Thanks & Best Regards

[OlyFlyer]

I just fixed three quick diy electronic projects to be able to use my old T32 (low voltage) and a Metz (high voltage) flashes with my E500. They work fine together with my E500. If you are interested I will post the project details tomorrow. I know my T32 is safe to use on top of my camera and I know the Metz is less safe (read: very risky) since it has some 250V trigger voltage.

Anyway, I would not connect any old flash to my E500 without checking the trigger voltage. You may fry your camera and bust the warranty if you have one.

[jazzzzz]

Originally Posted by OlyFlyer I just fixed three quick diy electronic projects to be able to use my old T32 (low voltage) and a Metz (high voltage) flashes with my E500. They work fine together with my E500. If you are interested I will post the project details tomorrow. I know my T32 is safe to use on top of my camera and I know the Metz is less safe (read: very risky) since it has some 250V trigger voltage. Anyway, I would not connect any old flash to my E500 without checking the trigger voltage. You may fry your camera and bust the warranty if you have one.

Thanks For the Reply,do you know where i can check the voltage off the Starblitz 300-DFNi & Starblitz 3600-btz.

Regards

[OlyFlyer]

Remember, you do everything at your own risk, if you make a mistake you may demage your camera or you may get an electric shock. Normally this voltage (actually the current) is not high enough to kill, but if you have a heart condition I have no idea what can happen to you since I am not a doctor. However it is, you may drop whatever you are holding. Even if nothing serious happens, I promise you it is not a nice feeling, and that I say from experience.

To start with, check the flash manual if you have any. If not, then you need to measure.

You need a voltmeter that can handle about 600V if you have no idea at all about your flash. On older flashes, normally there are only two contacts. On the side of the X-shoe there is one, usually the GND or negative as some people call it, and the second contact is in the center of the X-shoe, which normally is the plus. Turn on the flash and let it charge fully. Measure the voltage on the two contacts I described, even if the flash has more than those two. The voltage you measured is your trigger voltage.

If the flash has more than those two contacts, I would cover the others before attaching to the camera or would use an adapter. I would only connect a flash directly to the camera if I was absolutly 100% that it would never do any harm to the camera. My T32 is an Olympus flash, I measured the voltage to be around 12V which is OK. The Metz 30BCT4 has high voltage trigger (160V not 250V as I stated before) so I would never connect that directly to any new camera. Maybe it would go maybe it would not, too expensive and risky test. That is one reason why I built these two triggering devices. Plus the fact that I don't want to have a lot of wires around me when I take pictures with two flashes.

Good luck, let me know if you need more help.

I include two pics to show how it looks using two flashes, in this case the one on the camera as fill-in plus one on a tripod with umbrella as reflector. Camera flash set to -2, external flash set to 32 (full power discharge). Shutter set to 1/60 in my case, camera on tripod. You have to experiment but I think it is woth the effort.

I include two test pictures to show the results. Nice shadows I think.

[OlyFlyer]

Since I showed some test pics, here are some pics of my 'assistants'.

1: This is a really small thing, built into a former mike. Uses the power from the flash trigger connector, no battery needed.



2: To give you an idea of its size, here is the same on top of my T32.



3: This is battery operated and has sound, light or an external trigger functions. It has also possibilities for delayed triggering for special effects. This is the one I have to use for the Metz. Not yet ready, screening still not done.

[OlyFlyer]

A word of warning!

Last night I made some measurments between the side and the center contact of my X-shoe on my Olympus E-500. I should have done that before I started my flash trigger work. I measured a positive pulse of 0,8V with a pulse width of about 150ms. That definitly says that I am never going to directly connect a flash of any brand not approved by Olympus again to my camera. And that includes my old T32. My old flashes needed just a switch to fire. The fact that there is a positive pulse on the camera says that the flash you connect should have an opto isolator (my guess), or some other active trigger device in between the actual trigger and the camera. So, my recomendation is never to connect any flash to your camera which is not approved by Olympus.

It is however still safe to use my devices (looking from the camera's helth) since there are no phisical connections between the camera and the flashes at all.

[jazzzzz]

Hi Bro OlyFlyer,
Thanks for all the pic and info on how to do it...Thanks With Regards

[plastic]

Thanks for sharing the insight.

[puny]

Originally Posted by OlyFlyer A word of warning! Last night I made some measurments between the side and the center contact of my X-shoe on my Olympus E-500. I should have done that before I started my flash trigger work. I measured a positive pulse of 0,8V with a pulse width of about 150ms. That definitly says that I am never going to directly connect a flash of any brand not approved by Olympus again to my camera. And that includes my old T32. My old flashes needed just a switch to fire. The fact that there is a positive pulse on the camera says that the flash you connect should have an opto isolator (my guess), or some other active trigger device in between the actual trigger and the camera. So, my recomendation is never to connect any flash to your camera which is not approved by Olympus. It is however still safe to use my devices (looking from the camera's helth) since there are no phisical connections between the camera and the flashes at all.

In short it's still better to use FL36 or 50 for your E.xx Though it's more ex. it's not worth of all the hassels and uncertainties. The only complaint I have on the FL36 is the slow charging. I particularly like the FP mode. It allows me to take at high shutter speed. If you can afford go for the 50 if you need quick recharge.

[OlyFlyer]

Originally Posted by puny In short it's still better to use FL36 or 50 for your E.xx Though it's more ex. it's not worth of all the hassels and uncertainties. The only complaint I have on the FL36 is the slow charging. I particularly like the FP mode. It allows me to take at high shutter speed. If you can afford go for the 50 if you need quick recharge.

I share whatever I have. If you are not iterested or have an other opinion that is up to you. If it's worth all the hassels and uncertainties or not is also up to you. To me it is definitly worth. Not only that I already have two good flashes but also because I like to fix things. Also, I don't agree that it is better to buy FL36. FL50 maybe better in some ways but for an occasional flash user like me it is far too expensive. All I say is ...never to connect any flash to your camera which is not approved by Olympus... Or at least not if you want to be on the safe side. That means no physical connection (cable) between the camera and the flash. I use my slave triggers and that is definitly very safe. Also, I do not have to risk life and limb to jump over and twist a lot of cables while taking pictures. That is also one reason to use slave triggers. An other thing is that I think people who can not use flashes in manual modes should not buy FL50 anyway. I regard that as more like a pro flash, and if you call yoursef a pro or semi-pro than you shoul be able to use a flash in manual mode. That means using other flashes should not be a problem either. Also, actually it is very easy to take manual flash pics with a digital camera since you can see the result at once, if unhappy then just correct and take a new pic until happy with the result. Eventually you learn all the how to's. Of corse, it won't hurt to read some documents or other literature also.

An other argument is that my old flashes are made for 35mm film. Now, I am not an expert but I read somewhere that film camera flashes are more powerful than digital camera flashes. That is based on the fact that CCDs are smaller than 35mm film frame. I don't know if that is right or wrong, I still have to check on that, when I did that I will share it with people who are interested.

In short, if I did not had the knowledge in electronics and was not interested to learn about flashes, cameras and flash triggers and would not own two good but old flashes, I would buy FL36 or FL50 (or other 100% compatibel units) plus extension cords, plus flash tripod, plus umbrella and so on.

Sorry for the long answer, but I some times have problems to give short answers. And it seems getting worst with age. The older I become the more I realize how little I know and how unshore I am. Don't belive in 'Yes, No, Do this, Do that, Buy this, Buy that' like answers any more.

[OlyFlyer]

Originally Posted by OlyFlyer A word of warning! Last night I made some measurments between the side and the center contact of my X-shoe on my Olympus E-500. I should have done that before I started my flash trigger work. I measured a positive pulse of 0,8V with a pulse width of about 150ms. That definitly says that I am never going to directly connect a flash of any brand not approved by Olympus again to my camera. And that includes my old T32. My old flashes needed just a switch to fire. The fact that there is a positive pulse on the camera says that the flash you connect should have an opto isolator (my guess), or some other active trigger device in between the actual trigger and the camera. So, my recomendation is never to connect any flash to your camera which is not approved by Olympus. It is however still safe to use my devices (looking from the camera's health) since there are no physical connections between the camera and the flashes at all.

Last night I made some more accurate measurments. The pulse width is actually exacly 2ms. The 0.8 V is however right. I spoke to Oly Sweden today, the guy sounded very knowledgable and confirmed my measurments. He also confirmed that my old T32 will work directly connected to my E-500 without doing any demage, in semi automatic flash mode, i.e. light measured by flash, not TTL. He warned me about my Metz, and he called that a 'border case'.

[zildjohn]

Originally Posted by OlyFlyer Last night I made some more accurate measurments. The pulse width is actually exacly 2ms. The 0.8 V is however right. I spoke to Oly Sweden today, the guy sounded very knowledgable and confirmed my measurments. He also confirmed that my old T32 will work directly connected to my E-500 without doing any demage, in semi automatic flash mode, i.e. light measured by flash, not TTL. He warned me about my Metz, and he called that a 'border case'.

Hi I have the Oly T20 flash would you know if its also compatible or safe to use with my E330?
or would you mind PM me any contact # or email you know from Olympus?

Thanks in advance !!!

[OlyFlyer]

Originally Posted by zildjohn Hi I have the Oly T20 flash would you know if its also compatible or safe to use with my E330? or would you mind PM me any contact # or email you know from Olympus? Thanks in advance !!!

Sorry for missing your post before.

Yes, the T20 and the T32 are very similar flashes and should be safe to use on any E-system cameras. Of corse, I can not be blamed if something is wrong with your T20 or your camera. The TTL is not working and you have to use manual or auto mode. With Auto mode I mean using the sensor that is built into the flash. Camera must be set to M mode, all manual. According to my experiments, my T32 syncs down to 1/500 sec. with my E-500 but officially the T32 manual says 1/60. I guess shutters are more precise today than in the 1980's. Anyway, the aperture and the shutter speed must be set by you, using the camera's TTL is out of question.

Just do a search on CS, because I have written a lot about the T32. In my posts you can find links to interesting OM related sites also. I can just say that I find the T32 an amazingly good flash even after having used it for 25 years, but that should not be any news to anyone familiar with Oly quality.