Sunpak 522 and the S2

[Swampy]

I have an old Sunpak 522 that I'd like to use as a back drop flash or something for some additional lighting. I have a Sunpak (forget the model right now) slave adapter that does trigger the flash when I take a picture with the on-board flash, but it doesn't appear to add any additional light to the frame. Any idea's?

The slave unit plugs into a 2.5mm plug on the side of the flash. I tried setting it for auto and also manual at full power and I got nothing for additional light.

Is there something I need to set on the camera? Can I use this flash for extra lighting for action type shots - candid's say, around the house during a party? I am planning on shooting some pictures with a backdrop and a friends new chopper and I was hoping to be able to use this flash for that.

Any help would be appreciated. I'll try and post some pic's of the flash and the slave unit when I get home tonight or maybe in the morning.

[Swampy]

here's pics of what I have...

[lightwrangler]

I can't see why this wouldn't work. A couple of things to check.
1) Does the flash work when connected directly to the camera? (by work I mean; expose a shot) If yes then I suspect the slave might be the issue, can you check it with another slave? This is a fairly inexpensive accessory.
2) Is the camera set correctly. Aperature mode or manual should be the only modes that the Sunpak will work on. When in aperature mode, make sure the shutter speed stays under 1/125th. Try the flash in manual at slower shutter speeds. Make sure that the ISO setting is the same on flash and camera.
3) The flash may be shutting off the light in auto mode because the sensor is reading incorrectly. This could be due to something close that is reflecting light. Try a different subject. Also try repositioning the flash so that the sensor isn't pointed directly at the subject you are trying to light.

That's about all I can offer, best of luck.

[Swampy]

I haven't tried connecting the flash directly to the camera yet. Is it safe to connect it with the straight cable with no protection? I have seen other posts about some protection cable you should have to prevent current from going from the flash to the camera, so I wondered about that. If it's ok to connect it, then I will try that next and make sure it works that way.

The previous way I was trying it, the shutter was at 1/60, same ISO settings on flash and camera (200). I tried using the flash in manual mode, having it send a full power strobe out, so I don't think it's the flash sensor shutting off the light. I was in "P" mode when trying this, I'll try "A" or "S" mode and see what happens as well.

The subject was a room corner about 22 feet away, which shouldn't be a problem for this flash to achieve, even while set at full power.

Let me know about the safety concern on the cable and I'll go from there.

Thanks!

[lightwrangler]

As far as the voltage issue goes, I don't give it much concern. HOWEVER - that just means that nothing nasty has happened to me and all of the digital cameras that I personally have owned. I regularly connect my studio strobes (Profoto and Norman) and my portable flashes (Nikon SB26 and Vivitar 283, 285) directly (with no flash voltage protector) to my S2 and to my Olympus E20. I did the same with the Kodak 420 and 460 I owned and the 760 I rented. Nothing ever happened with any of them. But I agree that what works for me may not work for you, so if you are at all nervous about this, get a flash voltage protector first.

I believe the Sunpak is a non dedicated flash and therefore will not function like a Nikon (or modern Metz or Sunpak flash will). On the camera, without an interface from the flash to the camera (a computer module that communicates info to both), the only settings that will work are aperature priority and manual. Program and shutter priority won't work because the flash doesn't know what f stop the camera is choosing. With the other two modes you set the f stop on the flash that you have choosen on the camera.

However, you may not be able to coordinate the flash going off and the shutter opening. Which is why I asked you to check it directly without the slave, which may be delaying the flash by enough time to cause the shutter to miss the flash exposure. (Just a thought) You could try a time exposure on manual with the slave and then take more shots; each time you increase the shutter speed until you find one in which an exposure is not made. It could be that the flash is slow to fire and that at 1/60th the flash has just fired when the shutter has closed. This last scenario is possible but I've only seen it happen a couple of times.

Lastly you can try the flash on manual. Measure the distance to your subject, read off the fstop on the flash's guide and set that on the camera, on manual. Choose a slow shutterspeed (say 1/30th) and fire away. You should at least have a reasonably exposed image.

Best of luck

[Swampy]

Ok, I'll give it a whirl tonight when I get home. The 522 is non-dedicated, however, there is a dedicated sensor that plugs into the back of it (the bigger 5 pin DIN connector) and then slides onto the hotshoe. I use to use this flash on my old Canon A1 and the dedicated module was only for that camera.

I'll try the direct connect and see what happens.

Thanks.

[lightwrangler]

So it is a dedicated unit - well then maybe a Nikon module is available that would work with the S2. Still I think it would be nice to use it off camera through a slave, since that gives you a lot of flexibility.

Let me know how it goes.

[Swampy]

I don't think it's dedicated without the add-on hotshoe deditcated sensor, which I only have for my Canon A-1.

I hooked it up via the sync terminal, and after screwing around with the flash settings, I was able to get good pictures. Basically, I left the flash in auto mode, and played around with the aperture and shutter. It shot fine even at 1/180th. Thought the S2 could only sync with 1/60 and 1/125...

Anyway, the flash is working fine this way.

Using the 522 and slave unit by placing the unit out by the subject 20 feet away also seems to work, however, when I use the flash and the slave unit next to the camera, it does not work, unless, I use a shutter speed of 1/30 and put the slave unit right in front of the on-board flash.

I'm also wondering what componentry is in the "stalk" of the flash. Notice at the bottom of the tube below the flash, there is a silver metal piece that attaches to the bottom plate that you screw onto your camera (bottom plate is disconnected in the above pics). That metal piece was very warm after it sat, turned off and plugged into the AC adapter. Strange.

Had to go to work, so I'll play around with other things tonight or tomorrow.

[Wichita Wayne]

I think the plug on the back is for a remote sensor that would plug into a hot shoe. The 555 is dedicated with a plug on the underside of the flash. I have used a lot of 522s but they have mostly been with Hasselblads and Bronicas. I used a remote sensor unit that pluged into the round plug on the back of the flash with my Bronicas but it was only a hot shoe fired remote sensor that did not work dedicated with the camera. I have also used the 522, 544, and 555 on the S2 without any voltage spikes that would harm the camera. I tested them with a multimeter before use and the needle did not deflect into a harmful range. It is the older Vivatar 283s and some studio power packs that would really spike through the PC circuits on the camera. I have also used the Metz 60 and 45 series flashes without any trouble. I would however, recommend using a Paramount cord that connected the flash with a hot shoe rather than the PC connecter. You can even get it with power spike protection as well but it will double the price. It will eliminate all the PC plug grief that most of us have lived with for years. Wein also makes a protection unit that will work with PC cords. I have found the 522 flashes very reliable and rugged. The weak link is the plug for the PC cord. If you mount the flash on a Stroboframe and then lay the unit on the plug side you will quickly break the plastic that surrounds the plug. If you mount the flash on the left side of the camera and then the plug is pretty much protected. As far as ecposure goes I usually always set the 522 to auto at F-8 and sometimes 11 with the camera set manually. Our Metz flashes also sometimes require a little Kentucky windage. They might require an Auto setting that is an F-stop higher than the camera lens to zero in on the exposure. We have never had to use windage with a Sunpak flash. We use Gossen or Minalta flash meters to test our flashes on a pretty regular basis.