instructions for setting flash unit

brucenz

Hello

I have a "Image ZFD-80" flash unit I bought close on 15 years ago. I am looking for instructions on setting all the buttons and dials on the flash. On the front is a slide switch with M and a bluer and brown button which relate to F stops on the back.

On the back is a dial for DIN/ISO, F stop andf autorange in feet and metres. There's also a slide switch for W1, W, S T which relate to the extendable flash unit above.

Can anyone pls tell me what these all do and do they do anything for the Fuji Finepix s7000 camera. Where would I find instructions.

Thanks
Bruce

pathfinder

brucenz wrote:

Hello

I have a "Image ZFD-80" flash unit I bought close on 15 years ago. I am looking for instructions on setting all the buttons and dials on the flash. On the front is a slide switch with M and a bluer and brown button which relate to F stops on the back.

On the back is a dial for DIN/ISO, F stop andf autorange in feet and metres. There's also a slide switch for W1, W, S T which relate to the extendable flash unit above.

Can anyone pls tell me what these all do and do they do anything for the Fuji Finepix s7000 camera. Where would I find instructions.

Thanks
Bruce

I would be very careful about using a 15 year old flash on a digital camera. A lot of the older flashes use high voltage through the pc cord - high enough voltage that it can damage modern digital cameras. There is a web page somewhere ( I think I left those bookmarks on my XP box that is not turned on) listing of all the old flashes and their triggering voltages - some are over 200 volts - enough to fry microprocessors and stuff. The old Vivitar 283 was famous for this and was very widely sold.

brucenz

Thanks for that - are there any modern day external flash units you would recommend for a fuji s7000.

Bruce

luckyrwe

You cal always get a little slave adapter for your flash, they are about $20 and go on the bottom of your flash unit, then when your camera's flash fires, so does the slave. That will eliminate the worries about too much voltage. Of course you will have to play around with the exposure to get it just right.

brucenz

I found out the answer to my question from a great camera shop called Wellington Photographic Supplies in Wellington, NZ. The dials on the back of the flash are just guides and have no effect on how the flash actually works. The only buttons that do are on the front and the / TTL buttons. The Image flash is a generic device marketed under 4 different trading names over the years and now retail in NZ for $80. They can beam the flash up to 60 ft.

Also thanks to the others who have supplied information. The little device someone mentioned to reduce the charge and which sits between the flash and camera is $156 in NZ. But still it works.

I also found out that testing the voltage on the bottom of flash units with a multimeter was interesting because my Image flash put out 5.16 volts. My sunpak 1600 softlite output a whooping 16 volts (professional flash gear outputs 12 volts).