[Sparhawk]

Once again I have a stupid {IMO} question, as a novice to digital photography{but have done a little with film} I want to get a flashgun. Now to quickly explain, much as I enjoy photography I feel it is not worth {to me} getting a dedicated gun, but on the very few times I may need one can I use any flashgun without doing any damage to my camera? or do I need no have a dedicated one?
I know that certian functions will not be avalable with a non dedicated and except that. My camera is an Olympus E300. any advise welcome
Regards
Sparhawk

[Dabhand16]

If you are not bothered about linking the flash to the camera's exposure system, you could get an 'intelligent' flash that has a built-in sytem of light measurement to give some control, and trigger it with a slave unit or slave hotshoe activated by the camera's own flash that would then act as a fill-in. It then does not even have to be mounted on the camera, a tripod, bean bag or someone holding it will do just fine.

[namllihs]

I dont know about Olympus cameras but EOS Digitals don't like trigger voltages over about 6v, some of the older flashguns have trigger voltages of 100v +

Check out Photo Strobe Trigger Voltages

[stevec]

I have a centon dedicated for nikon that I used on my F80 film camera I have been told it is ok for my D50 but so far have not had the b##ls to try it

[sillyconguru]

I use Nikon-dedicated Centon flashguns with a D70 with no problems. OK, you don't get TTL flash metering but non-TTL auto and manual work fine. The D50 (& D70) are able to utilise flashguns with a sync voltage rated at up to 250v (you'll find that the dedicated Centon units are around 3-6v).

[Steve]

Besides loss of some functions that a dedicated flashgun will provide, using a different flashgun will not harm or damage the camera as long as the trigger voltage is within the cameras range. If you can confirm both the flashgun and the camera's ranges are compatible then you will be good to go, after that the quality and output will depend on the combination and how you set it up, some trial and error will be required.

[Dabhand16]

Don't forget that as I said in my post, using a slave unit to trigger a flash does not require a connection to the camera.

[Sparhawk]

Thank You All
For the replies to my question, I now understand a lot more about why I would need to get a dedicated flashgun.
It is a shame that I cannot justify the cost of a dedicated one against the use it would get and rather than risk damaging my camera I will have to chat to my local camera shop to see the price of a slave unit and intelligent flash and see if that will solve my use/price dilemma
Thank you all once again
Regards
Sparhawk

[Dabhand16]

Jessop's slave units start at around £10. A flash with thyrosister control (if that is still available - it's a long time since I bought a flashgun) should not be too expensive. You could always go for a used one.

[Sparhawk]

Originally Posted by Dabhand16

Jessop's slave units start at around £10. A flash with thyrosister control (if that is still available - it's a long time since I bought a flashgun) should not be too expensive. You could always go for a used one.

Thank you for that Dab,
I will take note of that and check out jessops sometime in the next week or so, It is just that {as stated} I cannot justfy around £100 or more for something that {at this time} would not get {IMO} a resonable amount of use and although the built in flash has served me well so far I would hate to miss a good shot because I did not have the right type of light
Thanks Again
Regards
Sparhawk

[Revive35]

I don't know if this will help but i use a 20yr old Cobra D400 flash on my E300.Works fine.Although the E300 manual recommends not using the TTL function on non-Olympus units.

[Sparhawk]

Thanks Revive
At least now I have lot a lot more information and understand a lot better what I need to do and the choices I have. In the past with an old point & shoot film camera {just used on 2 week holiday} i did not worry but now {being older and I hope wiser} I am fast learning this hobby is both an art and a science and I am greatful for people {like yourself and the other experts on here} for your time and advice
Regards
Sparhawk

[Rob Barron]

If you use a slave unit, a good option as they really don't cost much, you may need to check the camera itself before using it.

A slave cell is just a small photo-sensitive diode that triggers a flash unit plugged into it as soon as it detects another flash gun going off. It responds so fast that the two units will be synchronised together.

However, one thing to bear in mind is the problem that I discovered with my Canon unit. I tried using my 550EX which is a dedicated flashgun on my 20D and set a little flash unit on a slave cell a few feet away and although it looked like they were both firing, when I checked, they were not exactly synched. I tested this by taking a photo of the other flashgun but the gun was always dark, ie not firing, when I tried it.

After trying every angle possible, I realised the problem: the Canon always fires a pre-flash and this triggered the slave unit 1/nth of a second before the main flash went off so the slave unit was firing too early.

So, the point here is if you use a slave unit, you will have to check if the E300 fires a pre-flash and if so whether you can turn that off. If not, the slave cell won't be effective.

With regards other aspects, most modern non-brand units will be fine to use with your camera with the obvious loss of dedicated functions. The voltage issue is only a problem when using an old unit as the usually have a high trigger coltage which earlier DSLRs could not handle. Nowadays the later DSLRs can handle up to about 250v and most guns don't get anywhere close to that. Keep the voltage thing in mind but it is not likely to be a big concern.

The Centon (Jessops own brand) units can offer you excellent flash units at sensible prices so I think you could do a lot worse than start looking at those and then see what else you might find.

Cheers,
Rob