Flash will work on film camera but not digital?
Is there any reason an "economy" flash (Achiever 630AF) will work on a film
camera but not on a digital camera. I've been told this but see no reason for it to be so. The destination camera is Canon PowerShot G9. Thanks. |
Flash will work on film camera but not digital?
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Flash will work on film camera but not digital?
In article
, DaveC wrote: Is there any reason an "economy" flash (Achiever 630AF) will work on a film camera but not on a digital camera. I've been told this but see no reason for it to be so. The destination camera is Canon PowerShot G9. As mentioned by J. and Ryan, some older flashes were directly fired by a mechanical switch contact in the camera. They may have too high an open-circuit voltage or short-circuit current for use with cameras that fire the flash electronically. If you do a web search for that specific flash, you may find specifications for it. It might have been sold as being compatible with a particular camera. If it claims to be compatible with Canon EOS cameras, it probably would work with the G9. What if it is safe to use, but does not communicate with the G9's electronics? If the flash is claimed to be "automatic", you can manually set your camera's f/stop according to a calculator on the flash body. You also might be able to use it in completely manual mode. Set the camera's shutter speed to something less than the maximum flash sync speed. Then calculate the camera's f/stop based on the flash guide number, camera ISO setting and the distance from flash to subject. The flash may have a calculator for that too. Fred |
Flash will work on film camera but not digital?
In article
, DaveC wrote: Is there any reason an "economy" flash (Achiever 630AF) will work on a film camera but not on a digital camera. I've been told this but see no reason for it to be so. The destination camera is Canon PowerShot G9. if it's designed for a film camera it probably has an older and no longer used ttl system and that won't work with newer cameras. you may be able to get it to work if it has a fully manual mode or an automatic mode where the sensor on the camera adjusts the flash, no ttl at all. |
Flash will work on film camera but not digital?
DaveC wrote:
Is there any reason an "economy" flash (Achiever 630AF) will work on a film camera but not on a digital camera. Yep. Apart from the voltage on the contacts: - the flash may depend on OTF-TTF (Off the film, through the lens) metering. Sensors reflect very different from film, so metering *during* the flash is not supported: there needs to be a pre-shot metering flash. - If the flash was designed and built before the protocols for telling the flash "flash only a small flash" and "now fire a 1/4 flash" etc. were designed, the flash wouldn't know how to talk to the camera nor understand the camera (nor have the smartness to stop the flash on it's own). - Since the flash doesn't know how to properly talk to the camera, it'll only work on - full power only - manual control (if available) - "computer flash" with manually set aperture (basically the flash detects how much light has been reflected and shuts off based on that and the aperture) --- if available. None of that is what most people expect from a flash (to 'just work' usually) ... The destination camera is Canon PowerShot G9. If the voltage is OK and you're willing to understand and really *work* for the flash shots getting right, you should be fine. If the flash is a "computer flash" with inbuild sensor, and you fix your aperture, you might be able to be happy even with snap shooting with little restrictions. But if you want comfort and automatics, that's not really the flash you want. -Wolfgang |
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