Is your old flash unit safe to use on your new electronic camera?
This GearHead page was originally compiled around 2001 to 2005, using generously crowd-sourced measurements. Many of the companies listed (and the links to the contributors) have been gone for years (Hi Minolta!). The list is still hosted here but rarely expanded. If you’re really in doubt, just get yourself a new Big Godox or Tiny Fuji and be very happy. The old and flexible Contax TLA 360 can be had for a steal, these days.
Some older strobes (and infrared strobe triggers) use high voltages in the trigger circuit. For mechanical cameras like the one shown above, this is fine — but many newer, electronically-driven or digital cameras can be damaged by excessive strobe voltage.
How much is too much? What voltage might my own strobe generate? This page tries to help answer those questions. It contains a table of strobe trigger voltages, a few measured by myself but most contributed by readers of this site, along with some information about specific camera makes and the strobes that light them… first cameras, then strobes.
Camera Info (as of around 2005)
Canon US has verified (to me, and here) that the Powershot G doesn’t like voltages over 6V.
Similarly, Nikon has specified 12V for their speedlight circuits… (though reader Steve Francesoni called Nikon.uk to check, and their tech rep said that his N80 was good to 250V — so there may be more complexity to this story). I’ve heard some rumours that some Coolpix models have been restricted to 5V! (see below for more details)
Marco Fortin-Metzgen checked with Olympus Europe on his C4040 — that digicam has a trigger voltage of 10V, so Olympus too recommends strobe triggering in the 3V to 6V range.
Pentax users may want to read this related story from Gene Poon.
Ron Alexander claims his Fuji is astonishingly tolerant of high voltages… interesting (This has since been verified by Rob Scrimgeour of the FujiGroup.net forum — their members got a message from Fuji also stating the 400V center pin limit).
(According to some opinions, high voltages can even endanger mechanical cameras, albeit after years of use)
The ISO 10330 specification (“Photography – Synchronizers, ignition circuits and connectors for cameras and photoflash units – Electrical characteristics and test methods,” 1992) says that all ISO-compliant cameras should be able to accept trigger voltages up to 24V. Though a Canon engineer is the nominal head of the ISO workgroup, for some reason Canon continues to insist that their cameras tolerate no more than 6V (make that Canon USA — an email from Canon Canada says: “There is not a maximum voltage requirement for the hot shoe terminal on the PowerShot G1.” Go fig!). For that reason I’ve tagged strobes that trigger at voltages between 6V and 24V as “Your Call.” Depending upon who you ask — the camera or strobe manufacturers — those strobes are acceptable or they are not.
The ISO spec doesn’t really seem to hold a lot of weight!
The Strobe List
The following list is based on either manufacturer specs or direct measurements (To measure the trigger voltage of your own strobe, follow the instructions here). If you can add to this list, mail me your numbers, along with a description of how you obtained them (measurement, from the web, from the manufacturer, etc).
While I have every reason to believe the information presented here is correct, I cannot be held responsible for the voltages coming from your flash equipment. Prudence is the purpose of this page!
Mfgr | Model | Safe | Trigger Voltage | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Achiever | TZ250 | Yes(?) | A mere 0.5V (!), measured (with some due incredulity!) by Russ Kendall, Göran Samuelsson reported 8.5V on his test | |
115 A/S | Your Call | A mere 2V, reported by “KC”, but 10.6V from Paul Turton | ||
TZ 250 | Your Call | 8.5V, also reported by “KC” | ||
260AF | Yes | A mere 3V, measured by Jeremy Tan, (Note this is not the Achiever 260T) | ||
DZ260 | Yes | A mere 3.4V, measured by Paul Achary, (Same as the Acheiver 260AF) | ||
260T | No | 220V, reported by “KC” and 253V from Mike Marty | ||
321AZ | No | 297.6V, measured by David Gonzalez | ||
632LCD | Yes | ~4.7, measured by Tanguy Kervahut | ||
Agfatronic | 2A | No | 185V-210V, measured by Juha Kopsa | |
201B | No | 80.3V, measured by Oliver Karstens | ||
240B | No | 238V reported by EJ Boeve | ||
261CB | No | 64V reported by Stephan Kruisman | ||
280VB | No | 50+V reported by Amders Gidenstam | ||
383 CS | Your Call | 6.5V reported by Oliver Schrinner | ||
401BCS | No | 212V, measured by Martin Stein | ||
643CS | Your Call | 6.3V & 6.7V measured on two different strobes by Craig Schroeder | ||
Albinar | 90 MDT | Yes (?) | 3.2V, measured by Wirak Lim but without any luck using it with a G1 | |
100 MDT-Twin | Yes | 3.02V, measured by Richard Moore | ||
Argus | Automatic 9138 | No | 270V, measured by Rich Grochowski | |
Armatar | 90 MDT | Your Call | 10V, measured by Tony Bonanno | |
Ascor Light | CD2400 | Your Call | 14.5V from WDFlannery | |
Balcar | Super A2400 | No | 202V & reverse polarity reported by Bakó Imre | |
Bauer | E528 AB | No | 253V, measured by “Grigory” in Belarus | |
Blacks | DZ 40 | Your Call | 8V, measured by Rob Thacker | |
TDZ 120 | Yes | 2.6V, measured by Paul Clements | ||
DM360BT | Yes | 4V, measured by David Treble | ||
Braun | Hobby | No | 225V, from Göran Samuelsson | |
28 | No | 220V, measured by Ernst Albert | ||
32M | Yes | 2.56-3.56V, measured by “laaarrd” | ||
34 | Your Call | 11.7V, measured by Ted Coffey | ||
F34 | No | 160.55V, measured by Alan Buckbee | ||
38 M Logic | Your Call | 7.5V, measured by Panu L | ||
280BVC | Your Call | 13.6V, measured by Jean Taillon | ||
320BVC | Your Call | 6.7V, measured & reported by Lars Hanssen | ||
VarioZoom 340 SCA | Yes | 4.0V-4.3V, depending on battery type, measured and reported by Kai Ingman | ||
370BVC | Your call | 21.1V, measured by Hannu Martiskin, 20.5V from Göran Samuelsson | ||
380BVC | Your call | 11.6V, measured by Peter Savage | ||
400M Logic | Your call | 7.6V measured by Harmut Gruenhagen | ||
410VC | Your call | 21.4V measured by Stephan Bruckmann | ||
420BVC | Your Call | 11.6V, measured by Jean Taillon | ||
440VC | Your call | 16V measured by Ulrich Höxtermann | ||
Britek | AS-36 | Yes | 5.3V measured by Peter P | |
SP 250 Monolight | Your Call | 6.7V measured by “Everett” | ||
Broncolor | Pulso 4 | Your call | 6.5-10.8V depending on the charge, according to Leon Obers | |
one channel IR transmitter | Your call | 13.5V, per Leon Obers, Fred Phillips reported just 3.2V | ||
Paul Buff (White Lightning) | Radio Remote 1, Transmitter | Yes | 4.84V reported by Bryce Turner | |
Remote RC-1 | Your call | (same part?) 9.23V, measured by Jan C. Doddy | ||
UltraZap | Yes | 6V spec reported by Peter Timaratz, (though sync with G1 is dicey), Ed White reported varying results, from 4.8V to 13.3V on his Ultra Zap 800, according to the power settings | ||
Ultra 600 | Your call | 9.3-13.6V, measured by Bryce Turner on multiple units | ||
Ultra 1200 | Your call | 10.02V, measured by Jan C. Doddy | ||
10000 | Your call | 24.1V, per Toney Hall | ||
Calumet (Bowens) | PS | No | 30V according to Bob Atkin’sEOS FAQ | |
Monolite 400 | No | 170V per Teemu Virtanen | ||
Traveller | No | 15V (EOS FAQ) | ||
Canon | 220EX, 380EX, 420EX, 550EX | Yes | All less than 6V (Per Canon and verified by Benny Khaw). These are the strobes specified by Canon for the Powershot, More info Here | |
ML-3 | Yes | 4.99V measured by Kevin Omura, full power only — and wouldn’t trigger on the D30 | ||
011A | Your Call | 16.9V measured by Derek Woodlands | ||
AB56 | Your Call | 7.8V measured by Bharat Mistry | ||
133A | Your Call | 6.1V per Gerardo Nieto | ||
155a | Your Call | 8.2-8.7V measured by Bart Harrison, (6.04V reported by Kevin Omura) | ||
166A | Yes | 4.33V per Kevin Omura | ||
177A | Your call | 6.77V per Ed Hahn | ||
188A | Yes | 4.1V per Gerardo Nieto | ||
199a | Yes | 4.99V measured - Canon rated it 6V | ||
200E | Yes | ~3.9V measured by Maarten Klap | ||
200M | Your Call | 12.3V measured by Tony Williams | ||
244T | Yes | 4.33-4.44V measured by Daniel Griswell | ||
277T | Yes | 4.8V measured by Dan Karg | ||
299T | Yes | 4.75V measured by Alec Hipwell | ||
300EZ | Yes, (See Note) | 3.6V, measured by Eric Jones. Sadly, Canon’s “EZ” and “EX” flash units use different TTL schemes. Despite the nearly-identical names, the “EZ” strobes (which use a system called “A-TTL”) can only be used as full-power-manual strobes with pure E-TTL cameras like the G1/G2 or the D30. | ||
300TL | Yes | 3.75V measured by Kevin Omura, (manual only) | ||
420EZ | Yes, (See Note) | 4V, measured by Joe Filer, 4.71V with a Quantum battery per Kevin Omura. (See note for 300EZ above) | ||
533g | Yes? | 4.95V measured by Pierre Hurtubise, but it doesn’t seem to fire…, Kevin Omura also reports G2 problems with this unit | ||
577G | Yes | 4.7V measured by Kevin Omura, and tested on a G2 (in manual and auto thyristor modes) | ||
Centon | FG20 | No | 275V, according by Mike Johnson in London | |
MR20 Ringflash | Yes | 4.38V, measured by Geoff Kitt | ||
FG30 | No | ~200V, according by Harvey Shieff | ||
FG30DX | Yes | 3-6V, according by Iam Hill | ||
FH30 | Yes | ~4V, according by Steve Orton (who opened up his to disconnect the dedicated Ricoh pins for use on his Olympus) | ||
FH85 | Yes | 3-4V, according by Dave Anderton | ||
FH95 | Yes | ~5V, according by Philip Bennett | ||
FG105D | Yes | ~5-6V, according by Tom Sou — but, he also reported spotty performance with the newest EOS cameras (a polarity issue?) | ||
Cinon | Pro 1090C | No | 180V, measured by Göran Samuelsson | |
Chinon | S-250, Zoom | Yes | 5.17V, reported by Scott Martin | |
AF280 TTL | Yes | 5.3V, reported by “Mike from Germany” | ||
S-300 | Your call | 11V, reported by “emitc” | ||
Cobra | Auto 250 | No | 66V measured by Susan Stewart | |
440AF | Yes | 3.5V, reported by Richard Lukey | ||
D650 | Yes | 5.6V, reported by Russell Garner | ||
700AF | Yes | 4.4V, reported by “John-M” | ||
Comet | CX244 | No | 11V (EOS FAQ) Tony Wu also called Comet’s distributor, who measured 11.5V for him, right there on the phone! (now that’s service!) | |
Contax | TLA20 | Yes | ~4V, reported by Peter Dewdney | |
TLA 30 | Yes | A trifling 2V, reported by Brad Grigor, (watch out for those extra pins…) | ||
TLA200 | Yes | ~4.11V, reported by EJ Haas | ||
Courtenay | ColorFlash 2 | Your Call | 17.12V reported by Charles Ward, (who reports problems using a Monolta 9xi — might be polarity?) | |
Cullman | SL 16 | Yes | 4.5V, measued by Frank Gaehler | |
SL28 | Yes | 4.3-5.2V, measured by Juha Kopsa | ||
SL 28/C[br>(same?) | Your marginal call | 6.3V, measured by Tom Crowning | ||
34 AF/C | Yes | 4.47V, measured by Oliver Karstens | ||
CX40 | Yes | 4.3-5.2V, also per Tom Crowning | ||
MD 34S | Yes | 5.92V, measued by Michael Neuhaus | ||
DC36 | Yes | 2.52V, also by Frank Gaehler | ||
Digislave | 2000 | No | 200V measured by Rich Scarlet | |
3000 | Yes | 7V measured by Rich Scarlet | ||
Dynalite | Any | Iffy? | 10V (EOS FAQ) | |
Elinchrom | (various) | Your Call | 9V these days, but back over 20 years they ran as high as 30V, according to Elinchrom Customer Service via Tony Wu | |
Falcon Eyes | DE 250 | Your Call… | -14.5V, center negative; measuered by Martin Sørenson, who had no luck firing it from a 300D | |
Fuji | GA | Yes | 3.52V, reported by EJ Haas | |
FLMX29 | No | 216V, measured by “Tom on AOL” | ||
GMI | Infrared transmitter | No | 324V, measured by Sandy Levenberg, (just for IR?) | |
Hanimex | TZ*2 | No | 225V measured by Simon Heath | |
TZ36 | Yes | 4.6V measured by David Cox | ||
TX325 | Yes | 3V measured by Ulrich H&omlu;xterman | ||
CX440 | No | 180V measured by “Dave L” | ||
Pro 550 | No | 234V measured by R. Prieto | ||
TZ755CP | Yes | 4.5V measured by Mike Mahoney | ||
TS855 | No | 209V measured by Jonathom Holtom | ||
tZ2500 | No | 196V measured by Alastair Cardwell | ||
Hensel | Contra 500 | Your Call | 16.3V @10microAmps for all output ranges, as measured and reported by Jan de Vreij Dwingeloo | |
Super Miniflash 500 | No | 41.2V per “Mike from Germany” | ||
2-channel IR trigger | Your Call | 17V per Teemu Virtanen | ||
Hitacon | Mini | No | 190V measured by BigWaveDave | |
Holgon | 2800 HC | Yes | ~5.4V measured by Whay Lee | |
Honeywell | Auto Strobolite 52 | No | 115V as measured and reported by Karl Haug | |
Strobonar 892S | Yes | A tiny 1.25V (!?), measured by Neil Viglione, (who had to reverse the shoe polarity) | ||
Ikelite | Substrobe 50 | Yes | 5.28V from Harold Kroeker | |
Substrobe DS-125 | Yes | 5.14V, also from Harold Kroeker | ||
Image | CBD-30 | Yes | 2.9V, measured by Ray Watson | |
CZ-65 | No | 201V from Dave Stacey | ||
CBZ-2500 | Yes | 3V from “Kelvin” | ||
Itorex | 3000Tw | Your Call… | 23V, reported by Asle Feten | |
Jessop | 220TBZ | No | 212V measured by David Aldred | |
280ABZ | No | 70V measured by “TomCee” Cramer, 249V from Mark Butler | ||
Kakonet | 4500 | No | 210V measured by Aapo Tammisto | |
Kalimar | 171A | No | 238V measured by Ted Coffey | |
175A | Your Call | 4-5V measured by Michael Meissner, but 183V measured by Derek Misener… | ||
TW-3600 | Yes | 5.71V measured by Tom Altman | ||
Kenlock | TV45 | Your call | 10V measured by Barry Maufe | |
Kitstar | 50BC | No | 160V measured by Greg Bloor | |
KMart | Pro-700 | No | 229V measured by Bob Rinelli | |
Kodak | Gear Auto | No | 222.1V, measured by Steve Spartz | |
80030 (made by Tiffen) | No | 235.6V, measured by Jim Gatling | ||
Konica | Hexar HX-14 | Yes | 5.89V, reported by EJ Haas | |
Hexar HX-18W | Your Call | 8.4V measured by Craig Schroeder | ||
Leica | CF | Your Call | 10-11V measured by Joe Lim | |
Lumedyne | All | Your call | 12V since 1992, about 100V before, reported; DIRECT INFO FROM LUMEDYNE at the bottom of this page | |
Luxon | 132 AFc | Yes | 1.23V(!) measured by Tarmo Pekola | |
Metz | 20 B3 | Nope | 168V reported by Gerardo Nieto | |
20BC4 | No | 185V reported by Göran Samuelsson | ||
20BC-6 | Yes | <5V per Metz-Werke, reported by Duncan Burt | ||
23BC4 | No | 183V reported by Frantisek Daniel | ||
28C-2 | Yes | <5V per Metz-Werke, reported by Duncan Burt | ||
30B3 | No | 170V tested by Jussi Ohenjoa | ||
30BCT4 | No | 68V reported by Peter Cooke &, 165V from Paul Nelson, 172V from Vic | ||
30BCT4i | Your Call | 7.4V reported by Jose Carlos Fernández but:, 173V reported by Göran Samuelsson | ||
32CT3 | Iffy | 22V with new batteries, reported by Rupert Vogl | ||
32CT4 | Iffy | 12V reported by Lwo v IJzendoorn | ||
32CT7 | Yes(?) | 2.88V, reported by Geoffrey Chan, 5.5V from “Mike in Germany”, and, 9.25V from Craig Lapp | ||
32MZ3 | Yes | 3.3V, reported by Samuli Vahonen | ||
32 Z-1 | Yes | 3.46V, reported by Johan K in the Netherlands, 4V from “KC” | ||
32 Z-2 | Yes | 4.086V, reported by Joe Lim | ||
34BCT2 | No | 211V, reported by Egbert Nolte | ||
36C-2 | Yes | 6V, reported by “Alex from Italy” | ||
36CT3 | Iffy | 20.9V, reported by Frank Melchinger | ||
38CT3 | Iffy | 6.5V, reported by Kai Dröge | ||
40AF-4C | Yes | 4.4V, reported by Robert Elsinga | ||
40MZ-2 | Yes | 4.74V, reported by Benny Khaw &, 4.5V from “Mike in Germany” | ||
40MZ3i | Yes | 4.5V, reported by Ismail Mus | ||
45CL1 | Your Call | 7.6V, measured by Jeffrey Gillian, (though Metz specs this unit at 6V, and assures us it’s EOS-safe — while recommending a better E-TTL unit for best performance with the 300D, like the 54 MZ-3) | ||
45CL4 | Your Call | 16.85-16.88V measured by Lee Phek Thong;, Teemu Virtanen measured 14V and, spoke to Metz directly about their newest G2 adapter | ||
45CT1 | No | 600V, (Göran Samuelsson measured merely 218V on his, as did Toney Hall — multiple versions?) – See this page for special info from Metz:, http://www.metz.de/1_metz_2000/m_pages_english/, main_index_e.php3?link=4&sub=1&linkname=mecablitz, (Thanks Mike Guidry for the tip on this one!) | ||
45CT4 | Your Call… | 14V with NiCds, reported by Peter Andersen, 25V measured by Frank Melchinger… (different editions?), and Anders Lilja reported 24.7V, but it dropped to a safe 4.56V when connected to the Metz Adaptor SCA311, 12.7V from “Mike in Germany” | ||
45CT5 | Your Call | 14.8V from “Mike in Germany” | ||
45MZ-2 | Yes | 5V | ||
50MZ-5 | Yes | 2.6V from Trevor Connell | ||
54MZ-3 | Yes | 4.17V from Paul Schuurmans | ||
56-1 | No | 211V from Woo Fei Wing | ||
60CT1 | Your Call | 20.89V measured by Loring Palleske | ||
60CT2 | Probably Not | 28.5 measured by Rupert Vogl | ||
60CT4 | Yes | 5V (EOS FAQ) | ||
202 | No | 200V according to Peter Sanders | ||
402 | No | 206V on this circa-1974 strobe, according to “ejb” from the UK | ||
404 | No | 80.2V from “Mike in Germany” | ||
2034BC | No | 207V from Ernst Albert | ||
Minolta | Auto 22 | No | 240.1 measured by Derek Woodlands | |
Auto 25 | No | 210V measured by Steven Ferland | ||
Auto 28 | No | 200V according to Wes Quigley, only 43V from Gene West | ||
Auto 32 | No | 192V measured by Rob Babcock | ||
Auto 128 | No | 297V according to Ed White | ||
132PX | Your Call/No | 20-30V per Minolta Customer Service, courtesy Karen Wetterling | ||
132X | Yes | 2.2V per SJ Chandler | ||
Auto200X | Yes(?) | 2.9V per Brian Klug,, but 6.7-6.9V per W.S. Ryu | ||
Auto280PX | Yes | 1.8V (!) per Richard Crow | ||
Auto320X | Your call | 10.44V, measured by Thomas Whitehurst, but varying 5.4-8.9V according to Ian Hamilton | ||
Auto360PX | Yes | 5.24V per “Nahau” | ||
1800AF | Yes | A mere 1.88V per Lieven Blancke & Mark Ball | ||
2800AF | Yes | 1.74V, per Manuel V. Galang, 1.65V from Jeroen Haringman | ||
3500xi | Yes | 1.88V, also tested by Manuel V. Galang, who reported good manual success with his G2 | ||
3600HSD | Yes | 3.5V, per Toney Hall | ||
4000 AF | Yes | 1.85-2.5V, per Mark Vinsen | ||
5400HS | Yes | 4.7V, measured by Hardeep | ||
Minox | FC35 | No | 131V reported by Poul Bekker-Hansen | |
MF35 | No | 194V reported by Göran Samuelsson | ||
TC35 | No | 170V reported by Poul Bekker-Hansen | ||
Miranda | ZF-3 Zoom | No | 246V, measured by Rich Grochowski | |
630 CD | Your Call | 8.14-8.30V, measured by Robin Taylor | ||
930 TCD | Your Call | 6.5V, measured by Tony Williams | ||
Multiblitz | Varilux 1000S | Your Call… | 6.5V, measured by Frank van der Pol | |
National, (Panasonic) | PE-20S | No | 6.16V, per Akira So | |
PE-170 | No | 120V, measured by Nelson Pomeroy | ||
PE-205 | No | 155V, per Mike Flynn | ||
PE-256 | No | 270V from Piotr Szuszniak | ||
PE-287S | Your Call | 8.3V measured by Kjetil Kling Ortveit | ||
PE-300 | No | 33V measured by Kari Monkala | ||
PE-380 | Your Call | 10.1V, measured by “Thierry” | ||
PE-387S | Your Call | 7.8V, per Alain Gleyzes | ||
PE-480 SG, Hammerhead | Your Call | 8.4V, measured by Les Lacey | ||
PE-3057 | Your Call | 10.44V, per Luigi | ||
PE-3550 | Nope | 32V, per Harry Malmelin | ||
PE-3557 | Your Call | 9.7V, per Robert Lee | ||
Nikon | SB-8E | Iffy | 21-28.4V, measured by Don Knull | |
SB-10 | Yes | 5.11V measured by Danny Manchester | ||
SB-15 | Yes | 1.55, per Teemu Vertinen, a little higher (4.25V) for Paul Crane &, 3.4V from Jack McDermott | ||
SB-16 | Yes | 4.14V, per Harry Malmelin | ||
SB-18 | Yes | 4.6V, per Joel Elias | ||
SB-20 | Yes | 5.5V, per Nikon (via “Stuart”) | ||
SB-21B | Yes | 4.6V, per Bernd Pickahn | ||
SB-22S | Yes | 4.9-5.3V, per Leon Obers | ||
SB-23 | Yes | 5.2V & 5.5V on the units tested by Göran Samuelsson | ||
SB-24 | Yes | 3.8V & 4.4V, agains tested by Göran Samuelsson, 5.4V from Don Swanson | ||
SB-25 | Yes | 3.68V, per Colin Ethington, even less (2V) for Fred Phillips | ||
SB-26 | Yes | 5.4V measured on a matched pair by Dave Tinsley, only 1.4V per Andrew Cassino | ||
SB-27 | Yes | 4.42-4.50V, per Paul Johnson | ||
SB-28, and, SB-28DX | Yes | 1.5V, per Bharat Mistry a bit higher — 3.48V — from Patrick Hopkins —, Jeff Macwright got 2.8V from his SB-28DX | ||
SB-30 | Yes | 4.5-4.6V, per Jack Azud | ||
SB-50DX | Yes | 5-6V, reported by Nikon to Howard Forbes | ||
SB-80DX | Yes | 4.23-4.29V, measured by Dave Tewksbury | ||
Nishika | Twin Light 3010 | Nope | 307V, measured by Brian Lindley | |
Nissin | Digislave | No | 200V measured by Juha Kopsa | |
EF20 | No | 180V & 185V measured by Göran Samuelsson | ||
21-A Auto | No | 130V, measured by Hans de Ru | ||
26T | No | 227V, per David Peat | ||
28TX | Your call | 7.5V, per David Aldred | ||
280XP | Your call | 9V, per “BcBn” | ||
Auto 300Z | Yes | Only 2V, measured by Gary Wong | ||
340T | No | 190V measured by Eric Lejon | ||
360TW | Your Call | 10.1V-10.5V, per Samuli Vahonen | ||
360WX Digital | Your call | 10.5V, per Hannu Martiskin | ||
360X | Your Call | 10V from Woo Fei Wing | ||
2800G | No | 137V from James Tom | ||
4500 GTE | Yes | 4.6V from Bill Otto | ||
4800 GT | Yes | 4.55V using NiMHs, per Leon Obers | ||
Norman | 24/24 pack | Your Call | 11.8V measured by Phil Shima | |
200B (Series 450) | No | 100V, measured by Steve Wise, though, Brian Leonard got only 29V… | ||
400B | Your Call | 10.25V, measured by Jan C. Doddy,, who found he had to flip polarity for it to function with his D-60 | ||
Superlight 800 | Your Call | 14.15V according to Phil Shima, (who mentioned it blew-out the sync circuit.. in a Leica M6!?! (amperage? polarity?)) | ||
P2000D Pack | No | 48V, measured by Peter (“gicleeman”) | ||
Novatron | M-500 | Your Call | 7.5V measured by Lonnie Harrison | |
600VR Power Pack | Your Call | 12V according to Novatron, per Neil Lubin, Novatron will modify this pack to 6V for $15 | ||
1000 Pack | Your Call | 9.8V measured by Pat Taber | ||
Olympus | T18 | Your call | 4.8-8.5V, measured by “Andy” | |
OM T-20 | Your call | 5-7.4V as it charged, measured by Brian Zimmerman, only 2.6v from Greg Clark, who also, has a few thoughts about varying voltage results | ||
OM T-32 | Your call | 7.14V/8.4V, measured by J. Mark Morris/Russ Rosener, 9.5-11.3V from Tom Mac Inerney | ||
FL-40 | Yes | 3V, measured by Harry M. Fetterman Jr | ||
PS200 | No | 185V, measured by Stuart Lovell | ||
Osram | BCS25 Studio | No | 245V, according to Göran Samuelsson, 168V & 176V, measured from two different strobe units by Craig Schroeder (see below) | |
BD25 Studio | Yes | 4.5V, measured by Craig Schroeder | ||
VS340 | Yes | 5.3V, measured by Craig Schroeder | ||
Sunny Boy | No | 188V measured by Craig Schroeder | ||
Pentax | AF-16 | Yes | 5V, measured by K.B. Lee | |
AF160 | Yes | 3.8V, measured by Gary Schaker for his 300D | ||
AF200SA | Your Call | 7.65-7.72V, measured by Bill Miller | ||
AF200T, AF280T | Your Call | 7.8V according to Pentax, and reported by John Glover | ||
AF240Z | Yes | 4.8V, measured by Richard Hartland | ||
Phoenix, Phenix | BIF 82c | Yes | 6.0V, measured by Greg Clark | |
D79-BZS | Yes | Around 3.5-6V, reported by Phoenix Corp, and checked by “Tom” | ||
BIF 82N | Yes | 5.5V, measured by Steve Spartz | ||
HMS-98T | No | 250V, measured by Justin Kuo | ||
Philips | 16B | No | 252V, according to Arnoud Brouwer | |
18 | No | 218V, also according to Arnoud Brouwer | ||
25B | No | 65V, according to Theo Lumens | ||
P32GTC | No | 300V per Arnoud Brouwer | ||
P36CTL | Yes | 5.2V measured by Bernd Schumacher | ||
P36TLS | Yes | 4.3V measured by Arnoud Brouwer, and 5.64V from J.E. St-Laurent | ||
P536G | Yes | 4.37-4.81V, measured by Fritz Washburn, using Philips’s Canon A-series hotshoe | ||
Photogenic | AA-01A | Your Call | 10.3V per Jim Ngo | |
DR-1250 | Yes | ~3-4V measured by Richard Davis, (mail signed “John Smith”?) | ||
Popular | 606 | No | 61-71V, measured by Harry Malmelin | |
Posso | Multi, Dedicated, ATD 25 | Your Call | 6.8V, measured by Pedro Gordinho | |
Praktica | B32LCD | Yes | 4V, according to Praktica in Dresden &, forwarded by Anton Haakman | |
321A | No | 114V, measured by Jeroen Haringman | ||
1600A | No | 222V, measured by Jonathan Holtom | ||
Bauke Coperus points out that Praktica also relabels Achiever strobes | ||||
Prinz | Jupiter 677TCB | No | 260V measured by Mark Salik | |
Profoto | Compact Plus | Your Call | 23V for the 600ws unit, according to Loring Palleske —, which fits the 22-25V range reported by Profoto Customer Service and forwarded by Tony Wu | |
Promaster | FM600 | No | 196V reported by “Tom on AOL” | |
FM 1000 | No | 258V also reported by “Tom on AOL” | ||
FT1700 | Your Call | 6V according to Promaster, 207V as metered by Steve Seltzer, though “Tom on AOL” got 289V! | ||
FTD 5200 | Yes | 4-5V metered by Raymond Smiley | ||
FTD 5500 | Yes | ~5V metered by Mark A. Serfozo | ||
FTD 5750 | Yes | 3.95V metered by Jimmy Chancey | ||
5900 | Yes | 5.5V metered by Don Swanson | ||
FTD 5950 | Yes | 5.12V metered by Jim Horky | ||
7000M | Yes | 3.0V, measured by Dennis Yep | ||
Promatic | FTD 4000 | Yes(?) | 6.16V, reported by Tom Deluca | |
Quantaray | PZ-1 | Yes | (also known as the SUNPAK 400AF), <5V, according to Harold Lacadie | |
QB-350A | No | 130V, according to Joel Kiblen | ||
QB-SZ370 | Yes | 5.87V, according to Chris Joubert | ||
QB-350A | No | 317V/290V, according to Adam Miller/Neil Viglione | ||
QB-383 Super | Yes | 3.83V, according to Thom Doonan, who suspects it’s a re-labeled Sunpak 383 | ||
QB-6500A | Yes | 4.3V, reported by Don Thompson | ||
QAF-6600 | Yes | 3V, reported by Francois Candela, 5.14V from Keith L. (Rupe) Rupert | ||
QTB 7500A | Yes | ~5V, reported by Mike Mantoudis | ||
QTB 9500A | Yes | 4.93V, reported by Larry Haas | ||
Quantum | QFlash T2 | Your Call | 8V, reported by “Joel,”, who also had a talk to Quantum about flash safety and EOS cameras, and Jan C. Doddy | |
4 Radio Slave[br>(older?) | Your Call | 6.8V, reported by Jeff MacWright (who also had a 4i)</a> | ||
4i Radio Transmitter | Your Call | 8.45V, reported by “Lad”, 7.5V from Toney Hall, and 8.71V from Jan C. Doddy | ||
Radio Slave II | Your Call | 5-6V, measured by “Lloyd”, aka “Sparky”, 8.98V from Bryce Turner | ||
Raynox | DC-303 | No | 254V, measured by Mika Yrjola | |
Regula | Variant 740-1 | Your Call | 13.4V, measured by Lukasz Wysokinski | |
Revue | C35S | Your Call | 10.58V measured by DJ Szegecs | |
C4500 | No | 230V measured by Fred Huttinga | ||
Ricoh | 323 | Your Call | 10.25V, measured by “Piotrek” | |
Rokinon | 3600 | Your Call… | 24V, center positive; reported by Peter Ungar, who also reported that a Canon G1 wouldn’t fire it | |
Rollei | 100 XLC | Nope | 325V, reversed polarity, according to Gerardo Nieto, &, 356V from Robin Taylor | |
134B | No | 105V, measured by Olaf Ulrich | ||
Beta 3 | No | 116V, measured by Craig Schroeder | ||
Sigma | EF 430 | Yes | 10-13V, measured by Dennis Deblois, only 4.63V from Tom Helge Hjørnevik | |
EF 500 Super | Yes | 5.9V, measured by Lou McLaughlin | ||
Soligor | MK-2 | No | 230V, measured by Rich Grochowski | |
MK-24AS | No | 37-41V, measured by Michel Blanchet | ||
30DA | Yes | 5.25V, measured by Greg Clark | ||
MZ-400AF | Yes | ~4V, measured by Jouni Pekkanen | ||
SP, Systems | Excalibur 3200, Excalibur 6400 | Your Call | 8.4V, reported by Chris Rocca | |
150 | Yes | 6V from Ted Coffey | ||
920MDLVP | Your Call | 8.4V from Ted Coffey | ||
Speedotron | D604 | No | 64V (EOS FAQ) | |
D802 | No | 69.7V from Don Swanson | ||
1205CX | No | 60-70V per Speedotron customer service, and forwarded by Tom Bolton.<p> Speedotron makes a low-voltage afdapter, part #35248, with MSRP $36 | ||
2403CX | No | 66V (EOS FAQ) | ||
2405CX | No | 70V reported by EOS Paul Chaplo, M.F.A. — whose dealer promptly put Safe Syncs on all their rental units | ||
Spiratone (Adorama) | Spira-Lite Sr | No | 186.9V measured by Don Swanson | |
SS600 AC | No | 219V from Craig Schroeder | ||
SR, Electronics | DSF-1 | No | 218V, reported by “Brian Z”, who also built this adapter | |
Digi-Slave Pro | Yes | 5V, reported by SR Inc via Paul Parlee | ||
Digi-Slave Deluxe 2000 | Your Call | 15V, reported by SR Inc via Paul Parlee | ||
Digi-Slave Deluxe 3000 | Your Call | 7.8V, reported by SR Inc via Paul Parlee | ||
Starblitz | 16 M Slave | No | 170V, reported by Ray Huttenmeister | |
200m-Quick | No | 237V, reported by Jeff Oldbean | ||
250 BAZ | Your Call | 6.8V, reported by Mark Brooke-Smith | ||
320 BTZ | Yes, but… | 5.66V reported by Dominique Dartois, but it won’t fire on a G2 — it actually turns off the flash circuitry in the camera! — though it functions on his mechanical Nikon F2 | ||
1000-Auto Macro Lite (Ring Flash) | Yes | 2.9V, reported by Jarno Verhoeven | ||
2000BTZ | No | 254V, reported by Pasi Bergman, and 38.8V from Jaime Font Dominguez | ||
2200BA minitwin | No | 225V, reported by Ray Huttenmeister | ||
3200BT-Twin-S | No | 64V from David Cunningham | ||
3300 DTS | Your Call | 10.7V from Roland Karlsson | ||
3600 BTV Twin | No | 170V from Teemu Vertinen, 150V from Greg Clark | ||
3600 DS | Yes | 4-5V, reported by Bob Ghysels | ||
4000AF | Yes | slightly under 6V, reported by “Ed” & Peter Cooke | ||
Sunpak | Ringflash | Your call | 6.85, measured by David Dodell | |
“Digital Flash” | Your call | 6.4-6.6V, reported by Geert Bosch,, 6.78V from Sandy Levenberg, (Though of course zero volts when used as a slave…) | ||
Remotelite II | Yes | 4.12V, reported by Jeroen Haringman | ||
MG-1 | Your Call | 6.99V, reported by Kai Zhu | ||
GT8 | No | 200V, reported by Marcos Schwindt | ||
DS20 | Your call | 6.2-6.63V, reported by Marco Paganini | ||
25DX | Yes | 5.46V, reported by Harold Kroeker | ||
Digi Robot 32 | Yes | 3.75, reported by Gary Hays | ||
GX14 | No | 160V, reported by Robert Rozee | ||
GX17 | No | 288V, tested by Jason Wiebe | ||
30DX | Your Call | 10.4V, measured by Ted Pembroke, 7.5V down to 5V for Mon Francisco, but Fred Phillips got a mere 4.6V | ||
Auto 30SR | Your Call | 6.4V, reported by Mike Richter | ||
Auto 36DX | Yup | 2.4V, reported by Fred Phillips, &, 5.86V from Bob Rogers | ||
Auto 36FB | Your Call | 15V, per Paul Nelson | ||
AP-52 | No | 144.8V, according to Kai Zhu, and, 188V by another netizen who sent a photo of his test rig, strobe, & reading… | ||
120 J | Your call | 11.01V-11.6V (depnding on the meter used), measured by Sandy Levenberg,, 10.9-11.6V reported by Bryce Turner with varying batteries,, but 24.3V by Toney Hall | ||
Auto121 | No | 155-215V, measured by Lawrence Yau | ||
Auto124 | No | 203V, measured by Simon Block | ||
Auto130 | NO | 200V, measured by “dhamant” | ||
MX130 | No | 190, measured by Göran Samuelsson | ||
134 | No | 43.5V, measured by Janne Rajala | ||
Sp140 | No | 180V, measured by Hjalti Jakobsson | ||
144, (144pc?) | Yes… probably | 5.8V, reported by Michael Kirby, 6V, reported by Martin B. Reinhardt, 6.8-6.95V, reported by Pierre Hurtubise, (Different batteries, or different versions of the same strobe?), 6.16V, per Sunpak (via Pierre H.) | ||
200 | No | 171.5V measured by Paul Lane | ||
Auto 221 | No | 173.5V measured by Robert VanTichelt | ||
Auto 221D | Your Call | 9.26V measured by Akira So | ||
Auto 222 | Your Call | 6.7V measured by Dean Glanville | ||
Auto 240 | No | 38V measured by “Didier” en France | ||
244D | Your Call | 7.55V measured by Dave Oshinsky | ||
Auto266SR | Yes | 5.7V measured by “Zapped” | ||
Auto322 | NO | 227V (Jay Lorenzana reported a mere 149V, after a thorough test of his unit) | ||
Autozoom333 | Your Call | 7.9V measured by Roy Campbell | ||
333D | Yes | A big 2.0V measured by Tom Troughton, 4.24V from Kai Zhu | ||
344D | Yes | Actually reported as less than 0.25V, by Adam Rubinstein, (though Tony Bonanno’s rated 4V) | ||
355AF | Yes | 5.36V, reported by “gpigg” | ||
383 Super | Your call | 3.74V, per Colin Ethington;, 3.83, per Curtis Avery;, 6.85V, according to Sunpak’s techs;, 6.86V per Geoff McKnight, 6.8V per Phil Shima using a Quantum battery, 7.05V per Jon Boehm, & 10.29V from Dave Dill…, different batteries, different versions, or…?<p> Joe Templeton measured 7.2V and had a reassuring talk with Sunpak | ||
Auto 388 | Your Call | 7V, measured by Göran Samuelsson | ||
Auto411 | No | 193V, measured by Nick Adams | ||
422 | Your Call | 10.75-12V, measured by “Wayne”, 6V from Kent Fulcher (or is the 422D a different model? Richard Khanlian also measured 5.5V for his 422D) | ||
Auto431 | No | 30-50V, according to Marcus Bletz | ||
433 | Your call | Reported at <8V | ||
433D | Your call | 7.8V, according to Jeff Tokayer &, 6.4V measured by Kristina Sterling, but only ~4V from Gerald Wang, who also noticed some variation when using alkaline versus NiMH batteries, while, Peter Yund got 14V | ||
444, 444D | Your call | 10.8V, according to Dave Grandeffo, who’s been using it for a couple of years on his, Coolpix950 without a hitch., Mike Flaherty got 11.49 and plans to use it on his D30, Harold Kroeker also got 11V with both Nikon and Contax adaptors | ||
Auto433AF | Your Call | 7.52V, reported by Wade Herman, (6.9V, according to Sunpak’s spec reported by Mike Dubrow) | ||
522 | Your call? ?? | 10.84V, measured by Charles E. Hunt III, but 170V reported by Martin B. Reinhardt and, 197V from Conrad Hoffman & 195V from “Adam”…, 22V from Ted Mishima — so be careful and check your strobe, there may be more than one edition of this unit out there!, Michael Foos checked with Sunpak, who reported “usually 190V.” | ||
544 | Yes… | 4.6V, reported by the mysterious “Tom”…, though 6.75V reported by Gary Hays | ||
555 | Your call | 6.67V on mine —, Ed White reported varying outputs from 4.1V to 6.9V., An email from Sunpak/Tocad assures me that no cameras have ever been harmed by a 555. | ||
611 | Your Call | 4V reported by Kent Fulcher, but, some old models will trigger at 190V, according to Tocad (via Jonas Lohr) | ||
622 Pro, (not Super) | Your Call | 8V reported by Lou McLaughlin, 6.5V from Don Swanson | ||
622 Super | Your Call | 8V, reported by Tim Brown | ||
888AFZ | Yes | 5.8V, reported by Franck Michaud | ||
1600A | No | 46.6V, measured by Andrew Hall | ||
Auto 2000 DZ | Yes | 3V, measured by Ken Kane | ||
2600 | No | 73V, measured by Ted Richards | ||
Auto Zoom 3000 | No | 246V, measured by Pontus Fred | ||
Zoom 3600 thyristor | No | 194V, measured by Ray Huttenmeister | ||
Auto Zoom 4000 | No | 200V, measured by Max Osmond | ||
Power Zoom 4000 AF | Yes | 3.6V, measured by Kees Dorsman | ||
MS-4000 monolight | Yes | 5.8V, measured by Alan Fairley | ||
4205G | Yes(?) | 3.75V, measured by Igor Wesdorp, (6.*V from Göran Samuelsson and Arnoud Brouwer) | ||
PZ5000AF | Yes | 5V, checked by “MikeTwo” thru ToCAD’s (Sunpak’s) own John Long | ||
Topca | 320BC | No | 100-105V measured by Martin Marusak | |
330CX | Yes | 3.4V measured by Oto Durkovic | ||
Toshiba | ES-7 | No | 250V, measured by Anton Douwe | |
QCC-25MD | Your Call | 11.4V, measured by Sean Phillips | ||
ES-30 | Your Call | 15V, measured by Ken Hardy | ||
312 | Nope | 197V, according to Göran Samuelsson | ||
Tumax | DS20S | Yes (?) | ~4-6V, measured by James K.W. Wong, who also received a mail from Tumax saying 6.8V! | |
116 | No | 185V, measured by Kiriakos Triantafyllou | ||
988TWZ | Your Call | 7.6V from Woo Fei Wing | ||
Unomat | B14 Servo | No | 190V measured by “Alchi” | |
B20C | No | 210V measured by Tom Mac Inerney | ||
320TCD | No | 34V measured by James Tom | ||
P360TCT | No | 160.3V measured by Luis Sousa | ||
Vesta | Auto 1200A | No | 25V measured by Louis Allard | |
Vivitar | 100 | No | 270V, per Nigel Kirlew, and , 256V measured by Bambi Torres | |
Auto Bounce 40D | Your Call | an oh-so-close 6.2V, per S. Ciccarelli, who’s happily using it on his Powershot G2 | ||
AF-N 132, (Nikon) | Yes | ~4V, from Per G. Østerlie | ||
161 | No | ~60V per Howie Hecht | ||
Auto 215 | No | ~i198V per Steve Orton | ||
253 | No | 200V, from BigWaveDave | ||
255 | No | 284V, checked by Greg Sutton | ||
272 | No | 240V, checked by “RoyDM” | ||
273 | No | 290V, also from Nigel Kirlew | ||
283 | NO (old versions), Your call (new versions) | Older units have been reported as high as 600V!, Recent (post-‘87) revised 283’s (“Made in China”) are safer with modern cameras, running around 9-10V. Bob Atkins reports some as low as 5V. Recently units marked “Made in Korea” have also appeared… measured at 8v by Andrew Cassino and Tony Bonanno., Kevin Omura used a Quantum battery and got a hefty 261.4V out of his (sn3012330), while, Göran Samuelsson had two units with different voltages: 230V and 190V. Other reports have had similar variety, up to 270V. | ||
285 | Your Call | 7.45-7.8V, according to “Bob from MediaPlus.com,” Mike Dubbs, and “Steven at bellatlantic.net.”, Peter Savage checked his 285 and 285HV units, and read only 6V., Mike Flaherty measured around 8.5V on his 15-year-old 285, and feels safe using it on his EOS D30., Older units may rate higher., One correspondent had three units ranging from 8.3V to 33V…, , Alan Latafat Correa checked with Vivitar and they clarified:, The 285HV has a voltage of 12V. The 285 has a voltage of 350V. Hope this helps you., (Thanks Alan!) | ||
365 | No | 46V, according to Kevin Omura | ||
530FC | Your Call | 8.3V, according to Bob Thibodeau | ||
550FD | Your Call | 8V, according to Ted Felix —, only 4.24V, per Stephen Sugiyama, and, 5V per Timothy Horn (serial 0031524) — but, 6.66V from Rick Zotz, 7.5V from Tri Do, and, 10.18V (serial 5031715) by John D. Duvall…</b> | ||
560D | Your Call | 15V, according to Vivitar via John Faughnan | ||
Series One, 600 M/P/O (Minolta, Pentax, Olympus) | Your Call | 8.7V, measured by “Keoeeit” | ||
628AF | Your Call | 6.8V, according to Louis Carresi, using a Nikon shoe | ||
728AFC | Yes | 5.77V, per Petteri Luukkanen | ||
730AFC | Yes | 3.25-3.37V, per Neuz2U (Allen N) | ||
730AFM | Yes | 6V, checked w/Vivitar by Ashish Bhutada | ||
Series 1, 836AFC | Your Call | 3.6V, measured by Saul Gurdus | ||
1900 | No | 90V, measured by Samath Wije, 127.3V from Ted Coffey | ||
2000 | No | 54.4, measured by Greg Speth, but, 180V+ from Lou McLaughlin, who reports that Vivitar appears to have made completely different strobes with this same model number…., 202V from Chuck Roake too | ||
2500 | Your Call | 10.95V, measured by J. Mark Morris, 14.5V from Lou McLaughlin | ||
2600 | No | 148V, reported by Ted Felix | ||
2800 | No? | 140-170V, according to Bart Van Oudenhove, though Paul Durant reports his new one measured 20V., Dave Senciall says his G3 wouldn’t fire his 140V version,, and Jack Benson reported his 2800-D (same model?) returned only 4V…, & 33.6V, checked by Gunars Lucans | ||
3500 | Yes(?) | 6V, checked w/Vivitar by Bart Nathan, though Bart Daatselaar reported 9.1V from his —, Scott Slayman tried his with varying dedicated models and got varying voltages in the 4-7V range | ||
3700 | Your call | 9.1-9.4V, checked on four different units with a Fluke meter by Jim Sharp | ||
3900 | Your call | 9.9V, checked by Larry Wilson | ||
4600 | Your call | 19.5V, checked by Dave Grant | ||
4900 VT | Yes | 4.2V, checked by Wolfgang Kurth | ||
Macroflash 5000 | Yes | ~6V, checked by Jay Philippbar | ||
5200 | Your call | ~9.4V, checked by “Dr. Droo” Baxter | ||
5250 | Yup | 5-6V depending on the module, checked by Jeff Wiseman | ||
7600 | Your Call | 7.5V w/new batteries, measured by Dennis Yep | ||
Voigtlander | VC21B | No | 118V measured by “rjsch” | |
Wein | Pro Sync 1, IR transmitter | Your call | 15.18V, measured by Sandy Levenberg, (Newer model is reputedly 6V) | |
Pro Sync LX-2 | Your call | 10.36V, measured by Jan C. Doddy | ||
200 Flash | No | 122.7V measured Don Swanson | ||
White Lightning | All | ? | See listing under “Paul Buff” | |
WOC | WOC | Yes | 5V reported by Matt Dovner | |
Woctron (“WOC”?) | 250 PC Auto | Yes | 5V reported by “Alex from Italy” | |
2500 PC | Yes | 5.5V reported by Dmitrios Papadopoulos | ||
Yashica | CS-202 | Your call | 11V, reported by Mike Flynn | |
CS-201 Auto | Your call | 11.9V, reported by “Mike from Sweden” | ||
CS-221 Auto | Yes | A wee 1.75V, reported by Ken Kane | ||
CS-240 Auto | Your call | 7.2V, reported by Andrzej Sosnowski |
Useful Info From Lumedyne
We got a very informative note from D.J. LaDez, the GM at Lumedyne Inc:
You did not mention our Lumedyne flashes pre 1992 or so they had about 100volts with very low current. The current was so low, batteryless slaves wouldn't power up. Since 1992 we have used 12 volts with enough current to fire on all cameras and drive slave units. We do not know of anyone, including Canon EOS users, who have had damage from the 12 volt sync output.
Also keep in mind that the severely low rating on the sync voltage is while using the hot shoe on the camera, however the PC on advanced models usually has a much higher rating ( I believe it's 250 volts). Also keep in mind that product like our Sync Filter or the one I most often recommend is the Wein Safe Sync HS 6V. It is a hot shoe to PC adapter and limits the voltage of anything to 6 volts to the camera. Our Sync Filter is the #088E and is household to household connection for the same voltage but not at the camera, rather at the flash end when a household sync connection is used.
Thanks DJ!Additional Comments From Nikon
Jeff MacWright found this post via support.nikontech.com:
Warning: Negative voltages or voltages over 250 V applied to the camera's sync terminal could not only prevent normal operation, but may damage the sync circuit of the camera or flash. Check with the strobe manufacturer for voltage specifications
Thanks Jeff!
(This exact wording is also found in the manual of the Nikon Coolpix 5700)