I have one of these packed away with a Honeywell Strobonar 880. It has not been used in many, many years, but once upon a time, it was a go to. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

Only 7 subscribers? I'm amazed. Thank you ever so much for such a perfect explanation of what this flash is, what it does and how to use it.

Thank you very much for the help! Just bought this flash and didn't know how to use it

@savorit1179

2 жыл бұрын

Same

Succinct and informative. Thanks

This is a very good flash, better than the more known (in europe }Metz units, i;ve used this flash for many years on location as wel for studio shoots, very powerfull, silent, and when at 1/4 power or less with quick recycle times, allso has a power save circuit build in so it does not eat your battery when idle between schooting, its realy a shame these type of units are no longer been build, way better than a on board (atop the camera hotshoe) unit, gives mounted side ways a nicer image and is much more sturdy handling. i now use a godox , also quit good but handling on top of a camera is pretty awkward. When you see one on the second hand marked, allso check the recycle times at FULL power, should be around 2,5 seconds....if not you can expect problems with the condensator since these units are more then 20 years old , a weack point can allso be the thyristor ( automatic light control)these tend to crap out much sooner than the condensators....BTW best to protecd the life of a flash unit is ,espesialy after a long sleep , to first ¨format"the condensator by putting the unit on, leave it on for at least two minutes before firing, so the condensator may come alive from his sleep , so toe speak. And do not by a old METZ unit, i had several crap out on me within a few years (bad condensators] Another even better profesional brand from the film era was MANNESMAN MUTIBLITZ , these German flashes were even better , especially the unit with hammerhead + separate leadacid battery, so maybe interesting aswel.

@joshmcdzz6925

2 ай бұрын

my problem with the setup of the flash unit and camera is the side lighting which gives a noticeable side shadow to the opposite side of the subject.. The flash from above is more ideal ( although the higher the better ) if on the camera, you get a flat light but moved to the side you can actually get a 3d effect ... Yeah, buying these flashes is like gambling with a 20% chance of winning..

Hi there, will the pc sync fire with cameras that don't use batteries, or cameras without batteries fitted running full manual? Many thanks :)

@dukenukem5768

9 ай бұрын

Yes. Flash units generally (even modern ones) only need their trigger contact to be shorted to ground to fire them, no fancy electronics needed. In the co-axial sync lead that older flash units have (eg @2:34) the centre pin is the trigger contact and the outer surround is the ground, so you can demonstrate firing the flash by shorting these with a thin screwdriver. In older cameras the shorting was done by a simple microswitch in the shutter.

ATG's 2nd from /ATG/Metz 60CT series are ATG's Sunpak 622 & 555 on down hammer head flashes. All of ATG as ATG Auto2 mode, which is better than using today TTL flashes. Any questions, please ask or reply with your email address Most ATG's flashes use 2.5mm Sync Socket, unless you have or using ATG/Metz.

Would it be safe (trigger voltage) to use on Nikon FTn, F2AS? Or what is a good high end vintage era A auto flash for F2?

@dukenukem5768

9 ай бұрын

Yes. Those are older cameras with mechanical shutters and no sensitive electronics, and were designed in the days when some flash units had trigger voltages around 200 volts. The Sunpak 544/4205 has a trigger of only 7 volts so it is safe even on modern digital cameras, although Canon did recommend no more than 6 volts for one of their DSLRs, I can't remember which one. The Nikon F and F2 have a non-standard hotshoe and you either need to use a Nikon flash unit designed for it, or an adaptor, or by-pass it by using a sync lead plugged into the camera's PC socket. The hotshoe mounted Nikon SB-16A (not the B) was designed for the F and F2. For a hammerhead, most vintage hammerheads use simple sync leads, so this Sunpak 4205, or the Sunpak 4500, any of the Metz 45 series, or for a Nikon there is the SB-11 although they are not very common. All those are powerful pro-grade vintage units.

Also, do you know how this compares to the Sunpak Auto Zoom Thyristor 3600? 🙏

@dukenukem5768

9 ай бұрын

The Auto Zoom Thyristor 3600 is a bit less powerful, having a Guide Number of 36 metres compared with the 4205's 42 metres. However the most important thing is that the 3600 has a trigger voltage of around 200 volts which is OK on an old mechanical film camera but could damage a modern digital camera or even one of the later film cameras. The trigger voltage of the 4205 is only around 7 volts. www.lucan.org.uk/Vintage/Hotshoes/volt_table.html#sunpak

Is there any difference between this one and the 522 (American)? I have a 522 and it looks identical and it is a very good Flash.

@dukenukem5768

6 ай бұрын

The 522 is similar to the 544/4205G but with slightly lower power. It has a Guide number of 36 metres as opposed to the 544's 42 metres. The 522 was also sold as the "Auto Zoom 3600" (USA versus rest of world naming I believe). Despite the name, the 3600 did not zoom as we know it, I think they just meant you could clip a telephoto adaptor on the front. I have heard the 522 has a high trigger voltage so be wary of using it on a modern camera.

@robertknight4672

6 ай бұрын

@@dukenukem5768 I purchased it specifically for use with film cameras. There's plenty of power for the work I do. I don't even know any digital cameras that can take an external flash.

Do you know what size the sync cord is on the male end side I lost mine.thanks

@dukenukem5768

2 жыл бұрын

It is a 2.5 mm jack plug.

@rufusvanrugburn

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Duke

@rufusvanrugburn

2 жыл бұрын

I bought a 2.5 it don't fit it must be a 3.5

@dukenukem5768

2 жыл бұрын

@@rufusvanrugburn I've just measured mine again (with engineer's vernier calipers) and it is definitely 2.5 mm. I tried a 3.5 mm jack plug and it is far too fat to go in the socket hole. Perhaps the manufacturers changed the design at some point. Does your 2.5 mm plug feel loose in the socket? Maybe the contacts are oxidised inside the socket? Do you have a set of drill bits with which you could gauge the size of the socket before you buy anything else?

@rufusvanrugburn

2 жыл бұрын

Its real loose i have two sunpack 544 its the same on both i will measure the inside diameter i have the original plug to maybe they sent me the wrong size.

Could this be used for video? Like dvc video camera's?

@dukenukem5768

2 жыл бұрын

No, this type of flash unit (Xenon tube) produces single flashes for stills photography. For video you need a continuous light, such as the LED based units.

@savorit1179

2 жыл бұрын

@@dukenukem5768 Cool, thanks

This is still the film era.

@dukenukem5768

Жыл бұрын

Yes, film is making a bit of a come-back.

Metz is much much better than it

@dukenukem5768

6 ай бұрын

Metz units were not pretty but they had a reputation for robustness, so were a favourite of the paparazzi. Metz and Sunpak were the most serious of the independent flash unit makers, rivals for many years. This Sunpak 544/4205G was not the best of Sunpak's offerings though, the 555/G4500DX and the 622 were, because they could use camera dedication modules, as could certain Metz units.