Measuring The Voltage On A Vivitar 285 Flash

A friend of mine is selling his older Vivitar 285 Flash, 'Good Condition', slightly used, dropped only a few times, I swear ! He only wants $50.00 Dollars ( US ) to part with it forever, so I may have to help him out and add it to my camera bag. The 285 is a highly regarded portable flash, considered a dependable workhorse that has earned its place in photo equipment history. Cheap, tough and easy to use, with accuracy from its non E-TTL sensor that still outperforms some of those fancy newer $400.00 units. And all that for a fitty! That got me thinking about my Canon and the voltage sync compatibility problems with some of the newer Digital Cameras.

I believe it's safe to use the 285 HV unit on any Canon Digital Camera, but the older 285 ( Non HV ) may fry your DSLR. Checking the voltage sync will be the safest and easiest way to guarantee that I don't cook any of my camera's electronics. Head on over to the Kenrick Parish website for a tutorial on testing your flashes voltage sync.

Thanks to Jeff Geerling, a Photo Enthusiast ( quite talented! ) and Seminary Student at the Archdiocese of Saint Louis Missouri for the wonderful tutorial and photos.

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