pepprdog

I admit I'm a bit lazy..... and cheap😁 so I'm in here looking for ways to use my old dedicated film Nikon flashes with my Nikon digital camera.
I understand these won't be mounted on the camera shoe in order to work but I hate it every time I go through my "stuff" and see these perfectly good useable flashes. I would like to use them until they don't work any more but certainly don't want to damage the camera by doing something stupid🤓
ANY and ALL help with this is greatly appreciated😃
THANKS!!

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

Please be advised that older film flash units may not be compatible to digital cameras because of higher voltage. My advice to you is to buy a new flash unit. They are priced low nowadays.

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

No Nikon electronic flash will damage any Nikon DSLR.
http://www.botzilla.com/photo/strobeVolts.html

Clapperboard

pepprdog I don't think it's 'cheap' to not throw away usable kit. Like you I try to get ALL the usage I can from any kit available.
Earlier 'electronic flash units' --- pre Speedlight (Speedlite) type are still usable. But on no account fit them to the hotshoe on your camera. The switching works differently and high voltage could be sent into the camera wiping it out. Use them off camera. Your camera may have a PC connection. The flash units can be used with a PC connecting cable and will operate. Take some test shots to check the limits on shutter speeds. Very often shutter speeds up to about one thousandth of a second can be achieved. When using the PC connection the camera is completely unaware there is anything attached and so there is no flash synchronisation setting problem. You need to test your particular setup to be know what settings you can achieve.

The Watcher

Here's two links of interest. One shows how to test the flash trigger voltage and the other shows the voltage of Nikon flash units. Like the chart RWR posted, it shows the low voltage on older Nikon flash units, make them safe to use on modern cameras. But if you have access to a meter, I would still consider the voltage test.

http://dpanswers.com/content/genrc_flash_measuretv.php

http://dpanswers.com/roztr/volt_finder.php

pepprdog

THANKS Clapperboard exactly what I was wondering/thinking/hoping😊
I like that list RJR, I appreciate that😃!
Hoping it's reliable but definitely not going on the camera no matter what😁
SB24 and SB25 units... both were incredibly nice flashes in their day, expensive too😳
D750 doesn't need much light but I've had a couple situations when some off camera light would have made a big difference.
Big decision is equipment for setup, especially remote set.
I actually should to do more research on what's available and affordable for this retired cheapskate😆

JPL

you can get very cheap optical triggers to use those flashes off camera. That is an easy way to get some use of them. Maybe cheap radio triggers will also do the job. And if none of this appeals to you you can mail them to me. No need to throw away perfectly good stuff

dandi Loc: near Seattle, WA

I've been using SB-25 since the first day with digital, with Nikon cameras: d70,d200 and now I am using it
with d7000 and d700, never had a problem.

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

Except, maybe, the SB-8E......

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

Do you mean because of the “iffy” in the second column? That’s for EOS cameras, which doesn’t make sense to me - 21 to 28.4 volts is pretty low. I believe most, if not all Nikon DSLRs can handle 250 volts, and I would think that other top brands would be similar.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

These links might help.

http://www.botzilla.com/photo/strobeVolts.html
http://www.shutterbug.com/content/using-older-electronic-flash-digital-cameras-what-works%E2%80%94what-doesn%E2%80%99t#e0r5XD1ycZcdFdfF.97
http://www.instructables.com/id/Use-old-flashes-on-new-DSLR-cameras./

nimbushopper Loc: Tampa, FL

I still use an sb25 on my Nikon digital bodies but it has to be in the auto mode, not ttl because the flash was designed to work by measuring off the film.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

I wouldn't put a 250 v flash anywhere near a modern Canon camera. From what I've seen they prefer 6v or less.

I have some old flashes - Canon and Vivitar - that work fine with inexpensive Yongnuo radio triggers, but I would not risk my cameras even though the voltages seem OK.

oldschool

Check out this Nikon chart.

You should find what you need to know. In my case the loss of functionality has me thinking seriously about an upgrade.

https://www.nikonimgsupport.com/ni/NI_article?articleno=000001407&configured=1&lang=en_US

Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

I have an SB 25 as well as an SB 28. They work just fine in the camera's hot shoe. No trigger voltage issues at all. Where you run into that problem is with older flash units that have but the single center pin, not so much with ones that are dedicated to the camera. That said, it is better to get a more current speed light in order to take advantage of Nikon's CLS system. The older flashes will work in auto & manual modes, but not offer TTL as Nikon's DSLR's use a different (iTTl) system. I also have many other older units that are higher trigger voltage (Vivitar units) that I use off camera, triggered remotely. I shoot a lot of macro & I have several older (mid 1980's) ring/point lights that I use on my DSLR's I tested the trigger voltage beforehand & found it to be safe. One issue with older non Nikon dedicated units is that some will refuse to fire unless you tape over the contacts on the foot except for the center pin. I got around that by replacing the foot modules to the older single pin configuration. Of course I'm shooting entirely in manual when I do use them.