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Only Speedlights with F5

B

botten

Are the NIkon Speedlights the only flash units that can be used with the F5? I ask because the manual mentions a risk of harming the camera circuitry if anything other than a Nikon Speedlight is used. That sounds questionable to me as it's obviously to Nikon's advantage to sell their flash.
 
>This sentence was added into the manuals by the Speedlight sales department. > The only Nikon flash I have is an old SB23, the rest comes from Sunpak, Vivitar and Metz. Some 3rd party flashes may not support all flash functions built into the camera to 100% - haven't gotten my Sunpak PZ 4000 to shoot high speed synch, yet. The Metz 54 is a much better flash than the SB80 IMHO. And the el cheapo Vivitar 285 is a great auto flash. If you are fine with some restrictions if they appear or exist you don't have to buy Nikon.

However: There can be a problem with the voltage. I know that some older Sunpak flashes have a higher synch voltage than a Nikon could swallow. But with a Wein save synch no problem at all.
 
Gentlemen, thanks for the replies. I've got a low $$ flash from Nissin (Auto 250) with a guide number of 82 (ISO 100) which would probably be as much flash as I need for as often as I use flash, but this Nikon F5 manual statement worries me: "risk of harming the camera circuitry if anything other than a Nikon Speedlight is used". Does anyone know how to determine what synch voltages are needed by the F5 and where I might find out what it is on this Nissin Auto 250? All I know is that the flash is a thyristor unit requiring 4 AA batteries (1.5V each), has a flash duration of between 1/30,000-1/500th of a second and a recycle time in Auto mode of 3.6 secs.
 
>That is the problem with non dedicated flashes. > Check with Nissin if they recomend this model for Nikon. I think they get imported by THK.

To go 100% sure invest in a Wein save synch for about 50-70 bucks.
 
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