New Flash

[snajper]

Hi,

I am new to this forum and already need some help.

I have Sony A200 and I have just recently purchased an external flash for it of ebay for 99 cents.

It is Soltron AF888DX for Minolta Dynax. It has a lot features(Swiwel up, down left right, 2 flashes, red light focus helper, tons of manual settings etc) and I have to use it in manual mode.
I have already taken more than 100 shots in the first day and I love it.

My question is should I be worried about this flash voltage spiking my camera as it is not designed for Sony alpha or will I need a hotshoe with voltage regulator in long term to protect the camera.

Any input is greatly appriciated.

[ricktas]

voltage issues can occur in any device, if they are not functioning properly. Whether it be a 0.99 cent one or a $1000.00 one.

Whether this particular one will have an issue is not something we could say.

Welcome to AP, enjoy the site. I have moved your thread out of product reviews, as it is a general question, not a product review.

[Ronbo]

One thing you have to make sure is that the voltage tolerances will work with the camera.

I have heard of issues where the flash unit has higher voltages than the camera was designed for and the extra voltage burned out the camera.

I am an advocate with flash units to look at the specs of the camera and flash head first rather than the price.

There is a reason why some of these flashheads are so expensive....friends of mine in their mind wouldn't/couldn't justify the cost of the units until they saw what mine was capable of....sadly they are canon users so they don't get the full effect of Nikon's CLS, without the extra cost of having to accesorize their flash systems.

[JM Tran]

if the flash is a 3 pin like most modern flashes from 1991 onwards it will be fine, as I used to use Nikon SB24s and 25s on my 5D and Pentax K20D and other cameras fine in manual mode

if its an older flash, u can buy this adaptor thing that goes between the hot shoe of the camera and flash to lower the voltage to make it safe.