a6500 Flash Trigger Voltage

[Dennis Bayer]

Hi-

Does anybody know for sure what the safe trigger voltage is for the a6500?

I would like to use some older small flashes and studio strobes with this camera and they have very high trigger voltages. An old Sunpak 522 has a tv of 190 and my Speedotron power packs are in the neighborhood of 70 volts.

I have heard that these cameras should be triggered at "around" 6 volts. I just received a Wein Safe-Sync that is supposed to drop the trigger voltages to 6 volts. However, when I test with multi- meter, I get 7.2 volts on the Sunpak. I will test the studio strobe later today.

I have been unable to find definitive statement of maximum allowable trigger voltage for the a6500. Does anybody know what it is? Is 7.2 volts close enough or still risky?

I sent an inquiry to Sony this morning and hope they wil respond.

Thanks

 

[Dennis Bayer]

FYI

Sony got back to me with this:

"I understand that you are looking for the information about the trigger voltage. We do not have information about safe trigger voltage for camera when using studio strobes or other third party flashes. We do not guarantee the compatibility of these unit to Sony cameras."

Apparently they have no idea! Pretty crazy ino!

So, just out of curiosity, has anybody checked the trigger voltage on a Sony flash with a multi- meter? This might be helpful.

Thanks

 

[Euell]

Sony's multi-interface hot shoe is said to conform to the ISO 10303 standard, which allows for a trigger voltage of 24 volts.

 

[Dennis Bayer]

Sony's multi-interface hot shoe is said to conform to the ISO 10303 standard, which allows for a trigger voltage of 24 volts.

Thanks, that's good to know!

Where did you find that info? Amazing that Sony couldn't answer the question!

 

[Euell]

Sony's multi-interface hot shoe is said to conform to the ISO 10303 standard, which allows for a trigger voltage of 24 volts.

Thanks, that's good to know!

Where did you find that info? Amazing that Sony couldn't answer the question!

Online and the best source was from somebody who inquired of Sony and was given the information. Sony doesn't disclose trigger voltage in their literature, but the ISO standard is generally adhered to by manufacturers, as otherwise it would be impossible to design a flash for multiple manufacturer platforms.

"Sony

For connection through a pc-socket, Sony lists the maximum safe trigger voltage in the manual (e.g. “Use a flash with a sync voltage of 400V or less.” Sony a700 manual, p. 77). However, this number does not apply to the hot-shoe. Sony does not officially give out information on the safe voltage for hot-shoe mounted flash units (beyond the obvious recommendation that you should only mount one of the Sony's own units in the hot-shoe).

However, user georgiaboy reports in a forum message on Dyxum.com that he has received the following information:

I spoke to a Sony tech support guy who said max voltage should not exceed 24 volts."

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

 

[Dennis Bayer]

Sony's multi-interface hot shoe is said to conform to the ISO 10303 standard, which allows for a trigger voltage of 24 volts.

Thanks, that's good to know!

Where did you find that info? Amazing that Sony couldn't answer the question!

Online and the best source was from somebody who inquired of Sony and was given the information. Sony doesn't disclose trigger voltage in their literature, but the ISO standard is generally adhered to by manufacturers, as otherwise it would be impossible to design a flash for multiple manufacturer platforms.

"Sony

For connection through a pc-socket, Sony lists the maximum safe trigger voltage in the manual (e.g. “Use a flash with a sync voltage of 400V or less.” Sony a700 manual, p. 77). However, this number does not apply to the hot-shoe. Sony does not officially give out information on the safe voltage for hot-shoe mounted flash units (beyond the obvious recommendation that you should only mount one of the Sony's own units in the hot-shoe).

However, user georgiaboy reports in a forum message on Dyxum.com that he has received the following information:

I spoke to a Sony tech support guy who said max voltage should not exceed 24 volts."

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

Yes, I also saw that a few days ago.

For what it's worth, I only have 2 power packs left, a 400 ws and a 1600 ws. I haven't checked the voltage on the 1600 yet, but on the 400 I did. It was 22 volts without the Wein Safe-Sync and 6.8 volts with it, so I think I should be OK. The larger pack I think is around 70 volts, but with these cameras I probably won't ever need that much as I'm usually at f8 or wi