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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Vivitar 285 repair?
Doug Holleman, Photographer
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Temple | TX | USA | Posted: 7:39 PM on 06.25.11 |
->> Does anyone know if there's some place that would repair a Japan made 285HV for less or about what a used one on eBay would cost me?
I have one that charges up just fine, but won't fire most of the time. I checked the foot and it doesn't seem to be the problem Even jumping the red and black wires bare doesn't work. It's probably a pretty minor bad wire or one of the tiny capacitors in the lower part of the unit. I just hate to give up on it because it's probably a fairly minor repair, only opening the thing up is a major enough task. I've already experimented on two previous ones with dead flash capacitors, and they are in a thousand pieces in a bag. Anybody need parts?
The newer Chinese versions of this and others just don't cut the mustard, and I can't shell out $400 for a new Nikon speedlight. I'm trying to do the multiple cheap flash strobist thing, and this is just one of them.
I might have to try the Lumopro flash at Midwest, but that's still a lot of money for me for an extra flash. |
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David Scott, Photographer
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Vancouver | WA | US | Posted: 8:03 PM on 06.25.11 |
->> I gave up on trying to get my 285HV from the '80s fixed. When I needed to add to my SB800s I didn't want to go with SB900s so I tried out the LumoPro. It works great but seems to go through batteries quicker than the SB800s do.
-- Dave |
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Andrew Knapik, Photographer, Assistant
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Lincoln Park | MI | USA | Posted: 8:14 PM on 06.25.11 |
| ->> Midwest Camera Repair in Wyandotte, Michigan is pretty good, and reasonable, also might want to try MidState Camera Repair in Warwick, Rhode Island. I have used both, but mostly Midwest, as they are 2 miles from my home. |
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Curtis Clegg, Photographer
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Doug Holleman, Photographer
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Temple | TX | USA | Posted: 2:21 AM on 06.26.11 |
->> I read that the Yongnuo review on strobist earlier. It didn't look very positive, with the comments about inconsitent output and it being two stops less powerful than an sb800, as well as inconsistent build quality. Even though it's cheap, I don't think I would take the plunge on those.
But I am trying some of the Yongnuo ,wireless triggers and they seem pretty dang cool nicely built and designed. Much better than the old ebay triggers I've used, which weren't bad at all. Just no TTL metering, which I guess isn't that big a deal for what they will be used for. |
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Doug Holleman, Photographer
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Temple | TX | USA | Posted: 2:23 AM on 06.26.11 |
| ->> Even used SB600s are close to 300 bones. Man... |
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Mark Peters, Photographer
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Highland | IL | USA | Posted: 5:59 AM on 06.26.11 |
->> Doug -
You can buy refurb SB-600's directly from Nikon for $179 when in stock.
Also, the buy/sell on Miranda has them below $200 quite frequently. |
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Doug Holleman, Photographer
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Temple | TX | USA | Posted: 1:33 PM on 06.26.11 |
| ->> Thanks, Mark. I will definitely check that out. |
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Doug Holleman, Photographer
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Temple | TX | USA | Posted: 5:34 PM on 06.27.11 |
->> Yeah, but there were a lot of unhappy customers after so many of them konked out after only a few months. The re-launch version never cut the mustard, according to numerous reviews. There is a Cactus brand also that is a direct copy, but I don't know if it's any better.
Just got an email from Nikon outlet. Even a refurbed SB-600 is now up to $279 at the cheapest retailer. That's a hundred bucks more than they were when they first came out.
Lumopro is probably the leader so far in my thinking for what I want to do. |
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Juliann Tallino, Photographer
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Seattle | WA | USA | Posted: 6:13 PM on 06.30.11 |
| ->> Have you tried Ebay? There's a bunch on there and some look to be the older original models. most are around $50.00 or so. |
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Ed Ruping, Photographer
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Oviedo | Fl | usa | Posted: 5:46 PM on 07.01.11 |
| ->> I had looked at the 285 route since they were bullet proof in the early eighties. Wound up picking up several Canon 540EZ's for about 60 bucks each. Relatively fast recycle time, varible power etc. |
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Robert Hanashiro, Photographer
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Los Angeles | CA | | Posted: 6:36 PM on 07.01.11 |
->> I have two 285s still going strong. Bought them about 30 years ago while I was at the Visalia Times - Delta...
Wow, what memories...
I also had two 283s, but I gave those away at a school a few years back. They were still working as well.
For a basic flash, you could not go wrong with the 285 (or for that matter the 283).
There used to be a cool company in the San Fernando that repaired and modified these babies...Holly Enterprises, which is still around, but I am not sure Brett still works on the Vivitars.
(He has worked on my Dynalites a few times over the years.) |
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Juliann Tallino, Photographer
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Seattle | WA | USA | Posted: 7:25 PM on 07.01.11 |
| ->> The best thing about the 285's (I have 5) over a more sophisticated electronic flash, is that you can make cheap battery packs for them ($20.00 a battery pack). I used to light high school gyms with 2-4 285's during tournaments and the cheapo battery packs will last through 4-6 games easily. |
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