Broke Vivitar flash!

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Konica 35mm SLRs : One Thread

So much for New Years' resolutions! I was dancing around the living room and tripped over the camera that I had left off to the side cause there was only one picture left....I cracked the housing for the part that connects the flash to the camera. It still works, it is quite wobbly though. Is this something that I can get fixed reasonably? I just got this flash (used) at Christmas. I know it was expensive, and it was to replace a smaller one that the cat broke when he got tangled in the neck strap and pulled it off the shelf. My father-in-law has since fixed it, but put it back together backwards, so I can't use it still. My husband will kill me if he finds out about this one... Any help would be appreciated!!

-- Anonymous, February 08, 2001

Answers

Replacement Vivitar Foot

Tracy,

What you describe sounds fairly common on Vivitar flashes. I recall seeing in the Porter's catalogue, an aluminum replacement foot for Vivitar flashes. I don't have the catalog now. Porter's advertises in Shutterbug and has a website, however.

-jwk-

-- Anonymous, February 08, 2001


Vivitar flash foot

Don't panic Tracy! Depending on the Vivitar model, repair might be easy.

285/283(and I think a few other Viv. models) replacement metal flash foots are common on eBay & elsewhere. However they go for too much money there, so surf over to www.micro-tools.com where they offer them for $9. I just bought a couple for my flashes and while they aren't fancy, they work fine. They have a built-in button to test fire the flash, along with a connection for a synch cord (it's a standard connection, diff. from the Vivitar style, so you'll need a diff. cord if using off-camera flash). Of course, they have the normal hot-shoe connection, too.

Now, the catch is you have to un-solder the old foot & re-solder the wiring inside the replacement foot, and the wiring method is not the same as original (4 wires into 2 on the 285). If this is more than you want to deal with, take it to any camera repair shop... I'm sure they can help.

p.s. Vivitar replacement parts are also avail., but most folks switch to metal because the plastic are prone to cracking. One of mine did in quite normal usage.

Cheers!

Alan Myers San Jose, Calif.

-- Anonymous, February 08, 2001


Moderation questions? read the FAQ