Cobra D400 + ME Super + no manual = some questions

I would be grateful if anybody could help me out while I get used to the Cobra D400 flash unit I have just bought. The lack of a manual has left me a little .. er .. in the dark.

I have set the control on the front to TTL. When metering through the viewfinder everything seems fine, with the exposure set to 1/125 and the flash ready indication working. So is it really that easy? I can just point and shoot? If I change the aperture will the flash automatically compensate?

Thanks for any help you can give.

Hi Kubrik,

I've never used one, but you can get the manual here..

http://www.vintagecameras.co.uk/manual1.htm

for £5.

I've got an ME Super here somewhere, and I was going to have a look at the hotshoe to see how many contacts it has.. so I checked.. just two, (well, three.. ground, trigger and ready, acording to Bdimtrov's site) so no, it won't do TTL metering for the flash. This is down to the body though, not the flash unit.

Hope that helps,

Cheers

Liam

Thanks for the advice. You are correct, the TTL auto flash will not work with the ME super however the dedicated auto flash will. I'm assuming that this is why the shutter speed is set automatically and flash ready status is shown in the viewfinder.

I managed to download a couple of manuals for Pentax flash units and the operation seems largely the same. The only thing I'm still unsure about is the extendable flash head on the Cobra unit. This is designed for use with standard, wide-angle, and telephoto lenses. The extension positions are marked N, ST and T. I'm assuming ST means standard and T means telephoto so why is the wide-angle setting marked N? Or am I reading these wrong?

Perhaps you could ask them on their on-line form @ http://www.cobraphotographic.com/contact/contact.html and they will let you know the reasons behind it.

Guessing N is 'normal', ST is 'Short Telephoto' and T is 'Telephoto'. When you say the 'extension settings', do you mean you have to move the head out to the 'N' position? In which case, the non-extended position is the wideangle one.

But I am just guessing.

Dan

Dwight: I have been Google'ing for ages looking for the Cobra manufactures site but I have never been able to find it. Thanks for that.

Daniel: The three settings on the extendable flash head and their corresponding distance markers, run as follows. Head fully retracted - N, 1.1 to 12m. First extension position (the outer casing now forms something similar to a lens hood) - ST, 1.3 to 15m. Second extension position (deeper lens hood) - T, 1.5 to 17m. I'm assuming N is for wide-angle, ST is for standard focal length and T is for telephoto. This all seems commonsense going by the distance markers and allowing for the directional effect of the 'Flash hood' contraption but I'm still baffled as to why the first position is marked N and not W as it is on most other flash units.

Anyone? Does 'N' denote a wide angle lens?

Not had much luck with Cobra, I think it was the D400 I had, just wouldnt work with any of my cameras, niether my Mz7 or 5n would recognise its existence, despite it having the current line up of pins for the hotshoe, I took it to a local second hand dealer who did a local flea market, he very kindly tried it on a couple of M series bodies (dont know which) and hey presto the camera knew it was there! I eventually sold it on ebay clearly stating the problem and sold it for use as a manual flash.

I also have a Sunpack 888? supposedly Pentax dedicated, my 5n thinks its wonderful, and yet again everything else doesnt know its there.

Bearing in mind the problems I have had with the AF360 I would say I was jinxed with flash, but my cheap little Centon ringflash works a trteat!

Find a dark room, put your widest angle lens on the camera (and the flash gun), and set a small aperture. Take a number of pictures of the wall at different zoom settings (I'm assuming you can adjust the zoom manually).

You should end up with a number of pictures of the wall which will show how the flash illuminates the wall at the different zoom settings.

G

http://www2.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Cobra%20D400%20Manual.pdf

a direct hit to the cobra d400 manual

Many thanks for the above link!

Hi,
The link quoted above no longer exists thanks to Virgin.....did anyone download the manual ?....if so can they please tell me where I can get a copy or send me a copy ?
Regards

My old Achiever flash is marked N, S and T on the zoom gizmo. The manual suggests N is for a 35mm lens, S for 50mm and T for 85mm. The focal lengths could well be different on the Cobra, but the principle should be the same. It's anybody's guess what the N stands for.

Al

http://www2.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Cobra%20D400%20Manual.pdf

it's uploaded again ...