This question is posted frequently. Some people mutter about high voltages and others call for a ruling from "authoritative sources", which, of course, don't exist.

I always reply that I have used lots of flash guns over the years from lots of different manufacturers and never had a problem.

I wouldn't quite go so far as calling this concern an "urban myth", but in nearly 50 years using a camera I have yet to hear or read of anybody who has actually experienced a "fried" camera.

This is a modern gun designed for modern cameras. It would be suicidal on Vivitar's part to produce flash guns that fried cameras. If there were problems you can bet somebody would have heard about them.

Hi Ollie,
I spent my youth in East Africa. It's hardly an insight, but the continent is changing very fast. Snap it while you can.
And if you are looking for a business opportunity to finance your photography, try exporting Biltong to Britain. It's a terrible price here. Somebody's making a killing.
Cheers

I know a successful wedding photographer who now shoots purely on digital, using a Fuji. His results are superb, and he gets all the printing done by somebody else.

Yes, I wasn't really trying to make the case for on-board flash. A separate flash is much to be preferred.

As far as I know, the AF500FTZ does not have the same abilities to provide exposure compensation as the AF360FGZ, which is a much more sophisticated unit.

It seems to me, Sambahri, that your problems revolve around the limitations of your camera, which was not designed for photographers who want to be creative. Basically, you've outgrown it.

Before spending large sums on expensive flash units you should perhaps consider a second body that will give you the freedom to do what you want to do.

Good new cameras are always expensive, but there are lots of second-hand bargains nowadays. Z1-Ps are magnificent cameras which will allow you to do absolutely anything, and can be had on Ebay for around £200.00. Somewhat less feature-packed, but with faster auto-focus are the MZ-5 and 5n. Lower down the scale are the Z1, the SFX and the SF7, which have poor auto-focus by modern standards but nonethless allow full manual over-ride. They all have built-in flash that you can manipulate.

If autofocus is not essential, then the Super A is an unbeatable bargain, with TTL off the film flash. Units like the AF200T can be purchased very cheaply, and are streets ahead of any built-in flash. I recently bought an AF240FT on Ebay, unused, for £16.00.

All these cameras will use your present lenses.

I think this approach may be more sensible than spending a lot of money on a sophisticated flash system for an unsophisticated camera which cannot keep up with your creative demands.

I have never owned one of these cameras, but I think you may have difficulty in over-riding what the camera thinks the flash it ought to do in these circumstances.

However, there are two other possibilities that I can think of.

One is to rig up a reflector to reflect light onto the dark side of the face. This is quite easy if you have a willing assistant. The subject might even be able to hold it himself, if you frame the picture tightly.

A cheap aluminium foil platter might make a good reflector if you don't want to spend much money.

The other option would be to buy a cheap manual flash, stick it in the hotshoe, and ensure you stand as far from the subject as the distance specified on the flashgun for the aperture you are using.

In both cases, take a few shots, varying the reflector distance in the former case, and your own position in the latter.

If you can find a "more authoritative source", then the whole photographic world will be forever in your debt.

However, like the elephants' graveyard, King Solomon's Mines, and, dare I say it, weapons of mass destruction, authoritative sources on this topic have been hard to find.

The camera manufacturers simply tell you to use their own products, and the flash manufacturers don't provide any information on their older products.

So far, I have heard various statements about high flash voltages, but I have used a number of cameras, including my present Super A and Z1-P on all sorts of flash units, including a Starblitz I bought secondhand in 1979, and several old studio flashes, and have never had a problem.

If anybody DOES have negative experience, it would be good to hear from them.

This is a frequently asked question.

Camera manufacturers love to worry people by suggesting that they should only use the manufacturer's own flashguns on their cameras.

I would certainly not advise trying to use a modern three or four-pin flashgun designed for one make of camera on a different make of camera, but I would have little hesitation in using a simple one-pin flashgun on any camera. Other (more cautious) souls may offer different advice.

I have never come across anybody with first-hand experience of a flashgun damaging a camera, and I personally have used loads of different flashguns on loads of different makes of camera.

Obviously, you should ensure that the gun is well-seated in the hotshoe.

Good luck, and please tell me if it all goes wrong. Then I'll offer different advice next time!

Incidentally, the *ist D is nothing if not a "newer Pentax camera".

Many slightly more expensive flatbed scanners come with transparency adaptors for a range of sizes, not just 35mm.

My Epson Perfection 2450 Photo will scan negs up to 4"x5", and you may find that you don't need a very high resolution (depending on the size of the neg and the intended use).

If it's just for the web, then you might find that even quite low resolution scanners will do the job.

For instance, a 35mm neg scanned at only 150 dpi gives a final image of roughly 900x600 pixels; sufficient to fill most of an average computer screen. If that's good enough for your purposes, then any old flatbed scanner with a transparency adaptor will do the trick, and there's lots of them about.

Here's a link to a review of the Epson:

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2002_reviews/epson_2450.html

If you've got lots to scan, you might want to do the whole lot at low resolution, then select a chosen few for doing again at higher res. Scanning lots of pictures takes a long time, and it is best to avoid using a resolution higher than the one you need.

Go to the very bottom of this page:

http://www.pentaxusa.com/products/cameras/OptioS_33L_330GSUSB/PC/o_slg_usb_win.h...

and click on the words "Download Now".

Then follow the instructions to save the file onto your computer.

I've just tried it, and it works! (The download, that is. I don't have one of these cameras, so I can't test the software itself.)