Can I trigger an optar 152M manually?

Question

First off, I know nothing about flashes.

I have an optar 152M flash that fits on top of the camera, and I want to trigger it manually.

The flash seems to have a contact where it fits onto the camera (or is that just to locate it?), and two contacts coming out as a cable.

Is it as simple as shorting the contacts together?

[EDIT] Thanks for the answers. I just had a look inside the flash, and it looks like it was stored in a pond at some point. It's now in the bin!

mattdm · Accepted Answer · 2011-10-03T12:49:16.703

3

Yes, it is just that simple — short the contacts together to trigger it. This is the ISO standard design, and almost all hotshoe flashes follow it. Modern, fancier flashes will have additional pins used for per-manufacturer proprietary control, but usually shorting the center pin to the sides of the shoe will cause a manual flash even on these, as a lowest-common-factor "compatibility language".

edited Oct 03 '11 at 12:49

answered Oct 01 '11 at 13:59

mattdm

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score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 01 '11 at 12:03

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If it has a standard flash hotshoe you can trigger the flash by shorting the outer metal rails and the inner pin together.

I'm not sure what you mean by "two contacts coming out as a cable" - perhaps you could post an image.

answered Oct 01 '11 at 12:03

Matt Grum

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perhaps he means where the flash sync chord goes? – Dreamager Oct 01 '11 at 12:20
I just googled for 'flash sync cord' and it looks like that's what it is. – Johan Oct 01 '11 at 21:51

Can I trigger an optar 152M manually?

2 Answers2