# Vivitar Auto Thyristor 2600.D...?



## Sinister_kid (Jan 15, 2009)

Well i found this in my basement with some old 35mm camera, and was wondering if anybody knows anything about it? Seems like a pretty solid flash.. still works and everything. I cant quite figure out the settings though? 

Its got an ISO setting, and it goes 64, 100, 200, 400, 1000. Is this an ISO for the flash itself or what? Here is a picture of the back. 







Trying to figure this all out for tomorrow, shooting a high school basketball game for the school. 

Thanks!


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## usayit (Jan 15, 2009)

Yes... I have one....   Mine is slightly different with just 2600 (no D).  

You have a three mode switch that controls the autothrystor; mine is marked with a RED DOT, M and BLUE DOT.  On the back, you set the ISO to match your camera or film.  Once this is done, the markings (red and/or blue on my flash) will recommend the aperture setting for the ranges specified by what you set (mine red or blue dot).  The red dot/mode is fo 7 to 30 feet and the blue dot/mode is for 15 to 3 feet.

Instead of a red/blue dot, I see yours is marked as A1 and A2.  The scale on the back should also have similar marks that indicate aperture setting depending on whether you have A1 or A2 selected.  M is for manual and mine will always fire at full when selected.

btw... careful with the shoe.. it breaks easily.


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## Sinister_kid (Jan 15, 2009)

Mine has the same red/blue dot concept type thing.
Except when you hit a1 it goes for 3-15 feet and the background to that is blue. 
Then you hit a2 and its for 6-30 feet and the background is red. 

So the Auto F. is what the aperature on the camera should be? And match the iso on the camera to what you select on the flash?


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## usayit (Jan 15, 2009)

I had to go to ebay and find a closer pic of the back of your flash.  Same concepts but a bit more different than I expected.

Yes you are right....  YOu set the ISO.  the range will either be 6-30 or 3-15.  AutoF should be the aperture to set.   Experiment a little and it will make sense... careful of trigger voltages though... not sure if it is safe for your particular camera.


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## Sinister_kid (Jan 16, 2009)

Thanks for all the info!
My photography teacher is also letting me take a Canon speedlight incase i cant get mine working.

What do you mean "trigger Voltages"?


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## usayit (Jan 16, 2009)

Some old flashes expose the camera's hotshoe to high voltages.  In the old days of mechanical cameras, this was not an issue.  Today, cameras with internal electronics can be damaged by these high voltages.   You should double check you camera and flash beforehand.  

I use many old flashes with my cameras and I protect them with a Wein Safe sync hot shoe adapter designed to insulate the camera from any potential high trigger voltages.  Some newer digital cameras are also designed to take higher voltages.  

Photo Strobe Trigger Voltages


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## horan001 (Oct 2, 2010)

there is no need to protect with this safe shoe stuff if you do your homework. i took my vivitar 2600*D*, yes the d is important to a computer shop and hooked it up to a voltmeter.  was 5.8V, totally acceptable for a canon camera that i have.  as i am a total ingenue photographically this will allow me to cut my teeth in the world of artificial lighting for 13usd (ebay).  i swear by this number, they checked polarity and also tried reading it on a/c.









usayit said:


> Some old flashes expose the camera's hotshoe to high voltages.  In the old days of mechanical cameras, this was not an issue.  Today, cameras with internal electronics can be damaged by these high voltages.   You should double check you camera and flash beforehand.
> 
> I use many old flashes with my cameras and I protect them with a Wein Safe sync hot shoe adapter designed to insulate the camera from any potential high trigger voltages.  Some newer digital cameras are also designed to take higher voltages.
> 
> Photo Strobe Trigger Voltages


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