I love my Sunpak strobes. This one (right) is my original Sunpak 544 that I've had for over 30 years; 30 years and still going strong. It has been mounted on my old Olympus OM-1, then my OM-2n, and now on my Nikon D80 DSLR. It's a dinosaur but its not extinct yet. About 5 years ago I found it so useful I located and purchased two more of them. They can often be found on Ebay or Craigslist for as little as $60. Note that there are a couple more powerful units available but I chose the 544s because I already had one and I wanted identical units.When buying these strobes, make sure that it comes with the battery holder. They can be hard to come by. And don't forget a sync cord. If yours doesn't have one, its not a big deal. Cords can be purchased from places like B&H. Note that Sunpak uses its own plug size and style so you aren't going to make one with a quick trip to Radio Shack.
So what makes me love them so much?
One is the grip configuration. It just feels good when I'm using it on camera. The bracket, not shown in these photos also buts the light above and to the left of the lens. As soon as you start getting the flash away from the lens. you notice your lighting gets better. Granted its not THAT much farther away but at least its not right above the lens. Want to get your light source even farther away? No problem. The handle has a quick release from the camera bracket. Sunpak handle-mount strobes are great because the bottom of the grip is fitted with a 1/4-20 socket, enabling it to be attached to a standard tripod and most light stands, or even umbrella brackets that include the 14/20 tip or spigot.
At full power, it has a guide number of 140, stronger than some of the cheap entry level monolights. That power level is adjustable from full all the way down to 1/64. It's battery powered (6 AA cells) so they can be used in the field. Power supplies can be found, but oddly enough, a fresh set of batteries recycles them faster than the AC adapter. When I'm photographing events, I usually keep it set to 1/2 to 1/4 power. It conserves batteries, shortens the recycle time, and is not quite so blinding for your subjects. The flash head is adjustable on both the vertical and horizontal axises for complete bouncability.
The addition of a wireless trigger makes it a versatile studio strobe. I use the Cactus V4. See my blog post below for a review of the triggers. As an on camera flash, they are rather heavy; that's why they have the grip design. But compared to monolights, they are pretty light. Using standard monolights in the field would require a very heavy battery pack. If weight is a criteria, the old Sunpaks are a great solution. My three Sunpaks allow me to set up a studio in the woods should I choose to do so.IMPORTANT NOTE: the output voltage of old strobe units such as this one runs very high. Make sure your trigger unit can handle it. That's one of the reasons why I chose the Cactus V4. The same goes for your camera. Modern digital cameras weren't designed to handle that voltage. A Wein Safe-Sync will protect your camera. Read and follow ALL directions when using old strobes with ANY digital camera.
Also note the high tech means (as seen on left) of attaching the Cactus to the Sunpak. I used to use rubber bands, but a black elastic hair scrunchy, courtesy of my wonderful and very patient wife, looks much better. While this strobe does have two automatic modes, its better to use it on "manual." That may be a deal breaker for some, but if that's the case, you may be relying too much on auto modes. Go manual and use your knowledge and skills to light your scene as YOU see fit. I'm big on shooting manual, and you will see more evidence of that in future posts.
That's it for now. I've got another blast from the past strobe coming up, and a couple of DIY projects coming soon.
RickArmstrongPhotography.com
Rick Armstrong Photography on Facebook
