7/18/01 7:55:24 PM, "Curtis P. Hedman" <Curtis.P.Hedman-1@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>Hello, all ---
>
>Once again, a technical question. Does the capacitor in T32 and/or T20
>flashes need to be 'formed' after a period of no use? How best can said
>forming be done?
I put in batts, turn it on, leave for a few hours.
<snip>
>I noticed with a T32 I recently acquired that the first time I powered it
>up it took a L.O.N.G time for the ready light to come on (I almost thought
>I'd bought a defective unit). However, after a couple of cycles (fired
>with the test button), things started working fine, though the first set of
>batteries seem to have faded pretty quickly.
yes, noticed that.
>Another data point: I had the opportunity to borrow a Minolta flashmeter
>last winter, and I used it to measure the output power of every flash I
>could find - all in manual mode of course. What I found was, except for the
>newest flash (about 1 year old), every one of the flash's output power was
>about 2/3 to 1-2/3 stops LOW, potentially due to 'aging' of the capacitor
>(leakage, resistance increase, etc.)
as per Gary Reese (or someone else, sorry i don't recall your name), almost all
flashes (regardless of make) use the same or similar "fudge
factor" in uprating their units. also, the given GN is for indoors use where
the light will be reflected around by close proximity to white walls and
the like.
>Anyway, it seems to me the best way to condition a flash that has not been
>used for awhile? I'd hate to kill off a set of batteries for just that
>purpose, but that would probably be OK, if I knew how long to let the flash
>idle in a charged state (Or is it better to pop off a number of flashes?).
>Another alternative is to use the a/c power cord, if one can find one.....
I rarely do flash work, and if an event is coming up, i pop in a set of NiCds,
let it warm up, pop a few flashes, let it be, etc. YMMV, others might
provide more insight.
/Acer V
--
dum spiro, spero
note new email address & webpage location
http://users2.ev1.net/~wesiddiquis/siddiq/
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