Nikon SC-17 cord and non-nikon gear

[seany65]

Hello all, I was wondering if anyone could please tell me if it's possible to use a nikon sc-17 sync cord with a non-nikon flash and non-nikon camera that has a hotshoe but no pc socket?

It's so that I can use the flash off-camera when I want to.

This cord would also be used with an SB16b and F301 when I want to use that flash of-camera.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Edit some minutes later: Forgot to mention the non-nikon camera and non-nikon flash won't be TTL, just using either manual (at lower settings than full for fill-in) or 1 of 3 auto settings.

 

[emraphoto]

It depends on what you mean by ‘will it work’

I used one in a very primitive fashion with a Contax G2 and TLA flash unit. All the calculations had to be done manual but the synch cord would fire the flash

No communication between flash and camera beyond the voltage to fire the flash

 

[seany65]

Thanks emraphoto. Does the tla flash have it's own "electronic eye" and auto settings, but you couldn't use them, or does it give the choice of "Manual or TTL"?


Sorry for editing my original post after your reply, but I thought it best to have the info I added, (which I should've remembered in the first place), in with the original post to try and keep things simple and in one place.

 

[rulnacco]

You can use your SC-17 with practically any camera--of any make--that has the classic large electronic contact in the center of the flash shoe. You will of course, as mentioned above, have to use your flash in manual or auto mode.

I used an SC-17 for quite some time with my F4 and then early Nikon DSLRs, but when I upgraded to an SC-24 to use with my D700 and then D810, I kept the older cord and threw it in the bag with my FE--which of course does not have TTL capability. I use the camera with a variety of Minolta, Olympus or Metz flashes, normally in auto thyristor mode. But I can do manual in a pinch.

It is very useful still, and TTL is really a bit overrated for some things (honestly, I almost *never* use TTL mode), so put it to good use!

 

[PRJ]

Off camera shoe cords just act like extension cords. If the pins line up, it will work.

If you are concerned about it hurting your camera or flash, don't be.

 

[maddoc]

I used it with Leica M7 and SF-20 flash to have TTL flash metering.

 

[seany65]

Thanks to everyone for the replies and the info, and for setting my mind at rest.

I can now spend £25-ish on a device that has a 5 foot long cable (apparently). I think I'll just wrap it around my flash brackets a few times to stop it dangling too much.

 

[seany65]

It seems I won't be getting an SC-17 cord after all that. Apparently the bit that slides onto the flash's hotshoe does not itself have any sort of shoe, even cold, so it won't be able to slide into the cold shoe of my flash brackets which is what I wanted it for.

As my f301 does not have a pc socket I won't be able to use my "hotshoe to pc cord adapters" with it either.

However, I have found pics of a nikon AS-15 which has a cold shoe on the bottom and a pc socket, so I'd have to get one of them and shove it on the f301 and plug one of my hotshoe to pc cord adapters into it.

Does anyone one know if there would be any problems plugging the camera-end of a pc cord into an AS-15, and would it work on a f301?

Any further help would be much appreciated.

Edit: The AS-15 arrived at it seems to work properly. I've yet to get the film printed, so it'll be a short while to see the truth.