Flashbulb unit with hotshoe?

[KinoGrafx]

Hiya- is anyone aware of a flash unit that takes flashbulbs (m3,etc) that will sit in, and fire from a standard hotshoe (probably in “B” mode)? Asking for my Holga….

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Hiya- is anyone aware of a flash unit that takes flashbulbs (m3,etc) that will sit in, and fire from a standard hotshoe (probably in “B” mode)? Asking for my Holga….

hotshoe is an X contact and flashbulbs need an M contact. So, no. The shutter would fire before the flashbulb is fully lit. Sorry

 

[KinoGrafx]

Yes, hence firing the camera in B mode- but to your point it makes sense that probably no one in their right mind would produce a flash unit like that

 

[KinoGrafx]

I stand corrected, somebody did roll the dice on this, and…..no longer available

 

[AnselMortensen]

Most flashbulb flash units use PC cords to sync.
There are adapters like the Nikon AS-15 that fire a PC flash from a hot shoe.

 

[benveniste]

I use a vintage Nikon BC-7 flash with an AS-2 adapter. In fact, I just posted this shot in an other forum a few minutes ago. Note that this was designed to use a 15-volt Everready 504 battery, so when I actually use it on a modern camera I do so on a Wein Safe-Sync.

 

[KinoGrafx]

Well there it is! I have that flash unit, and the As-2 looks easy and cheap to get. Where do you source the weird battery for the flash unit?

 

[DWThomas]

Well there it is! I have that flash unit, and the As-2 looks easy and cheap to get. Where do you source the weird battery for the flash unit?

I'm thinking the 504 battery is a 15 volt that was used in the Honeywell Tilt-a-mite "back in the day." There is a lo-o-o-ng thread somewhere in these forums discussing that and there is a newer battery -- twelve volt as I recall-- than can be fudged in and will work. (My fingerprints are scattered through that thread.)

 

[benveniste]

Well there it is! I have that flash unit, and the As-2 looks easy and cheap to get. Where do you source the weird battery for the flash unit?

B&H among others sell a replacement. I'm still using an EverReady I bought 3-4 years ago.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1062350-REG/exell_battery_a220_504a_15v_alkaline_battery.html

 

[Kodachromeguy]

Many moons ago, the AG-1 Kodablitz flash unit slid in the shoe of my Kodak Instamatic 500 camera. No cable was needed.

 

[KinoGrafx]

Thanks everyone- this is all very helpful!

 

[mgb74]

I remember hotshoe devices that used flashcubes. Not sure how they addressed the M vs X sync.

 

[Jim Jones]

The first hot shoe flash appeared for the pre-WWII UniveX Mercury camera. In those days before compact electronic flashes were available, the camera provided the correct sync for appropriate flash bulbs.. The first version of the Mercury flashe used a battery that may be unavailable today. The second pre-war version and the final post-war version used standard penlight batteries. These flashes may be too scarce today to be really practical. The camera was unique in several ways. The simple rotary focal plane shutter (1/20 - 1/1000 second!) was reliable and more accurate than conventional shutters then and perhaps today. However, the competing Argus C3 had a coupled rangefinder, and looked more like many cameras of that time. It's fans may not have cared about the Mercury's far better construction. Despite cutting the Mercury II price in half, the Argus C3 easily became America's first choice for a rather inexpensive 35mm Camera.

 

[xkaes]

Minolta, Yashica., Nikon, Canon.....There are lots to choose from.

Minolta's Flash Units