Flash Vivitar Auto Thyristor 550 FD - please help

[Mariusz Szymanski]

Hello!
I live in Poland. I bought "second-hand" flash Vivitar Auto Thyristor 550 FD
without any paper instructions. I desperately need some informations: can I
use it with Canon EOS500N (Rebel-G) AF SLR safely? To what types of 35mm
cameras is it dedicated to?
I would be grateful for any help.
Best regards,
Mariusz Szymanski

[frank goodman]

it is primarily dedicated to the canon fd or rather the a-1
,ae1,at1,ae1p, av1 and can be used on the t90. these are all manual
bodies. it is also used on some ricohs or even some pentax. if you use
it on an eos body -try and use it in manual as it is not dedicated for
the auto-focus of the eos system. [ other bodies include the
t70,t80,t50, t60] hope this gives you some idea as which ones will work
.

[GLMeador]

msz...@psk2.am.lodz.pl (Mariusz Szymanski) wrote:

The Vivitar 550FD is a dedicated flash that can use the TTL flash sensor
in many camera models when the switch is set to "TTL".. To determine
which camera system a particular 550FD is manufactured for, look on the
reverse side of the flash. At the upper right side, just below the
horizontal line, is a letter or group of letters. The letter indicates
the camera brand that the flash is dedicated to. For example, Nikon would
be an "N" while "M/P/O" represents Minolta/Pentax/Olympus. I would think
that Canon would be represented by "C", but I do not know which specific
Canon bodies are dedicated. Someone else know?

The flash can still be used in a non-dedicated capacity by selecting the
"A1" or "A2" automatic ranges that use the built-in sensor. It can also
be used on "M" for manual in which the output is fixed, and you must
select the correct aperture based on ISO and distance.

Remember to always shut off the dedicated flash when attaching or removing
it from the camera to avoid damage to electronic circuitry.

Hope this helps!
Gary L. Meador
Odessa, TX