Yes, they do seem to have been discontinued. A friend tried buying one several
months ago and gave up trying to find one. Adorama and B&H were out and the
local (Boston) shops such as Zeff and Hunt's were out as well.
I suggested a Sunpak 383 as a reaonable equivalent. You get swivel for better
bounce control but you don't get the zoom head of the 285HV (yes, HV is the
distinction between 12 volts trigger voltage and as much as 250 volts). You'd
have to use the Sunpak wide/tele filter kits instead if that was important to
you. My friend did buy the Sunpak 383 and, if you do the same, be sure to check
it over. She brought it to me to see it and check it out for her since she
didn't yet have the proprietary Sunpak PC cable. I plugged my Sunpak cable
into the foot, tested it to see that it worked and then discovered that my
cable couldn't be unplugged. After removing the foot with a screwdriver I
found that the contact inside was gripping the cable's pin like a barb. I had
to use a small tool to dislodge it. I think it was a QC problem with the
connector which should have had a "V" shape to slide in and out of the "V"
groove in the connector but instead ended in a sharp blade that wedg
ed itself into the groove. The unit had to be exchanged. Too much stuff
being assembled in China today without adequate QC.
I use a Sunpak 422D which is basically the same as the 383 except that it has a
dedicated foot for OM TTL and no PC connector. I just use an auxuilary PC
connector foot.
Another alternative, of course, is to buy a couple of used 285HV's on the bay
so you have a spare if one fails.
Chuck Norcutt
-------------- Original message --------------
From: AG Schnozz <agschnozz@xxxxxxxxx>
> > I wanted a new one, as otherwise I don't
> > know if they have the lower trigger voltage. Perhaps I'm
> > mistaken, but I seem to recall Ag bought one quite recently.
>
> It looks like they finally killed them off. A sad day, indeed.
>
> There are still quite a few in the supply line, so most of your
> pro shops may still either have them or will be able to get
> them. B&H is most likely out as they are a first-tier retailer
> and don't usually work through any middle-suppliers.
>
> Only the earliest versions of the 283/285 have the high-voltage
> triggers. It is my understanding that all 285HV models (HV
> being the key) are ok. Personally, I much prefer the 285HV over
> the 283 anyway.
>
> There is a part of me that says to buy up a couple dozen of the
> things and with remote triggers I could light up just about
> anything.
>
> AG
>
>
>
> __________________________________________
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>
>
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