Can I use a vivtar 285hv flash on?
My nikon d80? Can I use it directly on the hot shoe? Apparently I won't be able to use it or something, whatever that really means… Is it important? Am I better off just getting an sb600 dedicated unit? Apparently these 285hv will work with remote control flash triggers and so forth so they can be used off camera wirelessly…
I'm not a flash person… I haven't really ever used them in any way… So I don't know if using a flash without this i-t/l might just be a headache if I don't know what I'm doing… For that matter someone might alternatively tell me that I-t/l is akin to just using the auto green mode on a camera, and that any real photographer uses manual mode!
the only flash I have ever used is the popuo one on my d80… That's supposed to use this I-t/l but I find that I'm always having to use flash compensation anyway…
Yes, you can use it just fine. The 285HV is specifically designed to be safe to use with newer digital cameras. (Some older flash units have too much trigger voltage at the hot shoe and can damage a modern digital camera, but the 285HV is fine). I actually have this very flash, and it does quite a nice job. I will say it is a big, ugly thing, but it functions well. It is a full auto flash, meaning it has NO "working relationship" with the camera body. It does not care or know what body it is on. The flash only gets a signal through the hot shoe contact and then fires. The flash has a built in sensor that reads light and regulates the output power accordingly. Of course, you have to help it along a little by setting the correct aperture on your camera to match the aperture ranges of the flash, (they are color coded as you have noticed). As long as you have the correct aperture set on the camera and the matching aperture set on the flash and are within the distance range, the flash will work quite well.
Also, yes, the flash can work with remote triggers. I have one on mine, (just a cheap radio trigger, but it works flawlessly).
So yes, the flash is totally usable, but in time you will likely want to get a proper, dedicated Nikon flash for your camera.