With his permission Barry Guimbellot barryag@topher.ne
What do those 5 pins in a Nikons Camera do?
There are 5 pins that sync the strobe with the
Nikonos V.
Their functions are as follows:
- Stop- This pin tells the strobe to stop the flash duration.
- X-contact- and ground flash the strobe.
- MSW signal- Basically, this pin makes the ready light blink when the ASA/ISO
is set at 800 or higher.
- Monitor- When this pin is signaled by a TTL strobe that it has been turned on, it will cause the shutter speed LEDs in the viewfinder to start blinking.
- Ground- Ground and X- are shorted to fire any strobe.
These explainations are in "basic speak", so more of us may understand why the 5
pins. The pins numbers I have listed are in no way the correct order in the
camera.
As for why the Nikonos V will flash a strobe any any shutter speed:
The Nikonos will trigger a flash in all speeds because there is a
MECHANICAL reed type switch in the camera that closes the circuit and
makes the flash fire. This switch is connected to a series of levers
and springs that also trigger the second shutter to close. When the
first shutter starts to close, it closes the switch and you have flash.
Therefore, it is independent of the shutter speed.