The beeper also shows up to confirm the exposure has been correct. You can shoot a confirming flash using the open flash button and the beeper will emit a continuous beep (for awhile) to indicate the flash has power left over so you exposure has been adequate. A green light on the flash will also light briefly.
The head tilts with click stops from -5º, straight ahead, to 45º, 65º and straight up as well as rotates from straight ahead to 90º right and 180º left (so the head is pointing backwards!).
The 3700 looks as if it uses the same battery clip as the 283/285 flash. This is a dandy battery holder, quick to change and often saves the flash from direct damage from leaking batteries.
This flash is missing its “Eyelight Panel” that clipped on the heads top edge. In its place you can use an elastic band to add a file card to the head when you have it in the bounce position. This panel/card lightens eye sockets that might be shadowed and adds a catchlight to the eye. The 3700 eyelight panel—when placed over the flash used straight on— widens the flash to cover a 28 mm lens. You do have to add a full stop to the exposure when using the wide panel.
You can use the 3700 on Manual. Set the selector on the module to “M”. This has you measure the flash to subject distance, consult the calculator dial for the aperture to set for that distance, set your camera to that f/stop, and then take the photograph. The flash is firing at full output, so the auto confirmation signals will not work but the beeper will confirm you can’t shoot again until the flash recycles.
There is a yellow triangle setting for using the flash with an autowinder. There is a slightly hidden yellow triangle way up on the top ASA scale setting you set to the film speed you are using (caution, you can’t chose an ASA under 100). Then the flash can keep up with up to four flashes at two frames per second. But wait, there’s more…Those four exposures will be at five stops less power than indicated on the calculator dial. So…If the calculator dial says—
5.6 use 1.2
8 use 1.4
11 use 2
16 use 2.8
22 use 4
You are also cautioned to allow 30-seconds for recycling after those four shots!
There is a section on using a Macro Flash Sensor. After following the MFS-1 general mounting instructions there are a bunch of cautions and exceptions.If you want to retain dedicated interface connections you cannot use the flash swivel shoe.
Follow the general instructions with the following exceptions
a) Close down aperture 4 stops from the auto f/stop chosen under the manual instructions
b) Canon cameras must have aperture set manually (also 4 stops down. DO NOT SET THE LENS TO THE “A” POSITION
c)For Olympus and Contax TTL cameras, use auto modes on the module (NOT THE TTL POSITION) and set the f/stop per a) above
d) For Nikon EM, use Auto modes on manual (NOT “EM” POSITION)
In the event you do use the swivel flash foot with the flash on the camera you must set the shutter speed for the electronic flash sync speed manually. The viewfinder flash information will not work. Otherwise you get the same auto operation as mentioned earlier.
There was a DSC-1 cable that allowed you to maintain auto operation with the flash off the accessory shoe. If you had this cable you could use the swivel shoe and retain full dedicated operation.
You could attach an external power supply (HVP-1, SB-4 and PPG-1) to a plug-in external power supply receptacle, BUT YOU STILL NEEDED FRESH BATTERIES INSTALLED IN THE FLASH. The internal batteries power the dedicated module, but aren’t used to charge the flash so the internal batteries will last a lot longer.
The 3700 also has a Vari-Power slave. Using the VPS— the switch positions result in f/stop changes of—
Full Full output full power
½ 1 / 8 -3 stops
¼ 1 / 16 -4 stops
⅛ 1 / 32 -5 stops
1/16 1 / 64 -6 stops
From the specifications we find —
At full manual with ASA 100 film the guide number —assuming no wider than coverage for a 35 mm lens— is 120. In comparison the Vivitar 283 has a guide number of 120 too, but it actually is closer to 80. It would be safe to assume the same for the 3700! The normal flash duration on manual is 1/1000 sec. On auto the flash duration shortens to as little as 1/30,000 second.
With ASA 100 film using the red mode (f/2) the range is 2.5—18 m (8.2—60 feet), the blue mode (f/4) the range is 1.2—9 m (4—30 feet) and finally the orange mode (f/8) 1—4.5 m (3—15 feet).
Recycling with 4 AA alkaline batteries on manual is 13.5 seconds and you will get 90 flash. Using NiCad batteries recycling will take 7 seconds on manual and you will get 40 flash. With the external PPG-1 power supply plugged in using a complete set of Alkaline batteries recycling takes 5.5 seconds and you get 200 flash.
The recycling light snaps on when the flash is -1 EV charged.
The head tilts with click stops from -5º, straight ahead, to 45º, 65º and straight up as well as rotates from straight ahead to 90º right and 180º left (so the head is pointing backwards!).
The 3700 looks as if it uses the same battery clip as the 283/285 flash. This is a dandy battery holder, quick to change and often saves the flash from direct damage from leaking batteries.
This flash is missing its “Eyelight Panel” that clipped on the heads top edge. In its place you can use an elastic band to add a file card to the head when you have it in the bounce position. This panel/card lightens eye sockets that might be shadowed and adds a catchlight to the eye. The 3700 eyelight panel—when placed over the flash used straight on— widens the flash to cover a 28 mm lens. You do have to add a full stop to the exposure when using the wide panel.
You can use the 3700 on Manual. Set the selector on the module to “M”. This has you measure the flash to subject distance, consult the calculator dial for the aperture to set for that distance, set your camera to that f/stop, and then take the photograph. The flash is firing at full output, so the auto confirmation signals will not work but the beeper will confirm you can’t shoot again until the flash recycles.
There is a yellow triangle setting for using the flash with an autowinder. There is a slightly hidden yellow triangle way up on the top ASA scale setting you set to the film speed you are using (caution, you can’t chose an ASA under 100). Then the flash can keep up with up to four flashes at two frames per second. But wait, there’s more…Those four exposures will be at five stops less power than indicated on the calculator dial. So…If the calculator dial says—
5.6 use 1.2
8 use 1.4
11 use 2
16 use 2.8
22 use 4
You are also cautioned to allow 30-seconds for recycling after those four shots!
There is a section on using a Macro Flash Sensor. After following the MFS-1 general mounting instructions there are a bunch of cautions and exceptions.If you want to retain dedicated interface connections you cannot use the flash swivel shoe.
Follow the general instructions with the following exceptions
a) Close down aperture 4 stops from the auto f/stop chosen under the manual instructions
b) Canon cameras must have aperture set manually (also 4 stops down. DO NOT SET THE LENS TO THE “A” POSITION
c)For Olympus and Contax TTL cameras, use auto modes on the module (NOT THE TTL POSITION) and set the f/stop per a) above
d) For Nikon EM, use Auto modes on manual (NOT “EM” POSITION)
In the event you do use the swivel flash foot with the flash on the camera you must set the shutter speed for the electronic flash sync speed manually. The viewfinder flash information will not work. Otherwise you get the same auto operation as mentioned earlier.
There was a DSC-1 cable that allowed you to maintain auto operation with the flash off the accessory shoe. If you had this cable you could use the swivel shoe and retain full dedicated operation.
You could attach an external power supply (HVP-1, SB-4 and PPG-1) to a plug-in external power supply receptacle, BUT YOU STILL NEEDED FRESH BATTERIES INSTALLED IN THE FLASH. The internal batteries power the dedicated module, but aren’t used to charge the flash so the internal batteries will last a lot longer.
The 3700 also has a Vari-Power slave. Using the VPS— the switch positions result in f/stop changes of—
Full Full output full power
½ 1 / 8 -3 stops
¼ 1 / 16 -4 stops
⅛ 1 / 32 -5 stops
1/16 1 / 64 -6 stops
From the specifications we find —
At full manual with ASA 100 film the guide number —assuming no wider than coverage for a 35 mm lens— is 120. In comparison the Vivitar 283 has a guide number of 120 too, but it actually is closer to 80. It would be safe to assume the same for the 3700! The normal flash duration on manual is 1/1000 sec. On auto the flash duration shortens to as little as 1/30,000 second.
With ASA 100 film using the red mode (f/2) the range is 2.5—18 m (8.2—60 feet), the blue mode (f/4) the range is 1.2—9 m (4—30 feet) and finally the orange mode (f/8) 1—4.5 m (3—15 feet).
Recycling with 4 AA alkaline batteries on manual is 13.5 seconds and you will get 90 flash. Using NiCad batteries recycling will take 7 seconds on manual and you will get 40 flash. With the external PPG-1 power supply plugged in using a complete set of Alkaline batteries recycling takes 5.5 seconds and you get 200 flash.
The recycling light snaps on when the flash is -1 EV charged.
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