Sunpak, a Japanese company, specializes in flash units for cameras, including the external flash unit AP-52. This is a large flash unit with a head that you can move up and down. Unlike traditional flashes, this unit attaches to the tripod as opposed to the camera's hot shoe. The flash's sync cord attaches to your camera. While Sunpak no longer produces this flash, you can still purchase parts for it.
Head
The head of the Sunpak AP-52 is a tilt head. This means that you can direct it at your subject, or you can direct it at the ceiling, which creates a bounce flash. A bounce flash doesn't create harsh shadows on your subject but still provides you with enough light to illuminate your subject.
Specs
The AP-52 flash uses either four AA alkaline batteries or four AA rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries. The flash illuminates subjects between 4.6 feet and 35 feet away. To take advantage of the full range in automatic mode, you must put the "Auto/Manual Selector" switch into the green "A" position. The flash distance also depends on the aperture of your camera. To improve depth-of-field, put the "Auto/Manual Selector" switch into the yellow "A" position. The maximum depth-of-field range for this flash is between 2.3 feet and 17.5 feet.
Settings
The Sunpak AP-52 syncs with your camera's shutter speeds. You must change the power setting to 1/16 to take advantage of the fastest shutter speed, which is 1/10,000 of a second. Your flash has both a manual and automatic setting. It also has a guide in the flash head, which gives you the corresponding aperture settings for your camera based on the flash settings that you are currently using. The recycle time for this flash is six seconds, which refers to the total amount of time needed to recharge the flash.
Components
You can purchase optional accessories for the AP-52, including the Sunpak 510V rechargeable battery pack, the Sunpak 510-volt Powerpak, and the Sunpak multi-voltage AC adapter. The flash comes with a filter holder, the sync cord, and a battery holder.
Tags: your camera, this flash, your subject, Auto Manual, Auto Manual Selector