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I have two Nikon film cameras (one is an FE2).

Is it possible to fire a modern ring flash made for a DLSR with such equipment, or do I need a dedicated unit?

I have hot shoe adapters and sync cables, so I have some flexibility with connectivity, but I am guessing they need to be Nikon-compatible.

If this is possible, does anyone have any product advice?

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A sync cable is a sync cable. If your camera has a PC port that your cable fits and your flash has a PC port that your cable fits then the camera should be able to fire the flash. Of course you will need to control the flash power manually when using a PC connection. If the flash in question doesn't allow for that it probably doesn't have a generic PC port.

*PC in the context of flash photography has nothing to do with a personal computer. It is an abbreviation of Prontor/Compur. Prontor has its origins in the Italian word pronto (quick) and was a brand of shutter produced by Alfred Gauthier in the 1950s. Compur, derived from the word compound, was the shutter brand of the Deckel Company. Both companies were based in Germany and both counted Zeiss as an influential stockholder when they introduced the standard 1/8"-inch coaxial connector for shutter/flash synchronization.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Very comprehensive! \$\endgroup\$
    – lharby
    Commented Jan 21, 2016 at 9:15
  • \$\begingroup\$ However it's worth mentioning that many modern ringflashes don't have a lot if manual controls on them so although a sync cable (or basic X-sync hotshoe adaptor) will trigger the flash, you may not have much/any control over the light output and will need to instead vary your aperture and/or ISO setting to control exposure. \$\endgroup\$
    – HamishKL
    Commented Jan 22, 2016 at 23:49
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    \$\begingroup\$ Would such a flash without manual controls be likely to have a generic PC port? \$\endgroup\$
    – Michael C
    Commented Jan 22, 2016 at 23:53
  • \$\begingroup\$ I have a decent light meter, and I tend to push and pull with the flash (ie deliberately over expose). \$\endgroup\$
    – lharby
    Commented Jan 25, 2016 at 16:40

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