Compatibility - Olympus FL 40

Hi, I have an Olympus flash FL-40. Is it compatible with Olympus

DSLR E-500?

The dpreview Oly SLR forum has covered this. The FL 40 is an older design that will synch with the new DSLRs but will not give full TTL function. This may mean you get auto,not TTL. Compatibility was not the idea I guess. Olympus seems to want you to buy either a FL 36 or a FL 50 and I kind of think they have not been upfront about this either. I think,not sure. Anyway do a search in the dpreview forum I mentioned and allow yourself about a half hour or so. I know that the FL 40 is not fully TTL compatible with the E-1 per Todd Frederick here. Hope that helps you in the right direction. Arguably a good flash,just not up with the latest infrared coding I guess. It happens to the best flashes :-) nowadays. GS

I just saw this so, if you're still reading, the FL-40 will NOT work in Auto-TTL with the E-1, E-300, or E-500, as Gerry mentioned, although you can use it in the flash Auto mode and the camera in Manual mode, as you would a Vivitar 283, etc. You should run some tests and adjust your camera settings consistently based on those tests. Remember to set your shutter speed to an appropriate sync speed for your camera. For example, if the flash in Auto is set for f/5.6, you may get a better exposure by setting the camera for f/8. The FL-40 is an expensive flash, so if you own one, it's worth the effort to use it in flash Auto mode with your camera. You can also do the same thing with a Vivitar 283/285 with the E-500, but be sure the trigger voltage of the non-Olympus flash is about 6 volts +/- or use a Wein "Safe Sync" adapter.

 

 

This may sound complicated but once you play with it, it is very easy and reliable.

 

Hope this helps.

Both work together in TTL Auto FULLY!

 

It's just that it's not as foolproof as the FL40 & C5050 combo is.

 

But I've read the same things [inconsistent results] about the E-1 & FL50 so it may not be the flash that's the prob here and that inconsistent results just go with the turf?

 

The prob with the FL40 & E-1 was every so often, whites would get 'blown out' in odd shots.

 

Yet I've shot a grey card from various distances with a few lenses in different light and spot metered on the card and recieved 'mid grey' images in return. So it is accurate.

 

Also, as a work around, I found using 'Auto' flash mode (instead of TTL Auto) worked fine... and I think I'm right in saying the inconsistency rate dropped? These are just a few of my rough tests so it's not authoritive.

I've got the FL-40, the E-1 and just bought the E-500. At first I was disapointed to read in the E-500 manual that the FL-40 would not work with it but I found it was just the TTL mode that didn't work.

 

Actually with the flash on auto it worked better than ever, I was never satisfied with the flash on the E-1, weather on ttl or auto the exposures were all over the place although mostly underexposed.

 

For wedings I use a Metz 45-cl1 on my e-1 but I used the e-500 for the next wedding, the Metz died 2 shots into a weding so I popped on the fl-40 and it worked great, the exposures were right on the button throughout the day. I still like the power of the Metz in the church but the lighter weight of the fl-40 will carry me through the rest of the day from now on.

 

 

Jim Marby

 

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