Olympus E 500 flash

Hi - I am still familiarising myself with the wonders of digital photography,

having upgraded from an OM10 to an E500 mid last year. I was wondering what

flash is best suited to me. My interests are general photography incl., social /

groups photos thru to portraits and also nature / landscape photos. Looking

forward to your suggestions & recommendations.thanks Alan

I've got the FL-36 and it's a nice flash. Doesn't cost as much as the FL-50 and it's a very

capable compact flash. I also use an old Vivitar 285HV that I love. I've shot more imagery

with the 285 than with all the other flashes I've used in my career combined. If you can find a

285 in good condition, jump on it.

 

Mark

I also have the FL36 and am happy with it, even though I have only had it for about three weeks. It will rotate up and down, and sideways, so you don't get the direct flash. Also reads off your camera as far as the settings. Only thing, be prepared to add a pound or so to your camera, as you have the flash and two batteries to add on.

Alan

I have the Evolt 500 and use the FL 36 . I also use a Stroboframe Folding Flip flash bracket with the FL-CB05 shoe mount flash cable to get it off the camera. This system works great, but does add lots of weight as Debbie T stated. I finally had to invest is a Manfrotto tripod with a ball head to replace the cheapie I had started with. Quick question, did you recently move from Spokane WA?

Colby

Spo WA

Either the Oly FL 36 or the FL 50. I have the FL 50. It has a higher guide number than the more compact Fl 36, 50 takes four AA cells, and has a plug to accept an external power supply. Check the specs on both and think of your long term needs such as whether you might later use a diffusor of some kind which sucks up lumens. (I also happen to have the FL 20 but it is not nearly as useful,just super small and light.)

I use an FL-36. Great littel flash with a surprising amount of coverage. I used to have a Vivitar 283 but the trigger voltage was way higher than Olympus reccomended.

i was wondering, what did you end up getting as your flash unit Alan? i have the vivitar 285hv which im using with my e-500. it works well, so far and my camera hasn't exploded yet... but from what i read from this thread, it could be dangerous because of the high voltage? can someone point me to an article or an online resource explaining what the suggested flash voltages are for the e-500? appreciate it.

 

gezelle

http://www.photo.net/photos/littlealtars

The Vivitar 285HV is designed to work at a much lower trigger voltage than the original 285 (without the HV designation). I haven't heard of anyone having problems with the HV model on modern cameras. Many people use the Wein SafeSynch (about $50 USD)on third party flash units just to play it safe. The SafeSynch is a voltage regulator that converts voltage from any flash to 6 volts.

 

To my knowledge there is no 'official' public statement from Olympus regarding trigger voltage. But Oly cameras seem to work well at 6 volts and equally well with the Vivitar 285HV which I THINK I read somewhere has a trigger voltage in the neighborhood of 12 volts. (That's still pretty low, some older flashes were well into the 200 - 300 volt range!)

I use my Vivitar 285 HV flash on my Fujifilm S9100 (S9600), and also on my Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50.

I use only manual settings and am very pleased with the results.

I just purchased the Olympus E 500 and have experimented with the 285 HV and things seem to be working.

Although the shutter speed on the Olympus seems to be geared to 1/180 or less.

Very much interested in other opinions on this topic .

Thank You.

Peter Harvey.

Just a follow up on my previous post. I have just taken delivery of a Sunpak 383 and I have successfully used it on my E500 without a Wein SafeSynch. It works great. I also have an Old Canon Speedlight 133A (an old compact thyristor unit) which also works quite well without a SafeSynch.

 

Myself, I like the thyristor units like the Vivitar 285HV and Sunpak 383. Lots of power, fast recycling times, and an automated flash process (You set the fixed f-stop and the thyristor measures the light output and shuts the unit down when enough light has been released). PLUS, they are about a third of the price of the dedicated flash units. A LOT of 'bang' for the buck.