Flash alternatives to Olympus FL14

[d_weissman]

<p>I am interested in getting a flash for my PL2. The<br>

FL14 is flimsy and the 36 or 50 are much to large.<br>

Is there and alternative flash out there that will<br>

work with the PL2 and be somewhat compact in<br>

size?</p>

[Greg M]

<p>The FL14 is the only flash to date that is designed specifically with the micro 4/3rd's system in mind. All other flash units dedicated to the Olympus digital system, by Olympus or any other third-party maker, were designed with the DSLR's only in mind, so you're going to be hard-pressed finding anything better than the FL36R. This is a big hole in the micro system, and it's a hole neither Olympus or Panasonic seem that concerned about addressing.</p>

<p> <br />The obvious type searches you need to be conducting if you are looking for a TTL unit are ones where you go to a site like B&H, select flash units and filter for only those units dedicated to Olympus, like this..</p>

<p><a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?ci=643&N=4294204370+4294955930">http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?ci=643&N=4294204370+4294955930</a></p>

<p>Metz, Nissin, Vivitar, etc., all have relatively inexpensive (under $125US) flash units that may or may not be much smaller than the FL36R and will, almost certainly, be lower-powered units. You just need to start comparing specs to units of known size and see which ones look right for what you want.</p>

[jonglass]

<p>I say go for the FL36R. I use mine on my E-P1, and it is no larger on that than my Vivitar 283 was on my older, film kit. In use, it doesn't feel the least bit top-heavy--or at least any more top-heavy than any other combo I've used in the past. If you like, I can take a picture of mine together, but I bet googling the combo will turn up results. In fact, here's a page: http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/EPL1/EPL1A.HTM<br>

I considered other brands, specifically because I wanted smaller, but in the end, I'm very glad I went with the FL36. <br>

-Jon</p>

 

[ilkka]

<p>The FL14 is not flimsy. It is a small flash unit designed for the EP series. It is quite well made. The FL36 is also very compact sized considering its features and output. It is one of the smallest proper flashes around, but clearly much biggger than the 14. I really don't see it as a hole. Olympus has 3 different size flash units to meet different needs. What more can one want? Of course there are Sunpak, Metz, Nissin etc units that can also be used, with various levels of TTL compatibility.</p>

[Greg M]

<p>It is a hole. The DSLR units are nothing but a cheap (free) work-around for Olympus. If they want more serious users to look at micro four-thirds, Olympus and Panasonic need to start addressing something other than bodies and lenses and make this a real system. They need dedicated flash units, macro tubes, real teleconverters like the EC14 instead of screw in to the kit lens adapters, which would also mean the need for faster lenses, or....just come out and say this will never be a system more than what it is right now.</p>

<p>One more thing one could want is a flash with a working AF assist light, which IS a nice feature to have when shooting indoors with flash, especially with the slower zooms where I often run into problems with the camera not being able to focus on low-contrast subjects in low-lit living rooms when I try using my FL50R flash on my E-PL1 with either the 14-42 or 40-150 kit lenses.</p>

<p>A flash like an FL50R or FL36R, built to be more in-line, size-wise, with the Pens with a working AF assist light would be nice. Speaking of the FL14, they could have made it SO much better by simply making the flash tube tiltable. It's not like they didn't have something they could model it after. Just look at Nikon's SB400 and imagine an FL14 with a tiltable flash head that could use a bounce accessory like this, but noooooo!...</p>

<p><a href="http://www.dembflashproducts.com/flipit400/">http://www.dembflashproducts.com/flipit400/</a></p>

[akira]

<p>According to Japanese Olympus website, the discontinued FL-20 is compatible with E-PL2.</p>

<p>I don't think FL-14 is flimsy, but the flash head is too close to the optical axis of the lens, which is prone to cause red eyes. FL-20 has much higher flash head and is more powerful in a very compact package. The most flimsy part of the flash is the shoe made of plastic. The larger the flash, the more flimsy. So, FL-14 and 20 should feel much more solid when mounted on the camera. I have Panasonic PE-20 flash on which FL-20 is based, so I can tell.</p>

<p>Another candidate may be Panaonic DMW-FL220. It is also small (powered by two AA batteries) and slightly more powerful than FL-20. The compatibility of Micro 4/3 (and maybe 4/3, too) system is pretty high and my Olympus FL-50 is perfectly compatible with my G1 and GH2, although Panasonic doesn't support wireless function of FL-50R and FL-36R.</p>

<p>You would need ot make sure, but <a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a>there is no wonder if DMW-FL220 works just like the Olympus FL-14 or 20.</p>

[Greg M]

Panasonic flash units are Olympus clones of the original FL20/36/50 models and were origionally sold at a much high

price than the Olympus units.

[ilkka]

<p>I don't think it is possible to build a powerful flash that is also very small. So far no company has done it. Unless they make serious compromises, like using smaller (or less) batteries and thus limiting the number of exposures. What other company has more than 3 flash units available for its camera system, unless some are old or discontinued units? This is a compact camera. How many flash units does Sony NEX have? What about Sigma DP, Ricoh GXR, Leica X1? You can hardly compare a small specialist system with Canon or Nikon professional DSLR lineup, and even in this comparison Olympus is not that far behind. I agree on the need for a dedicated 1.4x teleconverter. Macro tubes are quite rare in todays world with lenses focusing closer than before on their own. I have the 25mm tube for the E system and have hardly ever used it. Tubes, and teleconverters, also work badly with wide angle lenses, and tubes make zooms quirky with zooming affecting focusing as well. The only lens in the m4/3 lineup that would benefit from an extension tube is the Leica 45 macro, and that focuses to 1:1 on its own, so a tube is hardly necessary for most people.</p>

[meissner]

<p>I have a list that I've compiled of Olympus compatible 3rd party flashes that I've heard about:<br>

http://www.the-meissners.org/olympus-flash2.html</p>

<p>In terms of size, I tend to think the FL-36 is about the largest flash you want to use on a Pen. I just got a Metz 48 AF-1 (mostly for the E-3), and I suspect I won't want to put it on the E-P2 all that often, because it makes the camera to top heavy.</p>

<p>The Nissan 466 might be another flash to check out, though it is limited because it doesn't swivel (not swivelling means that you can't do some flash modifications, particularly when the camera is in portrait orientation instead of landscape).</p>

[marc_schmidt]

<p>Nissin's Di466 does come in a dedicated 4/3 and M4/3 version and has been marketed towards the EP series of cameras. It's a decent flash unit with a reasonable amount of light output (GN33) and TTL integration and it adjusts to the FL of the lens used.<br>

It isn't the sturdiest flash ever created, but size and an OK price make it a reasonable option, IMHO. I've not had any problems with it so far.</p>

[GerrySiegel]

<p>I happened to buy the FL 20 when I got my E-1 so it is a long in the tooth model. It is a nice size and if nothing else it will preserve the battery life of the camera when shooting flash. It works in TTL mode on E models E-1 and E-3, but only in A mode ( or what was called auto flash) on my Panasonic GH 2. Good to know that it is reported fully TTL with PEN, nice to hear that.... It will connect with the flash contacts on Panasonic micro model to show the lightning symbol in the viewfinder, I just checked. Lack of bounce is a shortcoming of course. I admired the Nikon for putting up the teeny SB 400 at a great price with all the compatibility one could want for its whole P and S and DSLR line, true that Nikon has been an acknowledged industry leader in flash systems, one of their merits.<br /> As far as size, the FL20- if you can glom on to one- will be a nice size match for a small camera, and it rises enough above the lens axis to reduce in camera red eye effect. I have never seen or held a FL 36 but that looks to me like a decent compromise for now...FWIW. Getting small size and two battery power and enough juice and recycle time is still a challenge to some companies, not sure why...<br /> I have to agree that Olympus ( and Panasonic) have been slow to add to the system compared to the other folk, even the Pentaxes and Sonys. What they have produced has not been bad. In some cases, a wee pricey for what is delivered. But I am persnickety in such matters. Micro four thirds may surprise us in the years to come, it seems to be a leader in getting things small and of quality. Example: Note that Panasonic and JVC have released a semi pro camcorder, with a lot of pro assets, to take micro four thirds lenses--that says something to me, I think. A sunny sign to these eyes...well at least a glimmer or ray or two. If size and output is of importance, Metz has a few interesting items, but be sure of what you get mit der<em> Metzvolk</em>..need to get some more user reports etc...</p>

[rdm]

<p>I am currently looking for a Flash for my G1 and its hard to find a good inexpensive one. And all this comparability issue talk is confusing me on what to look for ..lol</p>

[meissner]

<p>It all depends on what you want to do, what your budget it, etc. Its like buying a car, computer, or camera. There are many possibilities.</p>

<p>At the basic level you have, does your flash work in the hot-shoe of your camera? Does it work automatically (this is called TTL mode which stands for through the lens mode) or do you need to set the camera and flash to manual positions. I suspect you probably don't want to be bothered with manual flash at this point (and Panasonic evidently makes it more difficult for manual flash).</p>

<p>Next step up is the flash only going to be used for straight ahead firing (like your pop-up flash), or are you willing to learn how to modify a flash's light so you get better photographs in the future? There you want a flash that can at least tilt, which will allow you to do a ceiling bounce, which is the first flash modification people use. Some flashes like the Olympus FL-14 and FL-20 flashes do not tilt. Usually the flashes that don't tilt are small, which can be an advantage for small cameras likes the micro 4/3rds cameras, but it can limit you if you want to get past just using direct flash.</p>

<p>Next up is being able to swivel as well as tilt. If your flash can only tilt, you will not be able to do things like ceiling bounces when the camera is in portrait mode. If you aren't printing large, modern cameras have enough pixels so that you can crop a photo done in landscape mode to be portrait orientation, but if you think you will want to get fancy, I suggest thinking about whether to go with a flash that does both tilt and swivel. Unfortunately there are some flashes like the Nissan Di466 that are otherwise nice, but don't swivel.</p>

<p>One feature to think about is FP-TTL mode (Metz calls it HSS or High Speed Sync). In advanced flash usage, people often times use flash in bright sun. The idea here is you want to use the flash to act as a fill light to lift the harsh shadows that the sun creates. When you are shooting in bright sun (or even shooting with a fast lens to get minimal depth of field), usually the camera wants to use a fast shutter speed to deal with the bright light. Micro 4/3rds cameras still use SLR style focal plane shutters (even though they don't have mirrors), which means normally there is a limit on the fastest shutter speed (1/125 - 1/250 generally). FP-TTL mode pulses the flash fast enough so that a faster shutter can be used. It is fairly advanced usage, and right now only some of the Olympus and Metz flashes support it. You have to decide whether that is something you likely want to do in the future to pay for it. I personally bought my FL-50 flash many years ago when I couldn't get goot shots of my daughter outside with the flash I had at the time, but frankly I don't shoot in FP-TTL mode that often. You can also use things like reflectors to provide fill instead of using the flash.</p>

<p>Another thing to think about is remote and multiple flash setups. The Panasonic cameras don't support the Olympus remote TTL flash modes, so you don't have to worry about it. You can do various setups using manual flashes if you want to get into remote and multiple flash setups. If you do think you will be getting into the more formal side of portrait or product photography where they use multiple flashes, consider making sure the flash you get supports manual modes. Many of the cheaper flashes do not. You probably should go to places like the Strobist blog to learn more about multiple flash setups.<br /> <br />How the flash feels on your camera is another issue. I tend to not like a heavy flash on my E-P2, and most of the flashes are on the heavy side. Sometimes it is worth it to get a flash that recharges slower or has less features, so that the camera balances better in your hand.</p>

<p>One final feature is the so-called auto feature. This is how they did flash automation in the 1970's. Right now, the main use for auto is for people that have such a fast blink reflex, that they always start blinking when the camera fires a small pre-flash before the main flash to judge how much light to put out. Only the Olympus flashes and the high end Metz 58 seem to support it any more. Some people need it. I used to shoot with a generic auto flash before I got a TTL flash, and in general I got better pictures from the TTL flash.</p>

<p>If you are just starting out, it can make sense to get a fairly cheaper flash that does TTL. Over time if you start running into roadblocks that a more expensive flash might do, consider selling your current flash for about 1/2 of what you paid, and upgrade to a better flash. If you never run into the limitations, you didn't pay for features you wouldn't use.</p>