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e100rs& external flash?

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g king

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what will i need to use the vivitar285hv as far as cables,mounts etc?would you reccomend olympus bracket or any l bracket.--gary king
 
Gary, you basically have two options: The Olympus Bracket BK-01 and Olympus Cable CB-01. The advantage of this combination is that it would allow you to use the FL-40 flash later on, if you decided to do this. The disadvantage is that the bracket is fairly expensive and may not be designed the best -- at least, some folks (me included) prefer brackets where the flash is situated directly about the lens.

The second option is to use any flash bracket you want along with the Olympus CB-04 cable. This set-up isn't compatible wit the FL-40, but allows you to use any bracket you want with the 285-HV. I went this route and use a Stroboframe bracket that I like very much.

Either way you go, I think you'll find that the 285-HV is much better than the internal flash. Good luck!

Andy.
garyking said:
what will i need to use the vivitar285hv as far as cables,mounts
etc?would you reccomend olympus bracket or any l bracket.
--
Click to expand...
--Galleries: http://www.pbase.com/anc
 
Gary,

Unless you are going to be using it in very large areas the 285HV is a lot of flash, very powerful when needed. I have it and the Stroboframe 350 bracket and CB-04 cable and it works super. For smaller areas I bought a Vivitar 2000 that JD here found at Walmart for just $16 and you can use any bracket from a cheap "L" bracket to an expensive one with it. You would still need the CB-04 cable though. The 285HV setup cost me about $160 where you can get the 2000 going for about $75 or less, most of that cost being the cable, and it will handle most of your flash needs. I built my own bracket for the 2000 and all it cost was $10 for a Stoboframe shoe just like on my big bracket. I formed the bracket out of some 3/16" x 1" aluminum bar stock I already had. I really like the smaller size over the big flash setup and may even sell the big one later if I don't find more uses for it. Only if you do a lot of flash work do I think the 285HV is worth the cost and if you really do that much the FL-40 may be worth it's high price.
--www.pbase.com/smoke24/galleries
 
This is good advice too: there are cheaper alternatives to the 285-HV, and if you are considering that flash you might as well consider the FL-40.

The Fl-40 does cost at least $100 more than the 285-HV, but it also offers TTL metering. Personally, I find the automatic exposure features of the 285-HV work extremely well for me, but others may well need the more sophisticated TTL metering. One drawback: to function in TTL mode, the FL-40 needs to shoot a pre-flash, which may not be best for some situations including action shots that need to be timed precisely.

Andy.
--Galleries: http://www.pbase.com/anc
 
Smoke24,

Thanks for pointing out this excellent option! I prefer a travel light, low profile approach when taking pics, and balked when I saw the SIZE of the Vivitar 285's setup. Since I have no experience with external flashes, can you give me a rough estimate as to distance obtained with the onboard v. Vivitar 2000 v. Vivitar 285? Real world, anecdotal situations would be extremely helpful to give me some reference points and perspective in figuring out my needs.

Thanks for this and your other helpful posts in the past.

Nick
Smoke24 said:
Gary,
Unless you are going to be using it in very large areas the 285HV
is a lot of flash, very powerful when needed. I have it and the
Stroboframe 350 bracket and CB-04 cable and it works super. For
smaller areas I bought a Vivitar 2000 that JD here found at Walmart
for just $16 and you can use any bracket from a cheap "L" bracket
to an expensive one with it. You would still need the CB-04 cable
though. The 285HV setup cost me about $160 where you can get the
2000 going for about $75 or less, most of that cost being the
cable, and it will handle most of your flash needs. I built my own
bracket for the 2000 and all it cost was $10 for a Stoboframe shoe
just like on my big bracket. I formed the bracket out of some 3/16"
x 1" aluminum bar stock I already had. I really like the smaller
size over the big flash setup and may even sell the big one later
if I don't find more uses for it. Only if you do a lot of flash
work do I think the 285HV is worth the cost and if you really do
that much the FL-40 may be worth it's high price.

--
http://www.pbase.com/smoke24/galleries
Click to expand...
 
My eperience:

On camera flash 15 feet
Vivitar 2000 25feet
Oly FL-40 50feet
Vivitar 285HV 60 feet

Holland
nickw said:
Thanks for pointing out this excellent option! I prefer a travel
light, low profile approach when taking pics, and balked when I saw
the SIZE of the Vivitar 285's setup. Since I have no experience
with external flashes, can you give me a rough estimate as to
distance obtained with the onboard v. Vivitar 2000 v. Vivitar 285?
Real world, anecdotal situations would be extremely helpful to give
me some reference points and perspective in figuring out my needs.

Thanks for this and your other helpful posts in the past.

Nick
Smoke24 said:
Gary,
Unless you are going to be using it in very large areas the 285HV
is a lot of flash, very powerful when needed. I have it and the
Stroboframe 350 bracket and CB-04 cable and it works super. For
smaller areas I bought a Vivitar 2000 that JD here found at Walmart
for just $16 and you can use any bracket from a cheap "L" bracket
to an expensive one with it. You would still need the CB-04 cable
though. The 285HV setup cost me about $160 where you can get the
2000 going for about $75 or less, most of that cost being the
cable, and it will handle most of your flash needs. I built my own
bracket for the 2000 and all it cost was $10 for a Stoboframe shoe
just like on my big bracket. I formed the bracket out of some 3/16"
x 1" aluminum bar stock I already had. I really like the smaller
size over the big flash setup and may even sell the big one later
if I don't find more uses for it. Only if you do a lot of flash
work do I think the 285HV is worth the cost and if you really do
that much the FL-40 may be worth it's high price.

--
http://www.pbase.com/smoke24/galleries
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
--HollandE1OORS/C21OOUZ
 
Holland,

Thank you for the guidelines. Very helpful. Would you happen to have pics of the mounted flashes (particularly the V 2000) so I can gauge their sizes relative to the camera?

Nick
Holland said:
On camera flash 15 feet
Vivitar 2000 25feet
Oly FL-40 50feet
Vivitar 285HV 60 feet

Holland
nickw said:
Thanks for pointing out this excellent option! I prefer a travel
light, low profile approach when taking pics, and balked when I saw
the SIZE of the Vivitar 285's setup. Since I have no experience
with external flashes, can you give me a rough estimate as to
distance obtained with the onboard v. Vivitar 2000 v. Vivitar 285?
Real world, anecdotal situations would be extremely helpful to give
me some reference points and perspective in figuring out my needs.

Thanks for this and your other helpful posts in the past.

Nick
Smoke24 said:
Gary,
Unless you are going to be using it in very large areas the 285HV
is a lot of flash, very powerful when needed. I have it and the
Stroboframe 350 bracket and CB-04 cable and it works super. For
smaller areas I bought a Vivitar 2000 that JD here found at Walmart
for just $16 and you can use any bracket from a cheap "L" bracket
to an expensive one with it. You would still need the CB-04 cable
though. The 285HV setup cost me about $160 where you can get the
2000 going for about $75 or less, most of that cost being the
cable, and it will handle most of your flash needs. I built my own
bracket for the 2000 and all it cost was $10 for a Stoboframe shoe
just like on my big bracket. I formed the bracket out of some 3/16"
x 1" aluminum bar stock I already had. I really like the smaller
size over the big flash setup and may even sell the big one later
if I don't find more uses for it. Only if you do a lot of flash
work do I think the 285HV is worth the cost and if you really do
that much the FL-40 may be worth it's high price.

--
http://www.pbase.com/smoke24/galleries
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
--
Holland
E1OORS/C21OOUZ
Click to expand...
 
I think the 2000 is good to about 28 feet in auto setting and the 285HV to about 80 feet. I would think in a house that the 2000 has plenty of power but if you shoot flash in say a church, reception hall or in large outdoor settings you may need more power but maybe not. The biggest area in my house is just over 32 feet from one wall to the other and I wouldn't need to shoot that far at all. The 2000 is fine for most of my uses. If you were doing a wedding or big party you might find a use for the 285HV or the FL-40. There are also a couple of small Sunpack flashes worth a look, the 1600 and the 144PC. The 144PC is the most expensive of the two at $40 at B&H and I think the 1600 is $30. You may even get lucky and find a slightly used one real cheap. B&H and Adorama have used items on both their websites and they constantly change with people making trades.

JD came up with all of these in a couple of his threads on flashes and I think they are much easier to deal with than the big ones. Do a search for those threads and you will find more good info on them. One of them is still on page three or four with the topic "flash for E-100 sunpack or vivitar".--www.pbase.com/smoke24/galleries
 
I just put up a comparison picture at pbase.



The 285HV on the Stroboframe bracket and the 2000 on my little homemade aluminum bracket. I just got the shoe about an hour ago from B&H and put it together.

--www.pbase.com/smoke24/galleries
 
thanks for the help guys i went to b&h got the olympus bracket,cb01 cable&vivitar 285hv very powerfull .pics seem to come out better using the internal flash along with the 285hv.
Smoke24 said:
I think the 2000 is good to about 28 feet in auto setting and the
285HV to about 80 feet. I would think in a house that the 2000 has
plenty of power but if you shoot flash in say a church, reception
hall or in large outdoor settings you may need more power but maybe
not. The biggest area in my house is just over 32 feet from one
wall to the other and I wouldn't need to shoot that far at all. The
2000 is fine for most of my uses. If you were doing a wedding or
big party you might find a use for the 285HV or the FL-40. There
are also a couple of small Sunpack flashes worth a look, the 1600
and the 144PC. The 144PC is the most expensive of the two at $40 at
B&H and I think the 1600 is $30. You may even get lucky and find a
slightly used one real cheap. B&H and Adorama have used items on
both their websites and they constantly change with people making
trades.
JD came up with all of these in a couple of his threads on flashes
and I think they are much easier to deal with than the big ones. Do
a search for those threads and you will find more good info on
them. One of them is still on page three or four with the topic
"flash for E-100 sunpack or vivitar".
--
http://www.pbase.com/smoke24/galleries
Click to expand...
 
Gary,

If you ordered the CB-01 cable, I don't think it will work with the 285HV. You can double check me but you might want to call them to change your order to the CB-04 cable before it ships and they usually ship fast. They are nice to talk with on the phone and very helpful. They may be able to tell you if it will work and if not what will. I know the CB-04 works with mine.
--www.pbase.com/smoke24/galleries
 
no smoke the cable hooks into the olympus flash bracket 5pin hole then into the 100rs 5 pin the other cable he gave me didnt work.so the flash is working off of the hot shoe is that ok?
Smoke24 said:
Gary,
If you ordered the CB-01 cable, I don't think it will work with the
285HV. You can double check me but you might want to call them to
change your order to the CB-04 cable before it ships and they
usually ship fast. They are nice to talk with on the phone and very
helpful. They may be able to tell you if it will work and if not
what will. I know the CB-04 works with mine.

--
http://www.pbase.com/smoke24/galleries
Click to expand...
 
As of my last use it was set to f2.8 at 1/16 power and I still had to bounce it. It is one powerful flash. It works great in smaller areas bouncing it off the ceiling and gives a full but softer light.

I use the NiMH rechargeables too which the book says not to but haven't had any problems with it.--www.pbase.com/smoke24/galleries
 
Nice homemade bracket! I wasn't sure what to expect, but the 2000 doesn't seem THAT much smaller than the 285. Perhaps it was the angle of the photo?

Nick
Smoke24 said:
I just put up a comparison picture at pbase.



The 285HV on the Stroboframe bracket and the 2000 on my little
homemade aluminum bracket. I just got the shoe about an hour ago
from B&H and put it together.

--
http://www.pbase.com/smoke24/galleries
Click to expand...
 
nickw said:
Nice homemade bracket! I wasn't sure what to expect, but the 2000
doesn't seem THAT much smaller than the 285. Perhaps it was the
angle of the photo?
Click to expand...
Yes, when I saw the photo I almost commented on it. The 2000 is about 1/2 the size of the 285, substantially smaller and the photo makes it look like they are nearly the same size.

--HollandE1OORS/C21OOUZ
 
You and Smoke24 have given me EXACTLY what I needed to make a decision on the 2000. Thanks to you both!

Nick
Holland said:
nickw said:
Nice homemade bracket! I wasn't sure what to expect, but the 2000
doesn't seem THAT much smaller than the 285. Perhaps it was the
angle of the photo?
Click to expand...
Yes, when I saw the photo I almost commented on it. The 2000 is
about 1/2 the size of the 285, substantially smaller and the photo
makes it look like they are nearly the same size.

--
Holland
E1OORS/C21OOUZ
Click to expand...
 
Gary, I generally use the Red Auto setting at F4. The auto exposure feature will shut down the flash early if you are close to a subject. You can also set the power manually, but the auto routines have worked very well for me.

Andy.
--Galleries: http://www.pbase.com/anc
 
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