Vivitar 285HV Auto Professional Flash

great flash for the money Let's get to the bad stuff first: ) no swivel ) printed numbers on calculator dial may wear off or get scratched off (UPDATE: no, they haven't been scratched off yet by mes, but in the hands of heavy/pro users they might be. Bottom line, for casual ...

Publisher : Vivitar
Company : Vivitar
List Price: ~~$179.99~~
Our Price: $87.99
You Save: $92 (52%)
Used Price : $69.95

Features

Vertical bounce flash
Auto Thyristor circuitry
Sufficient-light indicator
Illuminated calculator dial
Flash range up to 70 feet

Product Description

Vivitar Flash w/Zoom Thyrister Features

Automatic electronic flash with zoom thyristor.

Guide number: 36 DIN
Zoom flash head
Auto bounce control
Thyristor battery saving circuit
4 auto f / stops
Built-in vari-power control
Sufficient light indicator
Lighted calculator dial
Complete accessory system available

Amazon.com Product Description

The built-in variable power of the Vivitar 285HV auto professional flash provides you with fill flash and the ability to shoot properly exposed rapid-sequence pictures. This vertical bounce flash gives your photographs soft, professional lighting. The four f-stops give you control over the flash distance range and the depth of field, while the auto Thyristor circuitry allows for a faster recycling time as well as more flashes per set of batteries.

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Customer reviews

great flash for the money by .. Lakan Kildap (Miami, Florida United States)
Let's get to the bad stuff first:

1) no swivel
2) printed numbers on calculator dial may wear off or get scratched off (UPDATE: no, they haven't been scratched off yet by mes, but in the hands of heavy/pro users they might be. Bottom line, for casual use, the printed numbers are durable enough.)
3) plastic foot may break
4) sync cord, battery holder and AC adapter are hard to find in stores
5) of course, no TTL, but we already knew that

OK, the good stuff (really good)
1) very powerful, big grins on subjects after they hear the loud pop and see the light. This is one big gun.
2) meter is surprisingly accurate
3) zoom head and wide angle adapter
4) generous auto range of 4 apertures, variable power settings of 1/2, 1/4 and 1/16
5) if you use flash as main source of light, don't shoot closeups with flash and have no need for TTL, this is all the flash you need (UPDATE: actually with the proper set up, you can even use this for close-ups)
6) did I say this flash is so affordable?

Vivitar 285HV or Sunpak 383 Super? Your Choice by .. Hobbyist2006 ()
I compared the 285HV with Sunpak 383 Super and I found out these differences and similiraties:

1. Both are non-brand specific Manual/non-TTL auto flash for use in practically any camera with standard hotshoe.
2. Both have the same Guide Number of 120.
3. In Manual mode, they can slice their power output from 1/1 to 1/16th except that the 285HV is missing 1/8th.
4. In non-TTL auto, the 285HV has four auto-aperture settings while the 383Super has only three.
5. The 383Super can do vertical and horizontal bounce (swivel) while the 285HV can do vertical bounce only.
6. The 285HV has zoom positions to cover 35mm, 50mm and 105mm focal length lenses. It also includs an extra-wide flash head adapter to cover 28mm focal length. The 383Super has no zoom position and can cover only 35mm focal length and up.
7. I havent measured the sync voltage of the 383 Super but I am sure that the 285HV has a sync voltage of 6V DC as I measured it myself.
8. The 383 Super locks on the hotshoe by turning a screw while the 285HV has a one-action locking lever.
9. The 285HV has a lovely illuminated (yes!) calculator dial which is practically a tiny work of art! Its a pity though it has no varnish of some sort to protect its surface markings from scratching.

I can live without 383 Super's additional swivel and 1/8th power ratio. I need the 285HV's direct, brute light power when shooting inside high-ceiling rooms and dim conditions where I cannot approach my subjects. The zoom-capable flash head helps in this situation because it boosts precious flash range just a bit more than what the 383 Super can.

I can also use the extra-wide adapter when using the 18-55mm lens of the D40 at 18mm. In film terms, 18mm focal lenght on the D40 is 27mm- just perfect for the 28mm extra-wide adapter.

I prefer the one-action locking lever of the 285HV. The locking lever makes the flash more stable as compared to the turn screw on my other flash.

Of course, the 285HV has none of the programmed high-tech artificial intelligence of expensive flashes (say,a Nikon SB800 or a Canon 580EX), other than its auto-thyristor and manual controls. However, in its auto thyristor mode, I found it to be accurate. Sometimes in tricky situations (say, a white board behind your friend) it under-exposes, as expected. But thanks to the digital SLR where I attach it to (Nikon D40), I can quickly make corrections on the spot by examining the LCD! Easy!

Although plastic, Vivitar build it well. Solid feel with no loose parts which are not supposed to be loose. Overall, a beautifully made simple flash. But for what it was made to do, from my experience a least, it does very well, consistently and reliably.

Vivitar 285 Work-horse by .. Ingelbert Lievaart II (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada)
I've been using Vivitar 283 and 285's for years now. I was introduced to the 285 when my backlight died on a Glamour shoot. The style my client wanted was an over exposed background to ad a haze around the subject through the softener1 filter. This required a powerful flash. The only store near the salon was a Carmen's camera and all they had in their used department was this old 285, the man in the store, a professional photographer himself, assured me that with a slave unit on the manual setting this flash would be powerful enough to do the job. He even had an SB-4 power supply and this little plastic display unit, which made a perfect little backlight stand!

Not only did this flash recycle in time, it was powerful enough to do the job. This little flash even replaced my Metz for wedding work because of its compact size!

I also noticed at the time that many other press photographers were leaving their Metz's at home too! For travelling and backpacking I bring my 283, which is very light and also has the remote sensor feature so handy for close-up work.

The 283 also sits nicer on the hot shoe being lighter, making the camera less top-heavy. Which brings me to the only complaint I have with these two flashes.... or many hot shoe flashes for that matter. Shooting at crowded concerts or busy news scrums the vulnerability of the hot shoe is always on my mind, on more than one occasion I have broken this hot shoe and had to order a new one which requires a bit of assembly and downtime. To make up for this -the remote sensor makes it possible to use these flashes off camera even with the broken hot shoe and with the amount of used 283's and 285's out there at good prices, they are still the best darn portable mini flashes I've come across!

With an on camera 283 fill light, reflected, a slaved 285 with a reflector on a stand next to the camera and a 283 slaved for a back light and you have yourself a portable studio, but watch out your subject doesn't step on the backlight!

Great Flash for the Money by .. Greg Allen (San Diego, CA)
(Review is from Greg's wife, Marcy Worthington) I've been a professional photographer for over three decades and started using Vivitar 283 and 285 flashes years ago. I also teach photography and recommend these flashes to my students.

Both the Vivitar 283 and 285 have four automatic and one manual exposure settings. They work well both on and off-camera and can be easily used when "painting with light"; this technique is often used by crime scene and accident photographers when photographing large, dark areas.

These flashes aren't dedicated or TTL (meaning they don't communicate with the camera for "through the lens" metering) but they are extremely versatile and very powerful for the money. Don't buy these models if you plan to only use your camera on P (Program, essentially "point & shoot" mode) but definitely get them if you use the S (shutter priority automatic exposure) or M (manual exposure) modes and are serious about photography.

Excellent Flash by .. Cootie Saidit (CA United States)
That this flash doesn't have a swivel feature - is that a demerit? It also doesn't have auto focus nor is it "smart", TTL, dedicated or self learning. You can't make a phone call on it either. These complaints are as valid as the complaint that you can't get 40 miles per gallon from a 57 Chevy.

I bought my 285 in the early 80's so that's testimony to it's service and satisfaction and it being well built. You can still buy this flash. It's survived even after 25 years have passed. Has refined technological evolution made the 285 obsolete? NAY! Even with computer chip advancments in newer flashes the Vivitar 285 is still here holding a position. Why is that?

I have a dedicated flash that has auto focus, TTL and all - but I gave it to my wife. She likes it because you don't have to do anything to it... I don't like it because you can't do anything with it. There are no creative avenues to explore. I can control the 285 to do what I want.

Consider the respectable guide number, 120 at 100 ASA on the 50mm zoom setting. You can have the worlds best computer controlling your flash but without horsepower you may not have enough light.

It's all about light. Like a limo with a bathtub, a wet bar and a waiter, all nice except if the motor is a Briggs and Stratten lawnmower engine with a 3 quart gas tank you may only impress your mom with a smile and a slow ride once around the block.

Did we forget that what we need is light? 25 years later we are still looking at similar or less power as technology's (read, marketing's )freshest offering for today but the price for the same light power or even less light power, is higher. We buy what's new and we buy features.

We rush to lay out our money because we are very savvy photographers - (NOT!) Isn't the Minolta 5400HS ( also an older unit), a great flash and it sure does have more power than the 285, about A QUARTER OF A STOP MORE BUT you can pay 3 or 4 TIMES THE PRICE OF A 285. As the 285 remains available you're as likely to see me shelling out for one of these others as you are likely to see Hilliary Clinton waiting in line for day old bread.

I have the control, light power, and, no, the 285 isn't the best out there but the package for the dollar value is well established and pretty good. It's been kicking "A" for 25 years and it will for many more. I wish I could tell you something about it. Buy something else. I mean, you could get a silver one - maybe even with swivel.

Cootie

Update April 13,2007:
My wife in her 3rd semester at Orange Coast Junior College in Costa Mesa CA, studying photography, has access to some great equipment including Hasselblad. This school is well known for its photo department. It is interesting to note that there are two portable flash units that they use there. One is the Lumedyne. That's a $2000 flash. It's features include an adjustable output . That is you can choose a guide number of 50, 100 or 200 and the recycle time is about 2 seconds because of a large shoulder strap battery pack. Other than that no other features. And the other flash they use is the Vivitar 285, under $100. Hmmmm - go figure!

Cootie

Update: July 2007

OK, I bought a new flash. The old one above, well it still works. But now I have 2 Vivitar 285's. What would you expect?

Cootie