Low Priced Flash

[Cop J]

My dad has a Canon 420EX Speedlite. What can that do that the Vivitar 285VH can't do on my Canon XS? I just want to know the difference between them and their features.

 

[Ron Evers]

You can use the Vivitar 383 power zoom in TTL mode off camera with a TTL cord or as a way off camera slave without a remote trigger.

 

[Village Idiot]

IMO, you should have at least one non 3rd party proprietary flash made for your system.

 

[Dao]

My dad has a Canon 420EX Speedlite. What can that do that the Vivitar 285VH can't do on my Canon XS? I just want to know the difference between them and their features.

I do not own the 420ex flash, but I found some info of the flash and here is some difference between the 2.

- 285HV cost around $90 new, $5x used, 420EX ( I believe it is out of production, on ebay price around $100 to $150 used)
- Power wise, guide no., they are about the same.
- 420EX can tilt and swivel vs 285HV can only tilt.
- 420EX E-TTL with your camera vs 285HV can only used as a manual flash.
- 420EX has focus assist beam vs 285HV do not have that feature.
- 420EX can act as a slave flash with 550EX/580EX (or ST-E2,[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]MR-14EX[/FONT]) being the master. For 285HV, you need to trigger it with 3rd party add on such as optical trigger or radio trigger.
- 285HV can adjust the flash power manually vs 420EX cannot.


That's all I can think of now.

Personally, if I going to get a flash, use it off camera and trigger it with radio trigger, I will buy the 285HV since it is cheaper and most important I can adjust the power manually. Plus, I believe the 420EX flash will go to sleep after a short while if not being use and the only way to wake up the flash is power cycle.

If I am planning to use the flash as on-camera flash, although I really like to use manually flash setting, however, since the 285HV flash cannot swivel, so it make flash bouncing a little difficult then the 420EX. Especially if I want to bounce off the side wall or have the camera in portrait orientation.

I have an older 420EZ that do not support the new digital camera via TTL, but I can adjust the power manually and use it with my Canon DSLRs. And I usually use it as my on-camera flash.

 

[Ron Evers]

Not for consideration in the context of this thread but may be of interest to folk who want a low power off camera slave for that little extra light. It is adjustable for the number of pre-flashes by the camera flash (4 settings), comes with bracket & sells for $15 @ Factory Direct. Cool little unit.

 

[vh5150]

I bought an SB-600 as my first, and thus far, only flash. It is great and I love it. I found in on sale for a little over $200 and I am fairly certain I could sell it within 20 bucks of what I paid for it.

 

[Vinny]

IMO, you should have at least one non 3rd party proprietary flash made for your system.

Why is that?

I just looked at the Vivitar 383 on-line and it seems to be able to communicate with various cameras. For $139 it would seem like a bargain if it can do everything (or almost everything) a proprietary flash can do. It even comes with a diffuser screen and reflector screen.

Although my FE is not fully automatic and the 283 didn't talk to my camera, the 283 flash had a great guide number and was able to give enough light for any flash situation. I just had to do the manual calculations and use the guide wheel that was on the unit ... really fun when bouncing off a ceiling - LOL!

Based on the photo that Ron Evers posted with the 383, it would be a serious contender if it could communicate with whatever camera I decide on for those point and shoot situations.