Vivitar 285HV

[HogHunter]

I recently bought a Vivitar 285HV on ebay. I paid under $65 for it so I am happy with the price. I have heard good things about this flash and it will not be my primary flash. I plan to use it mostly for the second or third light source in multi flash shoots. But I do have a problem. The user manual describes a process for "forming the capacitor" that involves waiting for the ready light to turn green and then firing the flash multiple times. Unfortunately, the ready light on my flash never turns green. It turns red relatively quickly. I have read about it taking a while so I left it turned on for a few hours yesterday. But it never turned green.

Any ideas? Unfortunately Vivitar customer support has no support for their flashes any more. How rude! They have removed all access to information or any kind of support.
I think it stinks when a company sells a product for decades and suddenly removes support. I understand not wanting to sell the product any more, but the fact that they made billions off the product line should mean they have an obligation to their past customers.

[ErnieR]

The ready light should blink back and forth between red and green if I remember right when it's ready. But the bulb could be bad on that flash. When I used one on the camera "back in the day" I would just listen to the whine of the flash, when it settles down to a steady noise it's fully charged. Some of them were loud enough to qualify as air raid sirens if you were shooting quickly.

To form the capacitor, set the flash to full power (1/1) and then turn it on. Once the tone evens out wait a few seconds and hit the test button. Repeat for 10 or so times.... That should do it.
Those flashes are monsters, best auto exposure I've ever seen/used. I'd still use it but I'm afraid it will fry my digi's.

[Danlphot]

I've owned several of them (four or five) over the years. They are great but the pc cord sockets on Vivitar flashes have always sucked! I've used it with a D60, 10D and 30D and an off-camera cable attached to the hotshoe with no ill effect.

Dan

[yendikeno]

FWIW, I have a much older 285 that does exactly the same thing (red light, no green) but still works well otherwise. On mine, when the unit is fully charged, you can see the red start to blink, but the green never comes on. No matter what, it still works as designed, so try yours and see what kind of exposures you get.

[HogHunter]

Wow that's guys. Three answers! I guess it just works. The flash fires and it does stop the "whine" fairly quickly. I bought it as a backup/backlight flash. As for the digi camera danger, from all I have read, th HV is designed to be low power unlike the 285 which did use a lot of power.

I also bought a wireless trigger system so that is the primary way I plan on using it. My Sigma 500 is my primary flash.

[Kalypso]

The 285HV is 6-volts and shouldn't hurt any camera....

[Alfred D.]

Originally Posted by HogHunter

Wow that's guys. Three answers! I guess it just works. The flash fires and it does stop the "whine" fairly quickly.

So now do the ultimate test: use it! Does it illuminate your images properly/sufficiently?
The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

[kgphoto]

Holly Enterprises in Van Nuys california makes a metal flash foot to replace the flash foot on 285's and 283's. These both change the sync cord to the standard AC cord style. These were pretty heavy units to sit on plastic shoes and broke off during the rush of a wedding. Tell them Kirk sent you.

You can use a Wein Safe-Sync or the pocket wizard to trigger these flashes and be perfectly safe.

[HogHunter]

Originally Posted by Alfred D.

So now do the ultimate test: use it! Does it illuminate your images properly/sufficiently?
The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

The flash seemed to fire consistently, however I am used to my Sigma EF 500 and e-TTL flash control. I took a few photos with the Vivitar and they were either too Bright or too dark. The manual control of the flash is too hard for me to use as a walk around flash.

Having said that, I purchased it as a third flash for use when shooting portraits. Many portrait lighting books call for three light sources. I have two: a Sigma EX 500 and a Canon 420 EX. The Sigma is usually on my camera. (right now it is on loan with my 20D and my 12-22 and 24 70 lenses to friend in Europe, boy I miss them )


So since I can manually turn down the power on the Vivitar 285 HV, it will work well in the role of the back ground light. I just need to get some grip equipment. I have a set of lights and light stands but I don't have any hot shoe clamps. The flash based lighting will allow me to reduce to size of my light kit and it will let me shoot away from 110 outlets.

[kgphoto]

The vivitar has auto settings too. Just turn the wheel more.

[HogHunter]

I guess I should have said, no e-TTL. The Sigma senses what the zoom on the lens is set to and that coupled with the distance it is focused on and the aperture and speed tells the flash how much power to put out. The Vivitar has no ability to communicate with the camera. This is fine since I will have my Sigma back in a few weeks. The real struggle for me was the fact that the Vivatar's gauge is for too hard to read. My eyes aren't as good as they used to be and I had to put on my glasses and even then it was hard to read.

I am happy with the functionality it provides me but I am not going to be using it as a replacement for my Sigma. I could see getting another one or two for protrait use. I do like how easy it is to set the power output.

[kgphoto]

Boy, you auto guys are spoiled!

Set it to yellow, keep your subject within 40 feet and you don't have to change anything.

I remember walking 20 miles in the snow with my all manual Norman 200B just to shoot weddings.

Seriously, auto flashes are accurate 80% of the time. 20% failure is too high for me. So as long as you have to pay attention and adjust, why not learn how to shoot manually correctly? OR get a real light like a Metz 58F or Quantum that can actually do TTL well.

[HogHunter]

Originally Posted by kgphoto

Boy, you auto guys are spoiled!

Yeah, and your point is?

Originally Posted by kgphoto

Set it to yellow, keep your subject within 40 feet and you don't have to change anything.

I guess I can give that a try. I really didn't quite understand how the "Automatic Mode" worked since it wasn't using e-TTL how can it tell what's trying to illuminate?

Originally Posted by kgphoto

I remember walking 20 miles in the snow with my all manual Norman 200B just to shoot weddings.

Uphill both ways right? But then again, isn't shooting a wedding torture enough?

Originally Posted by kgphoto

Seriously, auto flashes are accurate 80% of the time. 20% failure is too high for me. So as long as you have to pay attention and adjust, why not learn how to shoot manually correctly? OR get a real light like a Metz 58F or Quantum that can actually do TTL well.

Ok, I'll bite. Are you saying a Canon 580 is only accurate 80% of the time? For that matter I am not sure I would agree with my Sigma 500. The Canon 420 is a bit flaky.

So are you saying any Quantum flash would be better then my Sigma?

Please understand, I am not picking a fight, I seriously don't know. All I know is what I have used myself. I feel pretty satisfied with the results from the Sigma. I wouldn't mind a Canon 580 but I can't afford one.

[kgphoto]

Don't buy a Canon 580! There are many better flashes in that price range. You could study, do the research and find out which best suits you and the way you work and the subjects you photograph. Or you could read what others have found. One example would be Will Crockett.

There are few flashes or cameras for that matter that handled TTL well, especially in the beginning. Now there are a few more. Standard "auto" has worked better than TTL throughout. Manual is the only way to consistently get precisely accurate exposure. Of course it is also the slowest, unless you learn some of the shortcuts.

Auto sensors are fooled by light and dark backgrounds and foreground objects that intercept or block the light. Manual doesn't have those problems. That is where the 80/20 comes from. Auto sensors are mounted on the flash and communicate to a computer on board the flash only.

My underlying point is that by not learning how to use manual you are at the mercy of your equipment and you will not develop the full understanding of your medium. So try both, use the best for the situation at hand and be in control of your results.

[HogHunter]

Originally Posted by kgphoto

My underlying point is that by not learning how to use manual you are at the mercy of your equipment and you will not develop the full understanding of your medium. So try both, use the best for the situation at hand and be in control of your results.

Learning, ouch, that sounds too hard. Actually, I get what you are saying, it's just that I have not had much trouble with the Sigma using eTTL. Most of my shots come out as I expect. Having said that, I prefer to use the flash as a fill flash then as the primary light source but that's just my taste in lighting. Available light is my general preference. I do shoot some portrait work for friends and family. It is a learning experience. I have a to light kit and the Vivitar will allow me to add to the kit.