Flash FL-36 Review

[ykkok]

Here you are, a review on Olympus FL-36 flash unit:
http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/oly-e/fl-36.html

(Sorry if someone has posted this before)

 

[syncmaster]

Nice link , thanks !!

I have not see any review about it, for months .
Thats a very interesting one .

 

[peekarwe]

Yeah, Kudos... The review gives me more information about the Flash than the crappy manual does.

 

[ykkok]

Don't mention guys - that's what the forums are for.

 

[peekarwe]

since we are on this topic, I am wondering which batteries are the best for this flash unit. I am getting very lethargic flash recharge and it slows the action down when I am trying to take baby potraits where speed is quite important. I use 2300 mah NiMh and the flash doesn't recharge as quickly as I want it to... Maybe my batteries are old? I have overcharged them a couple of times accidentally before.

 

[tao]

since we are on this topic, I am wondering which batteries are the best for this flash unit. I am getting very lethargic flash recharge and it slows the action down when I am trying to take baby potraits where speed is quite important. I use 2300 mah NiMh and the flash doesn't recharge as quickly as I want it to... Maybe my batteries are old? I have overcharged them a couple of times accidentally before.

lithium batts will recharge the flash fastest.

to begin with, the FL-36 recharges slower compared with a flash using 4 AA batts, such as the FL-40 & FL-50.

also, you are well advised to STOP using flash when photographing a baby. babies have very sensitive eyes and one will not want to cause any premature retina damage. use available light or reflector boards when doing such portraits.

 

[Teo]

There should be no problem taking flash pictures for babies....but MUST use bounce flash.

 

[ykkok]

Try using higher ISO, like 200 or 400. This would decrease the recharge time.

 

[peekarwe]

Tao, thanks for the advice. Erm, I think I deserve a wee bit more credit than to have assumed that I am firing the flash directly into the eyes of the baby. I used bounce flash. And I did experiment to check if a 90 degree angle was still going to hit the eyes. But yes, you are right that we should take care in photographing babies.

Anyway, I dun like the 400 ISO settings on my camera and but I did force a large aperture to reduce the flash intensity. It does charge quite slowly and I lost some moments on the baby. I will try lithium batteries next. Any comments on the panasonic next generation batteries - oxyride? Are those lithium based?

 

[tao]

Tao, thanks for the advice. Erm, I think I deserve a wee bit more credit than to have assumed that I am firing the flash directly into the eyes of the baby. I used bounce flash. And I did experiment to check if a 90 degree angle was still going to hit the eyes. But yes, you are right that we should take care in photographing babies.

Anyway, I dun like the 400 ISO settings on my camera and but I did force a large aperture to reduce the flash intensity. It does charge quite slowly and I lost some moments on the baby. I will try lithium batteries next. Any comments on the panasonic next generation batteries - oxyride? Are those lithium based?

Hi what camera are you using?

Not sure about the oxyride batts but pretty sure that lithium is still longest lasting and charge the fastest.

By the way, I don't even dare use bounce flash on babies! Which was why my statement on no flash.

 

[peekarwe]

Point taken. I think if I want to shoot babies in the future, I will just try for available light photography. Since their skin is so smooth, might reflect light. I am going to try out the oxyride now. Lithium is good, I tried, but they get really warm. I think the current output is still limited.