Vivitar 285HV

**Joel Bookhammer** · 04-27-2009, 06:27 PM

I noticed in another thread Sean Setters posted that he uses Vivitar 285HV flashes. Sean and or anyone else what is the reliablity of these, they are inexpensive compared to canon flashes and im looking at getting another flash or two. Would these be a good option?

thanks

joel

**mattsartin** · 04-27-2009, 06:51 PM

don't know about the vivitars, but i use a promaster 7500edf and it works wonderfully, about $200-250

http://www.promaster.com/products/products.asp?CatID=150&CatSM=&SubCatID=3&a mp;CatName=Electronic%20Flash&SubCatName=Digit al%20TTL%20&sm=sm2_1503&dir=&page=PROD &product=7500EDF

**clemmb** · 04-27-2009, 11:01 PM

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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"]The Vivitar 285HV is a very
good flash for the money. It does not work with ETTL so you will have to
operate it in manual or auto. I have used several of these flashes firing
them into umbrellas. In manual you can adjust the power setting to get
just what you need. Get yourself a good flash meter or do a lot of testing to get your exposure just right.<o

></o

>

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"]Mark<o

></o

>
<p class="MsoNormal"]<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"]<o

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>

**Sean Setters** · 04-27-2009, 11:08 PM

Joel, that's a question with a not-so-straight-forward answer. I currently own 3 Vivitar 285HV flashes. I purchased two of them used, and one I purchased new. The flash I purchased new died after a few months, and I sent it back to the company and received a replacement. My replacement has been working fine ever since. However, the Vivitar brand was sold to another company after I got my replacement flash, so you can't necessarily count on warranty of a newly purchased 285HV.

Not long ago, there were some really serious quality control issues with the Vivitar flashes. For a very long time the 285 (and later, 285HV) were workhorses that just kept going and going. There are hundreds of photographers that swore by them. Then they moved the manufacturing facility to China, and the quality suffered. Before the actual sale of the Vivitar brand, I think they were addressing some QC issues in the manufacturing process, but I'm not sure how far they got. The company that purchased the Vivitar brand no longer makes the 285HV. Instead, they are manufactured under the Cactus brand as the Cactus KF36.

The shortest answer I can give you is this--if you want a Vivitar 285HV, you might be best served surfing ebay. Usually, a functional 285HV on ebay has already proven that it can take the abuse of regular use, so it's probably a safe gamble to buy it. Because Vivitar no longer owns the 285HV, I don't know how safe it would be to purchase one of the remaining stock from B&H/Adorama/etc because I don't know how or if the warranties would be honored. If you buy the Cactus branded one, at least you have a company to complain to if something went wrong. You might want to talk to Adorama/B&H and see if they'll take back a malfunctioning unit. Also look at the original Vivitar 285. From the way I understand it, the only real difference between HV and the original 285 is that the older Vivitar 285 will probably fry your camera if you put it in the hotshoe. However, if you only use it for off-camera lighting (like I do), that drawback won't be an issue. The older 285s are usually easier to find on ebay...I just bought one last week for less than $30 with shipping.

The one flash I would urge you to avoid for off-camera use is the 430EZ. It goes to sleep after 90 seconds of being idle, and doesn't come back on until you press the test button or turn the device off/on. That can be very frustrating....

**Steve Eisenberg** · 04-27-2009, 11:10 PM

Don't know about Vivitar, but I have a Metz 48 AF-1 on the way from Amazon ($205 with rebate until 4/30). E-TTL, and powerful.

**Ehcalum** · 04-28-2009, 09:46 AM

I would also suggest the $5.00 metal foot with PC plug. Ive snapped my plastic foot once and the sync cord for the Vivitars is propieriety.

**Colin** · 04-29-2009, 04:30 PM

I got the lighting setup that Sean recommended, and I have to say, for the money, I'm really pleased at what can do, though I'm just starting to play with it, but it works, so it seems, quite well.

The build quality of the Vivitar and cactus triggers don't look like they'll be too tolerant of much abuse, but for the price, I can be careful.

**Stephen Probert** · 04-29-2009, 05:09 PM

I like this discussion about cheap off-camera lighting. Can someone suggest a cheap option for flash control? Do you have to go with the 580 EX /EX II or the ST-E2 transmitter, or is there something cheaper? I have the 430 EX II, but it can't act as a master. I am interested in getting some cheap off-camera flashes, but I need to control them. Thanks.

**Colin** · 04-29-2009, 05:28 PM

You know, I think that's a good direction. We often get embroiled it lens lust or pixel peeping or ISO noise performance, and lose sight of what we can do with tools, as opposed to fretting over which particular device is just a little bit better than the other.

Even in hardware comparisons, I like that this forum often addresses "Better for what?" and makes useful suggestions.

Still, this off camera lighting thing is a whole new world for me, and I think I really like it! If you can vastly expand your capabilities with minimal hardware expense, that seems a whole lot more sensible than worrying about faults in lenses that a my poor old 5D can barely resolve, what with it's mere 12MP spread across a whole full frame sensor [

]

**Sean Setters** · 04-29-2009, 11:22 PM

Originally Posted by Stephen Probert

I like this discussion about cheap off-camera lighting. Can someone suggest a cheap option for flash control? Do you have to go with the 580 EX /EX II or the ST-E2 transmitter, or is there something cheaper? I have the 430 EX II, but it can't act as a master. I am interested in getting some cheap off-camera flashes, but I need to control them. Thanks.
<div style="clear: both;"]</div>

You say you have to control your flashes. I control all my flashes, either by walking over to them and changing the settings or by having my girlfriend (assistant) do it. Otherwise, I set them up at the power I believe I'll need the first time. Most of the time I'm right on the first guess. That just comes through trial and error, though. Don't be afraid of manually adjusting the power of your flashes. It can seem a little intimidating at first. If you can learn that discipline, then you can get by with much cheaper flashes. Also, you won't be locked in to a specific brand. To me, the difference between fiddling with the buttons on a master flash on-camera (or ST-E2) that I don't even want to fire but only control other units seems a little pointless (and overly expensive) to me. If I win Powerball this evening, then my views may change. But as long as I'm plopping down my hard-earned money on flashes, I can not only live with manual control, I can thrive on it. ;-)

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