Customer Reviews

Panasonic DMW-FL500 TTL External Flash for Panasonic L1 DSLR and FZ50 Digital Camera

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The first point on this flash is that this is the one to own over the DMW-FL360. The FL360 only has 2 batteries so it will take longer to recharge than this one. It is half the price of this but the lower power and longer recharge will make it much less useful. '
The price of this flash puts is the same as the Nikon SB-900 so I will be comparing its feature set to this Flash. (Note: I am not saying you can use the SB900 but I am just comparing the features.) As a point of reference, the SB900 has an infrared wireless trigger and master 3 zone flash system. I am not going to go into detail but needless to say it works really well for triggering groups of flashes utilizing TTL. The SB900 comes in a nice sturdy rip stock padded case and includes a stand, a diffuser, a lift out bounce card and a coded gel set that will set your cameras white balance for you. Very very nice. It is an amazing flash.

This flash is almost at the same price point and comes with the flash and a crappy non-padded case. It has no wireless mode or any of the other goodies the SB900 has.

The only reason to own this flash is really for the FP (Focal Plane) flash mode. The G1, G2, GH1, GF1 all have a crappy flash sync speed of 1/160. That means there is no way to shoot at a large aperture in bright light using the flash. To accomplish this you need to use FP mode. This is also called high speed sync and allows the use of flash at very fast shutter speeds (1/4000). Most other camera manufactures allow access to the FP mode in the camera body. Panasonic, in an effort to sell more flashes I am sure, puts access to that mode in the flash itself. If you don't why this would be important then you don't need FP mode and I would recommend not wasting your money on this flash.

However, if you shoot Panasonic and you want high speed sync then this is the flash to own despite its ridicules price and poor feature set.

Something to note for the GH1 is the JPEG engine absolutely abysmal with mixed lighting when using this flash. USE RAW mode only.

Pros
Quiet flash
Fairly quick recharge
Only way to get the FP mode on the Panasonic GH1, G1, or GF1

Cons
Overpriced
No wireless triggering system
Crappy Case
No White Bounce Card
No Included Diffuser
No Included Gel Set

Overall:

Only buy if you need FP mode for you camera. For a normal use flash I would recommend the Metz 48 AF-1 Shoe Mount Flash for Olympus / Panasonic Digital Cameras, Guide Number 158' for half the price.

This is the first external flash I have owned with a zoom feature and it works great with my Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50 camera. I have not mastered all of the features yet, but so far, I have been able to take excellent, well lit shots from about 25 feet using the default ISO of 100. I have yet to try higher ISO speeds to see if I can be even farther away. I take a lot of pictures in church during services (weddings, baptisms, funerals, etc) and really want to be out of the lime light (to use a photographer's term!!) so I shoot from as far back as I can. The church lighting usually doesn't contribute much so I depend of the flash head to handle it all and this has done a good job so far.

I am on my second FL-500. The first failed within a few weeks with little or no use. It was replaced under warranty. The second unit had less than 3 hours on it before it too failed at a crucial time during a shoot; I had to use the built-in flash on my G-1. It seems that the power switch goes bad but that's just a guess. In any case the display on the back of the unit began flashing and then it wouldn't power up at all. I am extremely disappointed that I spent over $400 for what I thought was quality equipment. Also, despite the fact that Panasonic customer service was available on a holiday, if found their people to be rather ignorant of their products and when I asked for the phone number of the repair center in Illinois, was told they didn't have one. I found it on Google maps. The Olympus FL-50 is an identical unit and I'm seriously considering getting one but it they are manufactured by the same company, I am plagued with doubts as to the reliability of those particular units.

I ordered this because I was going to use it with my g2 camera as it is listed on the panasonic.net site and g2 system chart as being so. The link to the FLASE info is here:

[...]

The press release that most sites that reviewed the camera used obviously listed this as compatible as they all show that too. I spent 45 on one call and 30 on another with Panasonic to make sure this was the case...and also asked them what they were going to do about this? They told me sorry for the inconvenience and that was that. WOW thanks Panasonic. That is top notch customer service.

As the previous review it is the firt external flash unit for me too, I'm very pleased with the results, not an expert with flashes but I find this one easy to learn to use need to more know more of course. Oh it gives me so nice results on my Lumix L1, I just beg to have more time to spend with this combo.

I recomend it and more if you find a good deal as I did with the folks of AMA Brothers, they shiped what they said they where to, ask them for one mine where about $375 new with shipping an stealth for me.

I wish you deals that makes you happy!!