Frequently Bought Together
Technical Details
- Vertical bounce flash
- Auto Thyristor circuitry
- Sufficient-light indicator
- Illuminated calculator dial
- Flash range up to 70 feet
Product Details
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Product Description
Amazon.com Product Description
The built-in variable power of the Vivitar 285HV auto professional flash provides you with fill flash and the ability to shoot properly exposed rapid-sequence pictures. This vertical bounce flash gives your photographs soft, professional lighting. The four f-stops give you control over the flash distance range and the depth of field, while the auto Thyristor circuitry allows for a faster recycling time as well as more flashes per set of batteries.
Product Description
Vivitar 285HV Professional Non-Dedicated Flash
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
73 of 73 people found the following review helpful
I compared the 285HV with Sunpak 383 Super and I found out these differences and similiraties:
1. Both are non-brand specific Manual/non-TTL auto flash for use in practically any camera with standard hotshoe.
2. Both have the same Guide Number of 120.
3. In Manual mode, they can slice their power output from 1/1 to 1/16th except that the 285HV is missing 1/8th.
4. In non-TTL auto, the 285HV has four auto-aperture settings while the 383Super has only three.
5. The 383Super can do vertical and horizontal bounce (swivel) while the 285HV can do vertical bounce only.
6. The 285HV has zoom positions to cover 35mm, 50mm and 105mm focal length lenses. It also includs an extra-wide flash head adapter to cover 28mm focal length. The 383Super has no zoom position and can cover only 35mm focal length and up.
7. I havent measured the sync voltage of the 383 Super but I am sure that the 285HV has a sync voltage of 6V DC as I measured it myself.
8. The 383 Super locks on the hotshoe by turning a screw while the 285HV has a one-action locking lever.
9. The 285HV has a lovely illuminated (yes!) calculator dial which is practically a tiny work of art! Its a pity though it has no varnish of some sort to protect its surface markings from scratching.
I can live without 383 Super's additional swivel and 1/8th power ratio. I need the 285HV's direct, brute light power when shooting inside high-ceiling rooms and dim conditions where I cannot approach my subjects. The zoom-capable flash head helps in this situation because it boosts precious flash range just a bit more than what the 383 Super can.
I can also use the extra-wide adapter when using the 18-55mm lens of the D40 at 18mm. In film terms, 18mm focal lenght on the D40 is 27mm- just perfect for the 28mm extra-wide adapter.
I prefer the one-action locking lever of the 285HV. The locking lever makes the flash more stable as compared to the turn screw on my other flash.
Of course, the 285HV has none of the programmed high-tech artificial intelligence of expensive flashes (say,a Nikon SB800 or a Canon 580EX), other than its auto-thyristor and manual controls. However, in its auto thyristor mode, I found it to be accurate. Sometimes in tricky situations (say, a white board behind your friend) it under-exposes, as expected. But thanks to the digital SLR where I attach it to (Nikon D40), I can quickly make corrections on the spot by examining the LCD! Easy!
Although plastic, Vivitar build it well. Solid feel with no loose parts which are not supposed to be loose. Overall, a beautifully made simple flash. But for what it was made to do, from my experience a least, it does very well, consistently and reliably.
1. Both are non-brand specific Manual/non-TTL auto flash for use in practically any camera with standard hotshoe.
2. Both have the same Guide Number of 120.
3. In Manual mode, they can slice their power output from 1/1 to 1/16th except that the 285HV is missing 1/8th.
4. In non-TTL auto, the 285HV has four auto-aperture settings while the 383Super has only three.
5. The 383Super can do vertical and horizontal bounce (swivel) while the 285HV can do vertical bounce only.
6. The 285HV has zoom positions to cover 35mm, 50mm and 105mm focal length lenses. It also includs an extra-wide flash head adapter to cover 28mm focal length. The 383Super has no zoom position and can cover only 35mm focal length and up.
7. I havent measured the sync voltage of the 383 Super but I am sure that the 285HV has a sync voltage of 6V DC as I measured it myself.
8. The 383 Super locks on the hotshoe by turning a screw while the 285HV has a one-action locking lever.
9. The 285HV has a lovely illuminated (yes!) calculator dial which is practically a tiny work of art! Its a pity though it has no varnish of some sort to protect its surface markings from scratching.
I can live without 383 Super's additional swivel and 1/8th power ratio. I need the 285HV's direct, brute light power when shooting inside high-ceiling rooms and dim conditions where I cannot approach my subjects. The zoom-capable flash head helps in this situation because it boosts precious flash range just a bit more than what the 383 Super can.
I can also use the extra-wide adapter when using the 18-55mm lens of the D40 at 18mm. In film terms, 18mm focal lenght on the D40 is 27mm- just perfect for the 28mm extra-wide adapter.
I prefer the one-action locking lever of the 285HV. The locking lever makes the flash more stable as compared to the turn screw on my other flash.
Of course, the 285HV has none of the programmed high-tech artificial intelligence of expensive flashes (say,a Nikon SB800 or a Canon 580EX), other than its auto-thyristor and manual controls. However, in its auto thyristor mode, I found it to be accurate. Sometimes in tricky situations (say, a white board behind your friend) it under-exposes, as expected. But thanks to the digital SLR where I attach it to (Nikon D40), I can quickly make corrections on the spot by examining the LCD! Easy!
Although plastic, Vivitar build it well. Solid feel with no loose parts which are not supposed to be loose. Overall, a beautifully made simple flash. But for what it was made to do, from my experience a least, it does very well, consistently and reliably.
84 of 88 people found the following review helpful
Let's get to the bad stuff first:
1) no swivel
2) printed numbers on calculator dial may wear off or get scratched off (UPDATE: no, they haven't been scratched off yet by mes, but in the hands of heavy/pro users they might be. Bottom line, for casual use, the printed numbers are durable enough.)
3) plastic foot may break
4) sync cord, battery holder and AC adapter are hard to find in stores
5) of course, no TTL, but we already knew that
OK, the good stuff (really good)
1) very powerful, big grins on subjects after they hear the loud pop and see the light. This is one big gun.
2) meter is surprisingly accurate
3) zoom head and wide angle adapter
4) generous auto range of 4 apertures, variable power settings of 1/2, 1/4 and 1/16
5) if you use flash as main source of light, don't shoot closeups with flash and have no need for TTL, this is all the flash you need (UPDATE: actually with the proper set up, you can even use this for close-ups)
6) did I say this flash is so affordable?
1) no swivel
2) printed numbers on calculator dial may wear off or get scratched off (UPDATE: no, they haven't been scratched off yet by mes, but in the hands of heavy/pro users they might be. Bottom line, for casual use, the printed numbers are durable enough.)
3) plastic foot may break
4) sync cord, battery holder and AC adapter are hard to find in stores
5) of course, no TTL, but we already knew that
OK, the good stuff (really good)
1) very powerful, big grins on subjects after they hear the loud pop and see the light. This is one big gun.
2) meter is surprisingly accurate
3) zoom head and wide angle adapter
4) generous auto range of 4 apertures, variable power settings of 1/2, 1/4 and 1/16
5) if you use flash as main source of light, don't shoot closeups with flash and have no need for TTL, this is all the flash you need (UPDATE: actually with the proper set up, you can even use this for close-ups)
6) did I say this flash is so affordable?
61 of 63 people found the following review helpful
I've been using Vivitar 283 and 285's for years now. I was introduced to the 285 when my backlight died on a Glamour shoot. The style my client wanted was an over exposed background to ad a haze around the subject through the softener1 filter. This required a powerful flash. The only store near the salon was a Carmen's camera and all they had in their used department was this old 285, the man in the store, a professional photographer himself, assured me that with a slave unit on the manual setting this flash would be powerful enough to do the job. He even had an SB-4 power supply and this little plastic display unit, which made a perfect little backlight stand!
Not only did this flash recycle in time, it was powerful enough to do the job. This little flash even replaced my Metz for wedding work because of its compact size!
I also noticed at the time that many other press photographers were leaving their Metz's at home too! For travelling and backpacking I bring my 283, which is very light and also has the remote sensor feature so handy for close-up work.
The 283 also sits nicer on the hot shoe being lighter, making the camera less top-heavy. Which brings me to the only complaint I have with these two flashes.... or many hot shoe flashes for that matter. Shooting at crowded concerts or busy news scrums the vulnerability of the hot shoe is always on my mind, on more than one occasion I have broken this hot shoe and had to order a new one which requires a bit of assembly and downtime. To make up for this -the remote sensor makes it possible to use these flashes off camera even with the broken hot shoe and with the amount of used 283's and 285's out there at good prices, they are still the best darn portable mini flashes I've come across!
With an on camera 283 fill light, reflected, a slaved 285 with a reflector on a stand next to the camera and a 283 slaved for a back light and you have yourself a portable studio, but watch out your subject doesn't step on the backlight!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Best Buy
I own Pentax cameras. In comparing flash units, this one wins, hands down. I purchased a dedicated flash and 2 of these units. The dedicated flash was about $200. Read more
Published 3 days ago by Lloyd W. Hayes
Flash Review
I have used a Vivitar 285 flash for over 30 years. This is my third flash, so one every 10 years! It's a work horse flash. Would highly recommend it.
Published 3 months ago by John M. Deal Jr.
Great Low Cost Flash For Manual Setup
To start out this is the second one of these flashes that I have purchased in the last couple of years. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Laura Richardson
grt service
excellent delivery service, only prob was "no batt incl". (none promised). looking forward to getting some really good vacation pictures. Read more
Published 4 months ago by chuckb
Just stopped working!
DON'T BUY!! It worked fine for about a few months. Then it just stopped working! I don't know why; I have never dropped it or anything.
Published 5 months ago by Subra Narayana
BOTH A LEGEND AND AN OL' FAITHFUL, ALWAYS READY FOR YOU!
Solid. Sturdy. Hefty.
Old school professional toy for advanced amateurs, serious photographers, and pros. Read more
Old school professional toy for advanced amateurs, serious photographers, and pros. Read more
Published 5 months ago by E. M. Sabillon
Good, but a couple caveats
I have to say that for the price, this is a very good unit, and depending on how you intend to use it, this can be a great purchase. Read more
Published 5 months ago by PugetSound
Great Flash
I have two of these and a sb700. I really like the sb700 for on camera flash work, but I find myself reaching for the vivitar anytime I need to fill a room with light or if I am... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Bob
Didn't work with Pentax K10D
The camera would not recognize it. It's not pretty, but It's a HUGELY powerful flash. Sadly, it is useless to me in its current configuration.
Published 6 months ago by krf
great flash
All the good reviews you've read about this flash are 100% true. I can find no fault in this flash. I love using manual flash so this flash is perfect and gets the job done. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Lencho
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