Vivitar DF383 Digital TTL Shoe Mount Power Zoom /Swivel /Bounce Auto-Focus Flash for Canon TTL, Guide Number 45m (147')

by Vivitar

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 2.8 x 4.9 x 3.9 inches ; 9.4 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B001TP6TDW
• Item model number: DF383
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #48 in Electronics > Camera & Photo > Flashes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 2, 2001

Product Description

Vivitar DF-383 Digital TTL Bounce Zoom Swivel Flash (Canon)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

89 of 89 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Budget Flash, April 21, 2009

By 

J. Stout "egandalf" (Greenup, KY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Vivitar DF383 Digital TTL Shoe Mount Power Zoom /Swivel /Bounce Auto-Focus Flash for Canon TTL, Guide Number 45m (147') (Electronics)

First, I didn't get my unit here (sorry, Amazon), but I am enjoying it a great deal.

If you're a knowledgeable amateur or a pro on a tight budget, I would certainly recommend giving this flash a try - I think you'll be surprised by the value.

I was impressed by the usability of this little guy. You really do have full manual control over the entire unit, which is something I really wanted after seeing the 420 work without any manual controls to speak of. And all the settings are easily changed/easily read with the LCD (which makes this easily worth the extra price compared to the 283). The power output is very good; I haven't been disappointed yet whether firing it direct, bouncing it or using it as a slave. The built-in diffuser and card do make a very noticeable difference in the photos I've taken.

Slave mode is photometric, meaning that it detects another flash fire and fires with it. That means I didn't have to buy another cheap radio slave for this unit. It works exactly as it should. What else can I say?

TTL works a treat. I've never had a TTL flash before, but it works great. I've always set everything on my camera manually, cheap flash unit included, so that's what I'm used too. But since buying this flash there have been a couple of occasions when I was in a hurry and just popped it on there and switched it to full TTL. The zoom, aperture, and iso all adjust with the camera settings and it's easy to read the effective range of the flash using the LCD. When you pop it up for a bounce shot, it adjusts the beam to 50mm (roughly middle of the road) and adjusts the power depending on your camera settings to still get a great shot. I'll probably still normally use manual settings, but it's very nice to know I've got something better than the popup flash when I'm in a hurry or don't want to think too much.

Happy shooting!

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent external flash for the price., January 7, 2010

By 

Gustavo Barrera "Gusto" (Mahwah, NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Vivitar DF383 Digital TTL Shoe Mount Power Zoom /Swivel /Bounce Auto-Focus Flash for Canon TTL, Guide Number 45m (147') (Electronics)

I purchased this unit to use with my Canon EOS XSi. I have used it for about two months without a single problem. The unit has the ability to swivel the flash head to the ceiling when you are taking horizontal photos and vertical photos. This feature is especially useful when taking a portrait very close to your subject since you can use the bounce flash. Another useful feature is that the flash has a retractable diffuser and white reflector for bounce flash. You can use the diffuser only or both the diffuser and the reflector. The camera integrates seamlessly with the Canon camera but you have to be careful to understand how the flash and the camera work together. For example if you set the camera to shutter priority (Tv setting) you must understand that the Canon camera will treat the flash as a fill flash for your scene. One excellent feature of this flash is the fact that you can set it as a slave. I have a point and shoot camera that has limited flash range. However if you use this flash on slave mode, you have the power (Flux) to use bounce flash with your point and shoot camera. All you have to do is hold the flash with one arm and shoot with the camera with the other. With respect to power consumption, I shot about 400 flash photos with one set of Kodak Alkaline batteries. I also have used rechargeable batteries with no problems.

43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Inexpensive alternative, June 8, 2009

By 

M. Barth (Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vivitar DF383 Digital TTL Shoe Mount Power Zoom /Swivel /Bounce Auto-Focus Flash for Canon TTL, Guide Number 45m (147') (Electronics)

This flash is an adequate inexpensive alternative to a dedicated Canon flash. The automatic focus function does not appear to work with a Canon SX10is, but I can live without it. The auto zoom function works fine. It gives accurate exposures in the eTTL mode. There appears to be no built in sensor when used in the slave mode, so a few trial shots are required. Eats alkaline AA batteries pretty fast, so you may want to invest in rechargeables. Overall I think it is worth the asking price.