What does Vivitar "vari Power *4aa" mean?

[AndreaBFS]

I'm looking at a used Vivitar 285hv but it has this tacked on to the end and I don't know what it means. I only want to use it off camera with a cactus trigger. Anyone know if there is something up with that description that would make it unsuitable?

[NathanJK]

Vari-power is just what they call their manual flash setting ability. On the big round dial on the front of the flash, you can turn it to set the flash to full power (M) 1/2, 1/4, or 1/16 power. Don't ask me why they call full power M instead of 1 or something like that, I think its retarded and confusing. Also, don't ask me why they skip 1/8 power, that is ALSO retarded. However, its a great flash that takes 4 AA batteries (thats what the "4aa" means) and will work quite well for what you are looking to do. My only real complaint with it is that it recharges kind of slowly compared to late model speedlights. However, you can't complain too much for the price! By the way, if you are looking at a used one on Ebay be aware that we may be in a bidding war, I'm looking to pick up a second one right now. :grin:

[AndreaBFS]

Nope. The one I was looking at wasn't actually available anymore. I just wanted to understand how it might differ from the new one that's in my B&H cart right now. :) Thanks for the info. I've moved on to trying to figure out what extra pieces I need to attach a Photoflex LiteDome to a basic light stand... can't tell if I need a shoe mount adapter and an umbrella adapter or if I can just use one or the other. :::shrug::::