Sunpak 383 vs. Vivitar 285 as slaves for a 580ex II

Does this just boil down to personal preference? I want to get 2 slave units for my 580EXII. They will all be triggered by those ebay GadgetInfiniti wireless triggers. I will be using them in doors and out for things like headshots, cd covers, and promo pictures.

Comes down to preference. Vivitar has zoom head but controls not so easy to use, and misses 1/8 power. 383 has an easy to use slider, 1/8 power, but no zoom head. I got Sunpak's.

Also, the Sunpak will swivel while the Vivitar 285HV will not.

I elected to get the Sunpak, too.

I don't know if the recent build issues with the 285HV are fixed. Read a lot of problems with recent manufactured 285HV as of Jan/Feb this year, after I bought two and had one fail after about 20 pops. Sent them both back to B&H and swapped for Sunpak. I really wish Sunpak would bring back the 120j...

NJRFilms wrote in post #5613781
Does this just boil down to personal preference? I want to get 2 slave units for my 580EXII. They will all be triggered by those ebay GadgetInfiniti wireless triggers. I will be using them in doors and out for things like headshots, cd covers, and promo pictures.

Yep, it does.

There are differences in the two flashes, as stated above by Tim & Curtis. Which would best suit you?

I also chose the Sunpak 383s as slaves to my 580EX IIs

"Also, the Sunpak will swivel while the Vivitar 285HV will not."

Is this that important a feature if you're using the flash off camera?

And with the Vari-Power module a 283 or 285 can go down to 1/32 power. Is the VP-1 not available any longer as an accessory for the 285HV?

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I too am looking for slaves for the 580 EX II.

I decided on wanting to order two Sunpak 383's, but what options do I have/need to trigger the two sunpak's? Many thanks!

Franko515 wrote in post #5614751
I also chose the Sunpak 383s as slaves to my 580EX IIs

+1

Except if I'm only using two flashes off-camera (with umbrellas), I will leave the 580EX in the bag. I actually prefer to use the Sunpaks for manual control - they're easier to set, no stuffing around inside menus!

The only time the 580 EX comes out is if I need three flashes, or I need the zoom feature (rather than stuffing around with snoots). The Sunpak 383 is the best bang for the buck out there ATM...

franklinn wrote in post #5614860
Sorry to hijack the thread, but I too am looking for slaves for the 580 EX II.

I decided on wanting to order two Sunpak 383's, but what options do I have/need to trigger the two sunpak's? Many thanks!

I just ordered the PW to 383 cords from FlashZebra, I also ordered 2 optical slaves to give myself more triggering options.

The above two methods, or

Skyports
Ebay Triggers
Long Sync Cord
Im sure Im missing others but you get the idea

I use Skyports, but have the second/third flashes as optical slaves when indoors. Optical slaves are the most reliable, fastest way to trigger another flash indoors, but aren't reliable in bright sunlight or other times when optical triggers can't see the flash. For those occasions, I will use Skyports to trigger the whole lot.

Bob D. wrote in post #5614821
"Also, the Sunpak will swivel while the Vivitar 285HV will not."

Is this that important a feature if you're using the flash off camera?

Yes it's pretty handy, but not essential.

Rudi wrote in post #5615654
I use Skyports, but have the second/third flashes as optical slaves when indoors. Optical slaves are the most reliable, fastest way to trigger another flash indoors, but aren't reliable in bright sunlight or other times when optical triggers can't see the flash. For those occasions, I will use Skyports to trigger the whole lot.

Optical slaves are good unless someone else decides to take photos (stating the obvious here I know).

tim wrote in post #5615872
Optical slaves are good unless someone else decides to take photos (stating the obvious here I know).

Been there, done that!

Although optical slaves can be good for a laugh. I had two AB800s set up in a dark church, on full power, using an optical slave, photographing groups. They triggered fine. The people using point and shoot cameras couldn't work out why their photos were overexposed

btw I couldn't turn the flashes off just so someone could take a photo with a P&S, the lights were about 14feet up in the air.

tim wrote in post #5615954
Although optical slaves can be good for a laugh. I had two AB800s set up in a dark church, on full power, using an optical slave, photographing groups. They triggered fine. The people using point and shoot cameras couldn't work out why their photos were overexposed

btw I couldn't turn the flashes off just so someone could take a photo with a P&S, the lights were about 14feet up in the air.

I guess that's one good way of getting people from ruining your shots at weddings; put optical slaves everywhere and bump up to your maximum sync speed. LOL

I am in the skyports (1 tx and 2 RX) camp and use flashzebra's cord for the 383 sunpack.

Great combo works great all the time, and is lightweight for shooting on location.

here are some samples of my 2-3 light shots.
http://www.flickr.com …7/sets/72157604​133506026/