New - Vivitar 383

New Vivitar 383 came in today. Long story short, minus all the crap you can already read in the B&H features section:
Great flash for the money, never skipped a beat. I wouldn't hesitate to have three more of these or recommend this for a secondary flash to their 580/550's.

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …_CAN_DF_383_Ser​ies_1.html

Mr. Clean wrote in post #8014247
New Vivitar 383 came in today. Long story short, minus all the crap you can already read in the B&H features section:
Great flash for the money, never skipped a beat. I wouldn't hesitate to have three more of these or recommend this for a secondary flash to their 580/550's.

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …PANA_DF_383_Ser​ies_1.html

Hmmm, I may get a couple.

THIS is the one for Canon

I wonder if this is better than the Canon 540EZ that I am after. Any comment?
And I hope they can be triggered by Cactus v2s or Yongnuo CTR-301P.

Mufutau

Nice thing about 540ez is that it is basically 550ex without the eTTL. I like it for it been able to do 1/128 power, zoom to 105mm, able to take cp-e4 and faster recycle times. And menu system is same as my 550ex. And I would guess 540ez has more power, could be wrong here.

Thanks for this clarification. So, it's not an ETTL, but at least it will be TTL right? Shouldnt' matter, I will be using it as manual with trigger anyway.

Mufutau

bobbyz wrote in post #8014484
Nice thing about 540ez is that it is basically 550ex without the eTTL. I like it for it been able to do 1/128 power, zoom to 105mm, able to take cp-e4 and faster recycle times. And menu system is same as my 550ex. And I would guess 540ez has more power, could be wrong here.

The 540EZ has some pluses to it no doubt but if you need on camera ETTL maybe it's not the best option? The vivitar 383 has no sync port (FlashZebra.com anyone?) but has an optical slave mode.
540ez's are a little tough to find too...

Mr. Clean, since you already have the Vivitar 383, how is it with the Canon?
Are you satisfied with the performance on the camera?
About the port, I am sure one can easily mod it for those 3.5mm jack.

Mufutau

Mr. Clean wrote in post #8014695
The 540EZ has some pluses to it no doubt but if you need on camera ETTL maybe it's not the best option? The vivitar 383 has no sync port (FlashZebra.com anyone?) but has an optical slave mode.
540ez's are a little tough to find too...

I am satisfied, but there are issues.
The problem is that this is without a doubt a cheap flash and you must make sure the flash is securely fastened to the camera shoe. It's not like a 580EX where you slap it on, flick the lever and you're good.
Once it's on though it does well but there's no FEC on flash. The diffuser works well and the bounce card is great, a bit larger than the Canon version.

My thoughts are that if you want a good on camera flash, go with Canon or Metz. Hands down. You want a good flash to supplement your strobist kit? The Vivitar 383 is a great option although again in my opinion, if you can stick with all Canon, do it. If you want to save some money then there are good options.

Thanks for your sincere opinions. Well, I already have Canon 580EX, 580EX II and Sigma EF 500 DG SUPER, I just need anyohter to compliment my setup whenever needed. But I may just go for the Canopn 540EZ as discussed earlier for manual off-camera use. Thank you.

Mufutau

Mr. Clean wrote in post #8016898
I am satisfied, but there are issues.
The problem is that this is without a doubt a cheap flash and you must make sure the flash is securely fastened to the camera shoe. It's not like a 580EX where you slap it on, flick the lever and you're good.
Once it's on though it does well but there's no FEC on flash. The diffuser works well and the bounce card is great, a bit larger than the Canon version.

My thoughts are that if you want a good on camera flash, go with Canon or Metz. Hands down. You want a good flash to supplement your strobist kit? The Vivitar 383 is a great option although again in my opinion, if you can stick with all Canon, do it. If you want to save some money then there are good options.

Overall the 540ez is better but it's certainly more money and more difficult to find. The Vivitar does do manual off-camera though, zooms but does not go as low in power as the 540.

I'm just after one of this too. But I'm wondering, can somebody explain me how does the "optical slave" works? As I understand, the flash "sense" the light of other flashes and automatically shoot. Am I right? Because I already own a 580 EXII, triggered via Cactus V4, And I really don't want to buy extra receivers right now