Robert Watcher
Well-known member
After a few years of totally dependable professional use of my Nikon SB-800 flashes, a big concern was how the FL-50R would stand up to the tasks I require of my flashes on a day to day basis - and also how the functionality would rate compared to the Nikon that I had grown used to. One of the sealing deals for me moving to Olympus from Nikon was the fact that along with the E3 camera body, a new RC wireless flash system was introduced - that claimed the same features as the Nikon CLS system which I have come to rely on and use for much of my portrait and commercial work. . .
. . . so this evening I finally got around to purchasing the relatively expensive FL-50R. To my pleasure, the flash head rotated almost identically to the SB-800 - - - that being the ability to rotate 180 degrees behind me to accomodate my most popular bounce method for weddings. Without reading the manual or taking any time to familiarize myself with the flash, I fitted it to the camera hotshoe and shot perfectly exposed bounce images in TTL Auto mode. The process of using the RC wireless mode was far easier than I remember the first times trying to figure out how to set in on the Nikon system. I found the setting in the camera menu to turn it on and kept hitting the Mode button on the flash intil it said "rc" - - - popped up the built in camera flash to trigger it and attached the FL-50R onto the included plastic mounting plate and set the flash at angles to my subject firing for perfect exposures. The popup flash provided nothing or little to the exposure.
One other nice attachement included with the FL-50R (along with the plastic dome) is a plastic bounce card that attaches with a rubber band. While I appreciated and used the pull out 35mm sized bounce card that was built into the SB-800, it was limited to working with a horizontal camera and flash placement - - - it was not effective when the camera was turned sideways and the flash is turned upward toward the ceiling - - - thus the Joe Demb bounce attachment that allows the card to be fitted on the narrow side of the flash head. Well with the included FL-50R bounce card that can also be attached onto the narrow side of the flash head, thus allowing the flash to bounce forward when the camera is in the vertical position and flash head aimed toward the ceiling - - - there is less need for specialized attachements like the Demb Bouncer.
Of course I couldn't wait until a real job or a refined setting to give this flash a test on my new E-3 - - - and so here are a few snaps from the room I am sitting in and a few of flowers on my outdoor porch. Some have been cropped - other than that are straight out of camera - - - including the great Olympus colour.
. . . so this evening I finally got around to purchasing the relatively expensive FL-50R. To my pleasure, the flash head rotated almost identically to the SB-800 - - - that being the ability to rotate 180 degrees behind me to accomodate my most popular bounce method for weddings. Without reading the manual or taking any time to familiarize myself with the flash, I fitted it to the camera hotshoe and shot perfectly exposed bounce images in TTL Auto mode. The process of using the RC wireless mode was far easier than I remember the first times trying to figure out how to set in on the Nikon system. I found the setting in the camera menu to turn it on and kept hitting the Mode button on the flash intil it said "rc" - - - popped up the built in camera flash to trigger it and attached the FL-50R onto the included plastic mounting plate and set the flash at angles to my subject firing for perfect exposures. The popup flash provided nothing or little to the exposure.
One other nice attachement included with the FL-50R (along with the plastic dome) is a plastic bounce card that attaches with a rubber band. While I appreciated and used the pull out 35mm sized bounce card that was built into the SB-800, it was limited to working with a horizontal camera and flash placement - - - it was not effective when the camera was turned sideways and the flash is turned upward toward the ceiling - - - thus the Joe Demb bounce attachment that allows the card to be fitted on the narrow side of the flash head. Well with the included FL-50R bounce card that can also be attached onto the narrow side of the flash head, thus allowing the flash to bounce forward when the camera is in the vertical position and flash head aimed toward the ceiling - - - there is less need for specialized attachements like the Demb Bouncer.
Of course I couldn't wait until a real job or a refined setting to give this flash a test on my new E-3 - - - and so here are a few snaps from the room I am sitting in and a few of flowers on my outdoor porch. Some have been cropped - other than that are straight out of camera - - - including the great Olympus colour.