Bower SFD926O Digital Shoe Mount Flash for Olympus/Panasonic SLR

Comments about Bower SFD926O Digital Shoe Mount Flash for Olympus/Panasonic SLR:

I have found the Olympus om-d e-m5 to be lacking in its ability to take indoor pictures with reasonable clarity without a flash. The small camera-powered flash that came with the camera was kinda adequate up to about 6-10 feet, but it is so small that I invariably lost it.
So I purchased the Bower and shot about 75 images over the weekend. All were taken with the flash in TTL mode and came out very nicely. The metering was accurate and very little post production editing was needed.
I cannot speak for the longevity obvious, but so far I cannot complain in the least about its functioning with the Olympus om-d e-m5. It cycled fairly rapidly for this genre of flash and ate batteries about as fast as my Canon Speedlites. No specific numbers, just a general feel. I ran through one set of Sanyo Eneloop batteries and still had some juice left on the second set after about 75 indoor shots.
My use of the Olympus om-d e-m5 is for casual street and family photography, and not for my fine art work. So I did not purchase this flash for serious studio or portrait work. Perhaps it would work well in that setting, but I do not use the camera or flash for that type of work, as I have dedicated gear for the studio-type work.
So far I heartily comment this flash as a great price-performance winner!

Comments about Bower SFD926O Digital Shoe Mount Flash for Olympus/Panasonic SLR:

Best priced TTL flash for OM-D. Seems to work better in TTL than in manual mode as there is limited level of control in manual mode. In TTL mode tends to underexpose a little so I usually have to dial in +0.7 flash exposure compensation on the camera. Otherwise great little flash that isn't to heavy and much easier just taking the hotshoe cover off, than the OMD flash where you have to take the accessory port cover off as well before you can mount it. Great price and service from BH as usual. Seems to have more accurate TTL metering the my Pentax K5 with the Metz AF50

Comments about Bower SFD926O Digital Shoe Mount Flash for Olympus/Panasonic SLR:

I used this with a Lumix GH2 and it was an improvement from the on board flash. The built in diffuser broke off after a few months and Bower customer service was un-responsive. Manual controls were so so. If you need something cheap this could work for you, but mine only lasted about 6 months.

Comments about Bower SFD926O Digital Shoe Mount Flash for Olympus/Panasonic SLR:

Bought this flash based on the reviews. I've only had it for a short period of time but I love how versatile it is. I am still learning but I think that it was a good purchase for taking indoor photos.

Comments about Bower SFD926O Digital Shoe Mount Flash for Olympus/Panasonic SLR:

This flash works on my Olympus 420 and my Panasonic G-2.Nice to have one flash that works well on both cameras.I do recommend it.

Comments about Bower SFD926O Digital Shoe Mount Flash for Olympus/Panasonic SLR:

I used this flash with a Panasonic G2 mirrorless four thirds camera (one of those dslr-like cameras) because it was a recommended accessory from B&H. This is definitely too big for a small four thirds camera, making the camera unstable and top-heavy when carrying on a strap.

That being said, it worked nicely for bouncing off the ceiling. Direct flash was too bright, even with the diffuser. I couldn't figure out if this can be adjusted.

Comments about Bower SFD926O Digital Shoe Mount Flash for Olympus/Panasonic SLR:

This flash comes at a very good price. I have never tried the Panasonic Flashes as they are very expensive and I do not use them much at all so this one is perfect. It follows the f-stop, lens range, etc.

Very happy

Comments about Bower SFD926O Digital Shoe Mount Flash for Olympus/Panasonic SLR:

At first I was going to buy the Vivitar DF383. I'd used the 285 for years and it was a workhorse. However, I read a number of negative reviews on the Vivitar compared to this unit. So I decided to give it a try.

I was a bit disappointed that it didn't include even a basic plastic stand for off camera use, but that's a minor gripe. Overall the unit is better built than I expected. The locking mechanism is a bit fidgety. The first time I used the unit, when I pointed the camera down, the flash lost full communication with my E520 and so the shutter speed didn't sync correctly. I realized that pushing the lock button harder would avoid this. Still, it would be nice to have a good "old fashioned" locking ring to turn rather than the push button affair.

The output is strong, though I found that even with the diffuser/reflector in place, the light doesn't cover the bottom part of the 28mm equivalent frame if the subject is closer than 3 feet.

The slave feature works well, even if I have the built in flash set to minimum output and the Bower unit well off to the side or even behind me a bit. Of course, it doesn't offer TTL slave operation, but since it's at least $100 less than flashes which do offer that feature, I'm not going to complain. I'm old school anyway and used to setting the power output on the remote flash itself.

Recycle time with fresh 2300mAh rechargeables is quite good, sometimes well under the 4 second low end time in the specs.

A couple of cons:

Sometimes if I switch to manual, then back to TTL, I need to turn the camera off/on in order for the sync speed to reset properly.

No high speed sync, but again, that's a feature of much more expensive units.

There doesn't seem to be any way to use the AF assist light without the flash firing.

Comments about Bower SFD926O Digital Shoe Mount Flash for Olympus/Panasonic SLR:

This one of the easiest electronic flash that I have used and I've used tons of them.
Has many features other don't have,as it can be used as a slave, and can adjust the power.
I recommend this unit to even my wife who is not to savvy when it comes to using electronic devices.

Comments about Bower SFD926O Digital Shoe Mount Flash for Olympus/Panasonic SLR:

I have only had the flash a short time. However I am very pleased with it so far. I am using it with a Panasonic FZ 100 and it works great. It seems there were numerous cases where the built in flash just didn't do the job. Since I got the Bower SFD9260 I can get all the light I need. The feature I like best is that the flash works as a slave being fired by the built in flash.

Comments about Bower SFD926O Digital Shoe Mount Flash for Olympus/Panasonic SLR:

An excellent flash for a micro four thirds camera. It integrates seamlessly into my Panasonic DMC-GF2 in intelligent auto mode and can be managed manually as well. The GF2, although an excellent camera in most respects, has a poor popup flash which often times does more harm than good. This flash produces sharp indoor photos when I bounce the flash and recycles at a quite reasonable rate when the batteries are not too worn down.

Comments about Bower SFD926O Digital Shoe Mount Flash for Olympus/Panasonic SLR:

The flash is great for my Panasonic SLR . B&H is wonderful as usually . I've been getting my electronics from B&H for over 15 years .

Comments about Bower SFD926O Digital Shoe Mount Flash for Olympus/Panasonic SLR:

[...] I install the flash on the shoe of the camera ands thy do not work. Flash start on ON and the tester button is OK but on the camera not working. Is not an cheap product to say well OK.. [...]

Comments about Bower SFD926O Digital Shoe Mount Flash for Olympus/Panasonic SLR:

I have a micro four thirds camera, and this works REALLY well.

Comments about Bower SFD926O Digital Shoe Mount Flash for Olympus/Panasonic SLR:

I am using this with a dmc-g2. It is a huge improvement over the pop-up flash. I am new to hot shoe flashes but am impressed so far.

Comments about Bower SFD926O Digital Shoe Mount Flash for Olympus/Panasonic SLR:

used on the 2 panasonic lumix cameras that I bought from B&H photo.. Both these flashes and cameras do a better job that the 2 Nikon D50's do. I'm going to sell the D50s and probally but another panasonic lumix camera and Bower flash soon.

Comments about Bower SFD926O Digital Shoe Mount Flash for Olympus/Panasonic SLR:

I use it Rarely and it is excellent for the price I paid

Comments about Bower SFD926O Digital Shoe Mount Flash for Olympus/Panasonic SLR:

For the money, it is a great flash, but I was disappointed that the flash did not adjust as the focal length of the lens with my Lumix FZ100 changed.

Comments about Bower SFD926O Digital Shoe Mount Flash for Olympus/Panasonic SLR:

I am not a professional, but this flash makes my low light pictures come out 10 times better. I am very glad I bought it, I would highly recommend it.
(The box says that a set of fresh AA batteries will last 80 flashes, but my Ni-MH batteries lasted over 200)

Comments about Bower SFD926O Digital Shoe Mount Flash for Olympus/Panasonic SLR:

I've been using this flash for portrait photography (3/4 and head shots), and it does exactly what I want. Easy to manipulate, and no issues with the Olympus hot shoe (though the pins/base of the flash looks a little fragile, so be careful). The Slave Mode works fine, but only if properly aligned, as it responds to any ambient flash. Great for beginners.