Review on Enhance Your Photography with the Olympus FL-600R Wireless Flash by John Souza

flash 3.5 stars, still the best single flash option for Micro 4/3 (along with the Panasonic Twin FL360L which is the same unit with the proprietary Panasonic body). Camera or mount with TTL cable is a 5 star device. They really have made it as far as possible to be considered a "big" m4/3 option. It has the same feature set and performance as the old FL36R but in a more compact body and about the size you'd ever be comfortable with on an m4/3 body. Even with the grip of the GH and OM-D cameras, the fl50r is still too big.<<<<See "Edit" at the bottom of the review. it's a smaller form factor and a more consistent m4/3 style) is a bright 1W white LED on the front that serves a number of purposes. I'll get to it. Functionally, the flash works great in every situation I use it. TTL with my em-5 is great and if a little compensation is needed it's pretty easy to do in camera. The controls on the flash body are easy to use once you get the hang of it, and nothing feels out of place or counterintuitive. The performance is sufficient for most normal telework at reasonable working distances. It zooms out to 12mm, but at gn-36 it won't light up the entire building at night unless you go to insanely high ISOs (why bother at that point). A 12mm flash is handy for wide-angle indoor shots, but then again, you won't be lighting the nave with this flash. If you need more power, I'll make you an offer later. The white LED on the front is both a great addition and one of the most annoying flash issues for my use. On the plus side, the LED is a huge boon when the flash is on or connected to the camera via a TTL cable. While some housings and older 4/3 flashes have red LEDs as focus assist lamps, the fl600r uses a 1W LED for easy focusing. This seems much more useful for the contrast-detect autofocus that all our m4/3 cameras use. I've found this can really help the camera maintain instant focus in difficult lighting conditions or autofocus macro photography in its own shadow. Also, it can be turned on as a video light when shooting video, which I don't recommend. It might be better than nothing in a pinch, but it gets you nothing more than a basic headshot light if you expect light to be useful. Still, the decline is uncomfortable. Get a special light or three if you're serious about video. This flash is for photography. The LED on the front serves a different purpose, and my biggest complaint is only apparent when using the off-camera flash in RC mode. When used off-camera, the front LED will blink to indicate the flash is ready to use. On older 4/3 strobes this was achieved with a red focus assist LED on the front and was discreet but highly visible. On the FL600R, this 1W LED will flash (like in a nightclub) at full power every few seconds as long as it's being used off-camera. I have yet to capture a subject that isn't distracting or obviously distracting. To top it all off, most of the time as a photographer I turn the flash body towards me so this 1 watt LED flashes towards me like a disco without stopping until the picture is taken. This is a terrible implementation of a simple function. If they could just turn the flashes down to 1/4 or 1/8 power you would still know your flashes are ready but no one would unknowingly look at them as they flash like a flash every few seconds. This is something they could understand if only the engineers would test all features under real conditions before finalizing their design. It's hard to believe that someone can use it wirelessly and not immediately get annoyed by the strobe LED. So there is a simple solution. Stick a piece of red gel on the LED, being careful not to block the sensors from the front. I don't care about that decision as I like to buy and sell a lot of used equipment and duct tape will definitely lower your resale value in the long run. My solution to this problem is to simply not use the FL600R without a camera, instead using the camera as the commander of my other non-FL600R external flashes. This brings me to the last point. My pick for the best off-camera flashes and those that really need the extra power and cycle rate that heavier gear can offer. If you want to do more and work without a flash, I can't recommend the FL50-R highly enough. With a guide number of 50, it has enough power. It can perform all wireless tricks, all with a softly flashing red LED to show it's ready. It fires faster than the FL600R, meaning less waiting for your flash when shooting portraits. Another reason I recommend the FL50-R is the price. Yes, it's half the price of a fl600r when it's NEW. However, it's been so long since there are many FL50-Rs on the used car market that will cost you less than an FL600R on a Benjamin! Just find one of the reputable used equipment dealers online and when you find it, buy it because you're not the only one hunting! In short, I recommend every Micro 4/3 user to buy this FL-600R flash. This will be more than enough for 80% of user needs. For those who want an off-camera flash and multi-flash setup, start with one of the FL-600Rs and then add as many used FL50Rs as you need. That's where my chatter about m4 / 3 flashes ends. 10/31/14 I now have this FL600R and 2 FL50-R in my lighting set. After I wrote the first review, I also bought an E-M1 with a handle. The FL600R is just the right size (no 4 battery flash) for almost any m4/3 case (perfect for my em5 or em1). The old FL50R isn't that much. The E-M1 with the grip is quite comfortable with one of my FL50R mounted on it. The FL50R can match the EM1's low burst rate when body mounted, which the FL600R couldn't handle (every other shot fired consecutively on the FL600R, every shot matched the FL50R, at least until the flashes were needed). for a full charge). I think I just want to reiterate that this is the first flash for every m4/3 user who buys. Anyone wanting to build a remote controlled TTL flash system should add FL50-Rs to their kit, not multiple FL600Rs. If you don't need TTL off camera, take a look at Yongnuo Flashes and Transceivers, they have a very good system at a very affordable price.