Why I can’t recommend the HV 285 Vivitar Flash

The Vivitar HV 285 flash has been widely used by strobist for indoor and outdoor shooting. It is a cheap alternative for those of us who can’t afford to shell out 250 to 1300 bucks for a good Canon or Nikon Speedlite system. The Vivitar HV 285 flash can be used from 1/16^th to full power and only costs around 85 bucks new. Plus, it can be used with a small amount of accessories. So, “what’s the problem?” you may ask. There are many. But, I will only focus on three of them.

First is quality control. I have read countless blogs, forums and reviews from people that have had to send back a flash because it was dead on arrival. Several people have had to send their flash back after only a week or two of minimal use. I personally have one. It died after being fired less than 100 times. Of course if you get a good one, it may be well worth the cost and be considered a good value. However, the operative word is “if”.

You may say, well if it breaks, I’ll send it to the manufacture. They can fix it. Well that leads me to the second problem.

Second is customer service. There is none. The manufacturer will not honor your warranty. They will not even fix it if you pay them. There is no support for this flash. If it dies, you have lost a flash but have gained a paper weight. Now, if you are a modern day MacGyver and can fix anything; then go ahead and buy a few. However, if you’re a photographer who needs flashes that actually works, then this flash may not be for you. Speaking of work! This leads me to my third issue with the flash.

Third is functionality. When I say functionality I am referring to recycling times, flask dependability (does it fire every time) and TTL. This flash has long recycling times when used at halve and full power. If you need a lot of light and often, you will not like this flash. Even if you decide that you will only use this flash at 1/4^th to 1/16^th power, you may still be disappointed. It is not consistent. It will not always fire. It is a temperamental flash. Sometimes it’s great, other times it is infuriating. As far as TTL, it doesn’t have it. For many people this isn’t a deal breaker anyway. However, it is important enough to mention.

Overall, the Vivitar HV 285 flash has underwhelmed me. It holds a lot of promise, but it just doesn’t deliver. I would rather spend twice or three times the money if it means my flash is dependable and supported by the company that makes it. I have learned that it is best to buy from companies that stand behind their product. Even if it is an inexpensive item, they won’t just leave you to fend for yourself.

So that is why I can’t recommend the HV285 Vivitar flash. If you have had a different type of experience with this flash, I am happy for you. I’m sure there are a few out there that are built like a rock and deliver. I just think that it just isn’t worth the time or the money to try and find a good one when companies like Sunpak, Canon, Metz and Nikon are making portable and dependable flashes.  

The following pictures were taken using two Alien Bees B800 flash units. One on either side of the subject. The gradient in the background is caused by the light falloff from the flash units. Photoshop was applied to change the color and contrast of the images. Since I was curious about ways to add my logo ,they were superimposed on the images. The main purpose of this shoot was to experiment with different ways to light an image for dramatic effect. I hope anyone who views these images can appreciate the initial attempt. 

This picture includes some clothing accessories. The image represents style, class and distinction. One Alien Bees B800 at 1/16  power was used to light the images. It was shot with a Canon T2i using the 40mm pancake lens.F-stop was between 2.8 and 5.0. The shutter speed was about 1/80.

It has been a while since I made a post. This is mainly due to various shoots that I felt where not inspired. However, that is no excuse. There is no success without failure.

Anyway, since I have a few days of free time, I decided to spent as much time as possible shooting. Today, was a good day for indoor shooting. I decided to revisit high speed photography. This time a different  background was used. These shots were taken between f9 and f11. ISO 100 at around 1/250. Also, the Canon pancake lens was used for these shots. I've only had the pancake lens for a week. So, I am still getting use the the lens and identifying its strength and weaknesses. So far I am happy with its performance. It is compact, sharp, and lightweight. It tends to hunt for focus a little more than my  L series lenses. but, only a bit.       

I have always been fascinated by the potential of HDR. For those who are not familiar with HDR, HDR stands for high dynamic range. In short, when you take a picture the amount of information that can be captured in the image is limited by the sensor and its ability to capture the detail in the highlights and the shadow areas. The purpose of HDR is to get that information back.  Usually a photographer learns the limitation of his or her equipment and shoots within the limitations of the medium. Personally, I have used 8:1 and 4:1 contrast ratios for artistic effect. I blow out the highlights on purpose or use extreme contrast in post. When shooting portraits I prefer strobes to natural light because of the control I gain. Regardless to your method of shooting, the only way to get  for detail and color information is to use HDR.

Before I say anything else about HDR, let's make on thing clear. HDR is a tool. It will not make a crappy picture good. Only practice, study and dedication will help you take great pictures. Matter of fact, if you use HDR with no ideal on what your doing, you can make a good picture look like crap. So since this is my first attempt at it, I an being a bit conservative. I am sure I can bring out every single detail, but that is not my goal. My goal is to give my still life and architectural shots a little pop. As I get more comfortable I may push the images a little further. For now, I'm gonna take it slow.

HDR is usually accomplished by taking several shots of the exact same scene at different exposures. Essentially this is called bracketing. Cameras like the Canon 7D and Canon 5D Mark III have this function. Unfortunately, the Canon T2i doesn't. Fortunately if you run Magic Lantern software on your media you can gain this feature. I don't recommend bracketing manually, unless you are extremely steady and know that you can change the exposure (+/- EV) without moving the camera. Back to business. You should take one image overexposed about two stops, one underexposed about two stops and one shot properly exposed. You can use as many images as you like to create a HDR image. But, I think three shots are plenty. The rest is done in post. This can be done with programs like Photoshop and Photomatix. Just Google HDR processing and find what works for you. There are lots of tutorials and recommendations from the pros.    

The images I took where composed of three shots (2 stops apart). I used a Canon T2i, a 12-24mm Tokina lens and a tripod. I triggered the flash using the 2 sec timer on the camera. The camera was in AV mode with a neutral picture style. I'm sure that my images will improve as my skill increases. However, I think it is important to share now. The way a novice becomes an expert is by not being afraid to take criticism and not being afraid to try new things. So please share your opinion and your wisdom.

Here are my first two true high dynamic range  (HDR) shots.....   

This is a continuation of the last blog entry. I combined one of the smoke images from earlier with two images of a gas mask purchased for a photo shoot. I thought the image came out looking like an obscure heavy metal album cover. So, I am posting it on my blog. I hope you like it as much as I do.

At the start of the day I expected to shoot some glamour shots for a model. However, after receiving a last minute cancellation, a change of plans was in order. Since my equipment was already set up, I decided to revisit smoke and water (splash/ stop motion) photography.

The first attempt at smoke photography was a good. However, I continually had to bump up the exposure in post just to get a decent image. Also, the levels has to be adjusted to keep the background black. So this time the strobe was increased to 1/8th power and the background was moved back 3 feet. By doing this, a cleaner image was  obtained. The next thing to do is to become more creative in post and use the smoke in creative portraits.

Here are the new attempts:

The first attempt at water photographer included using vegetables, a fish tank and a lot of water. This attempt involved less water, one strobe and a reflective surface. The purpose of the first attempt was to capture the motion of the water as the vegetable broke the surface. This time the goal was to capture the motion of the water as a single drop breaks the surface of the pool. As always, critical focus was difficult to obtain. However, I am certain that with practice the images will improve in sharpness and clarity.

(Note: Be careful what you use to bounce the light. It will show up in the surface of the water.)

Here are new attempts:

The same settings I used in the first attempts with smoke and water photography were used this time, except were indicated. The important thing to remember is that f-stops between 8 and 13 make critical focus easier. Also, manual focus should be used when ever possible (Being able to make fine adjustments to your focus can make a world of difference).