Olympus FL 50 Hot-shoe clip-on flash

...like me, you have an Olympus DSLR and are enjoying its flexibility and quality, you may well be considering a flash unit. At first glance, the cost of the two available Olympus units is a little off putting. In particular, I asked myself "how will this improve my photography?"

Well, I ended up choosing the FL50, and I'm glad I did. This is a seriously powerful flash gun, but its controllability and flexibility mean that ...
...that I've never run out of power, if I did they are easy to find.

I considered the Metz flash, but decided that this was more likely to match the Olympus camera more exactly. The FL36 appears good, too, but is much lighter and substantially less powerful.  ... more

If, like me, you have an Olympus DSLR and are enjoying its flexibility and quality, you may well be considering a flash unit. At first glance, the cost of the two available Olympus units is a little off putting. In particular, I asked myself "how will this improve my photography?"

Well, I ended up choosing the FL50, and I'm glad I did. This is a seriously powerful flash gun, but its controllability and flexibility mean that you can use it in any situation.

In particular, the FP Auto mode allows fill in flash synch right up to maximum shutter speed, using this helps dispel harsh shadows on a sunny day.

The head swivels in all directions so youcan alway s bounce off the most suitable surface. There is also a "Macro" setting, for which the head angles down slightly. While no ring flash, using the inbuilt diffuser (meant for wide angle > 28mm) provides quite reasonable results.

The four AA batteries mean that I've never run out of power, if I did they are easy to find.

I considered the Metz flash, but decided that this was more likely to match the Olympus camera more exactly. The FL36 appears good, too, but is much lighter and substantially less powerful. 

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