Vivitar 285HV Auto Professional Flash

1) no swivel
2) printed numbers on calculator dial may wear off or get scratched off
3) plastic foot may break
4) sync cord, battery holder and AC adapter are hard to find in stores
5) of course, no TTL, but we already knew that

OK, the good stuff (really good)
1) very powerful, big grins on subjects after they hear the loud pop and see the light. This is one big gun.
2) meter is surprisingly accurate
3) zoom head and wide angle adapter
4) generous auto range of 4 apertures, variable power settings of 1/2, 1/4 and 1/16
5) if you use flash as main source of light, don't shoot closeups with flash and have no need for TTL, this is all the flash you need
6) did I say this flash is so affordable?


Vivitar 285 Work-horse   March 7, 2002
Ingelbert Lievaart II (London, Ontario, Canada)
29 out of 30 found this review helpful

I've been using Vivitar 283 and 285's for years now. I was introduced to the 285 when my backlight died on a Glamour shoot. The style my client wanted was an over exposed background to ad a haze around the subject through the softener1 filter. This required a powerful flash. The only store near the salon was a Carmen's camera and all they had in their used department was this old 285, the man in the store, a professional photographer himself, assured me that with a slave unit on the manual setting this flash would be powerful enough to do the job. He even had an SB-4 power supply and this little plastic display unit, which made a perfect little backlight stand!

Not only did this flash recycle in time, it was powerful enough to do the job. This little flash even replaced my Metz for wedding work because of its compact size!

I also noticed at the time that many other press photographers were leaving their Metz's at home too! For travelling and backpacking I bring my 283, which is very light and also has the remote sensor feature so handy for close-up work.

The 283 also sits nicer on the hot shoe being lighter, making the camera less top-heavy. Which brings me to the only complaint I have with these two flashes.... or many hot shoe flashes for that matter. Shooting at crowded concerts or busy news scrums the vulnerability of the hot shoe is always on my mind, on more than one occasion I have broken this hot shoe and had to order a new one which requires a bit of assembly and downtime. To make up for this -the remote sensor makes it possible to use these flashes off camera even with the broken hot shoe and with the amount of used 283's and 285's out there at good prices, they are still the best darn portable mini flashes I've come across!

With an on camera 283 fill light, reflected, a slaved 285 with a reflector on a stand next to the camera and a 283 slaved for a back light and you have yourself a portable studio, but watch out your subject doesn't step on the backlight!


A good, solid, reliable flash   November 25, 2000
Adam Griffith (Bothell, Washington USA)
27 out of 30 found this review helpful

The Vivitar 285 HV is a classic flash, and known for its durability. It has good power and provides accurate exposure.

My only gripe with it is the head doesn't swivel. This means if you want to do bounce flash with the camera in verticle position, you have to take it off camera and hold it in your hand. Not a huge problem, but you can get one that does swivel for similar money (although maybe not one so well made).


Excellent Flash   May 15, 2005
Cootie Saidit (CA United States)
23 out of 28 found this review helpful

That this flash doesn't have a swivel feature - is that a demerit? It also doesn't have auto focus nor is it "smart", TTL, dedicated or self learning. You can't make a phone call on it either. These complaints are as valid as the complaint that you can't get 40 miles per gallon from a 57 Chevy.

I bought my 285 in the early 80's so that's testimony to it's service and satisfaction and it being well built. You can still buy this flash. It's survived even after 25 years have passed. Has refined technological evolution made the 285 obsolete? NAY! Even with computer chip advancments in newer flashes the Vivitar 285 is still here holding a position. Why is that?

I have a dedicated flash that has auto focus, TTL and all - but I gave it to my wife. She likes it because you don't have to do anything to it... I don't like it because you can't do anything with it. There are no creative avenues to explore. I can control the 285 to do what I want.

Consider the respectable guide number, 120 at 100 ASA on the 50mm zoom setting. You can have the worlds best computer controlling your flash but without horsepower you may not have enough light.

It's all about light. Like a limo with a bathtub, a wet bar and a waiter, all nice except if the motor is a Briggs and Stratten lawnmower engine with a 3 quart gas tank you may only impress your mom with a smile and a slow ride once around the block.

Did we forget that what we need is light? 25 years later we are still looking at similar or less power as technology's (read, marketing's )freshest offering for today but the price for the same light power or even less light power, is higher. We buy what's new and we buy features.

We rush to lay out our money because we are very savvy photographers - (NOT!) Isn't the Minolta 5400HS ( also an older unit), a great flash and it sure does have more power than the 285, about A QUARTER OF A STOP MORE BUT you can pay 3 or 4 TIMES THE PRICE OF A 285. As the 285 remains available you're as likely to see me shelling out for one of these others as you are likely to see Hilliary Clinton waiting in line for day old bread.

I have the control, light power, and, no, the 285 isn't the best out there but the package for the dollar value is well established and pretty good. It's been kicking "A" for 25 years and it will for many more. I wish I could tell you something about it. Buy something else. I mean, you could get a silver one - maybe even with swivel.

Cootie

Update April 13,2007:
My wife in her 3rd semester at Orange Coast Junior College in Costa Mesa CA, studying photography, has access to some great equipment including Hasselblad. This school is well known for its photo department. It is interesting to note that there are two portable flash units that they use there. One is the Lumedyne. That's a $2000 flash. It's features include an adjustable output . That is you can choose a guide number of 50, 100 or 200 and the recycle time is about 2 seconds because of a large shoulder strap battery pack. Other than that no other features. And the other flash they use is the Vivitar 285, under $100. Hmmmm - go figure!

Cootie

Update: July 2007

OK, I bought a new flash. The old one above, well it still works. But now I have 2 Vivitar 285's. What would you expect?

Cootie


Powerful and Accurate   May 12, 2003
11 out of 12 found this review helpful

I have been very happy with my Vivitar 285HV since I bought it 2 years ago. What a great inexpensive flash that gives reliable and accurate results time after time. It is being used on my manual focus Nikon FE. I've been using the 4 auto settings most of the time.

Strengths:
Powerful output.
cost only a fraction of a Nikon SB16.
Lots of accessories available; (some are expensive, though!)
Good zoom head.

Weaknesses:
Big and heavy.
No swivel head

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