Olafo,
I have an FL-50 as part of my E System kit, my main camera body is now an
E-3 but was an E-1. I have considered getting the FL-50R to see if it the
beam based link would be useful. But I will say up front that I don't use
small flash units much and anyway I lean towards Dr Flash's (AKA Chuck)
methods 90% of the time using manual control and a flash meter. Since the
link is line of sight based I fear its too limiting for most of my uses.
If you are not getting an E-3/420 anytime soon I doubt it is worth the extra
expense for what I still think is a trick feature more than a really usable
one. It has been suggested that non TTL auto modes on any low sync voltage
flash are better than the TTL systems.
There have been suggestions that the E-3 will come down in price soon but I
wouldn't expect much more an a couple of hundred off the $1600 its at right
now (see a recent post by me on the subject of if and when to wait).
As far as general offers go I don't know if any of the rebates are still in
effect but they do require a US address and bank to get the cash back out
when the check arrives (2-3 months seems to be common with Oly rebates). I
find they are a nice sweetener but not a major deal breaker.
Your best bet as far as a deal goes might be to get lucky on a system
switcher via eBay. Ali occasionally cross posts bargains from other fora
here which might also be a good source.
Best of luck with the trip, Dan S.
-----Original Message-----
From: olympus-owner@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:olympus-owner@xxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Olaf Greve
Subject: [OM] Seattle trip and questions about the FL-50 vs. FL-50R flashes
Hi guys,
As mentioned in my previous message (i.e. the TOPE 34 shooting interval
closure announcement), I'll be visiting my sister who lives in Seattle, from
May 3rd - May 11th.
As this will be my first time to Seattle, I was wondering if someone could
perhaps give me some good recommendations for sightseeing, or perhaps for
interesting shops to visit. Naturally my sister should already pretty well
know where to go, and it looks like down-town Seattle, the space needle,
Snoqualmy (SP?), Mount Rainier and perhaps Vancouver may make it to the
program...
Then, on another note, to make use of the good (for us Europeans, that
is) Euro - Dollar exchange rate, I think now would be an excellent time to
buy an external flash for my Oly E-500. The ones that tempt me most, are the
FL-50 and the FL-50R, however, unfortunately lately I've had (and will
continue to have) preciously little time to do my own research, so I'm
hoping to rely on your expertise for a few questions:
1) To FL50 or to FL-50R? From what I heard (but haven't verified it
myself) the FL-50R version is intenden for the E-3 and supports off- camera
flash? If so, that would be a nice extra, even if at present I have no E-3
body... Also, my father came across an FL-50 for around $370 and an FL-50R
for around $440. Can anyone tell me if the 'R'
addition is well-worth those additional $70 (I would guess yes)?
2) What would be a good place to buy one (i.e. low-cost...), either in
Seattle or by mail-order (in advance to my trip over there)?
3) Is anyone aware of any special offers that are currently available
somewhere?
4) Anything else that people can recommend me flash-wise?
5) Just wishful thinking, probably, but are there by any chance also good
offers on E-3 bodies, and/or perhaps combinations of an E-3 with an FL-50R
(and/or 1 or 2 lenses)?
O.k., I hope you guys can give me some good advise; even if it consists of
solely your thoughts, rather than facts....:)
Cheers!
Olafo
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