OM SYSTEM FL-900R Electronic Flash

When just starting out, some photographers can be intimidated by using a flash with their new DSLR. Some experienced photographers swear by them, while others avoid their use at all cost, instead seeking natural light.

Fantastic flash, best I ever used.

Does not allow a sync cord to be used in manual mode with pocket wizard.

Needed this to replace my FL-50 that sparked and let out the magic smoke. I photograph professionally and always carry two flashes thus only being down to one I needed a replacement. This flash is about the same size as my FL-50R but does a lot more.

Well, this is just a lovely beast of a flash, perfectly matched to my new OM-D E-M1 II. It has a great lean-forward profile and throws a great blob of light forward, with a nicely engineered piece of diffuser plastic plopping down from the top slot to widen the field for my 7-14mm PRO lens.

I have only had the fl-900R a couple of days so most of my observations are from testing rather than actual shooting conditions. On first impression it seems a bit big, and heavy, but it balances well on an E-M1, particularly with the grip.

Works well, makes the camera (OM-D E-M5 Mark II) a little unstable, but great balance when the optional vertical grip is in use. Very powerful and full featured.

At last, a wonderful flash for the MFT format. Powerful, even lighting and exposure. Below image is a straight forward shot to illustrate the output of this flash. Olympus Pen F, Olympus 7-14mm F2.8 Pro lens, shot at 7mm F2.8. FL-900R with built in Wide Panel.

Got the flash unit a few days ago. The built looks very solid, finally with metal (not plastic like all other older Olympus models) shoe mount. So far had time to try it only on camera using TTL mode with various Olympus and Panasonic/Leica lenses on E-5 and OMDM5II, worked perfectly.