Olympus FL-36 Electronic Flash for SP series, C7070, E1, E300 & E500 Cameras

I was a little nervous to buy this flash after reading some comments that it can be slow to charge. I'm glad I listened to the positive reviews. This flash is powerful, works great, and is not that slow. Using rechargeable NiMH AA batteries, I took just under 200 pictures on a single set of batteries, and they seemed to still be going strong. Flash recharge speed seems to depend on the amount of light in the room. The brighter the flash, the longer it takes to recharge, but it never seems to take more than a few seconds. A guess professionals may need a faster flash, but I don't, and I like the smaller size.

Well-built, economical flash for casual use. Works seamlessly with my E-330. Focus assist lamp basically eliminates hunting in low light/low contrast situations at close and medium ranges.

Best recycle time after a full power shot is six seconds with a freshly charged pair of 2500mAh Energizer NiMHs. That falls to eight or nine seconds after moderate use or sitting overnight. A lithium CR-V3 battery gave consistent seven second recycle times even after heavy use and weeks of sitting in the bag. YMMV.

If you need something faster and more powerful and you have the extra money, then get the FL-50. Otherwise, buy the FL-36 and sink the money you save into better lenses.

I agree with a lot of people about the "light quality" of this flash. It has a good light range (not long, but it is what I expected from this price). But I must warn you: it is EXTREMELLY SLOW recharging. I really did not know that the flash worked on only 2 AA batteries (this would have been a good hint about the recharging speed); and there was no information about the recharging time nor in Amazon nor in the Olympus site. A fully discharged flash (because of a full flash shoot) charges in about 7 to 10 seconds using 2700 mAh, brand new and fully charged NiMH batteries. It is too slow to get the action from those concerts that my kids use to offer with their school classes.

Since I live in Argentina, it is very difficult for me to return it, so I will live with my mistake. I just want to warn the people looking for advice: if you pretend a "shot-after-shot-after-shot" performance, look for other flash. If you only want the AutoTTL (very nice for my Olympus C-730UZ), fully adjustable flash head (useful in "portrait" photos) and the Olympus Brand, then go for it.

Good Flash - certainly a long way from the flashes of old that I'm used to. Manual is huge with a daunting array of things to do with it. But the flash angles, spins, and talks with the camera. What more can a person ask for. It does not work however with the pop-up onboard flash due to lack of clearance when hotshoe mounted.

I love this flash. It is amazing. The only reason it did not get 5 stars was because it is a little slow to recycle. It is not too long, but it can get annoying. Other than that, it is great. The construction of the flash is very professional. It feels like a solid pro flash. It tilts, it rotates, it has TTL control, plus manual. It really works nice with my E500 camera.