using the Olympus FL-600R flash

see also:

• the Olympus OM-D system and how to make the most of it
• TTL flash for Micro Four Thirds cameras
• flash units for macrophotography including ring flashes and twin flashes
• Olympus OM-D flash modes
• using the Olympus OM-D cameras with flash
• remote TTL flash RC mode with the Olympus OM-D cameras
• super FP flash mode
• manual flash with Olympus cameras
• flash x-sync in Olympus digital cameras
• FL-600R instruction manual (pdf)

• RC mode uses visible light not infrared
• no options for radio remote TTL flash
• optical SLAVE and RC modes continuously emit a bright light every second - this is extremely annoying!!
• optical SLAVE mode cannot learn to deal with pre-flashes
• do not fire when used on Pocket Wizard FlexTTL radio control devices even in pass-through mode!

• nice size and output for the Micro Four Thirds system
• 4 AA batteries gives faster recycle time than with the FL-36R flash unit
• bounce head - critically important!
• simple to use
• LED light available - although I rarely use it

* Keeping the OK button pressed, press the BACK LIGHT button for 2 sec

• the control panel will blink once when settings are reset

• press and hold the OK until ILLUM displays:
  • A = AF assist light will be controlled by camera
  • OFF = AF light never comes on
• press up or down buttons to go to other setting items
• press OK again to return to normal

• press the Mode part of the rear dial
• the mode setting will flash briefly, while it is flashing, press the left or right buttons on the rear dial to navigate to other settings, then rotate the rear dial to change them

• press the Mode part of the rear dial
• the mode setting will flash briefly, while it is flashing, rotate the rear dial to desired setting:
  • if flash is connected via TTL pins to camera the modes available are:
    • TTL = TTL auto exposure controlled by the camera
    • A = auto exposure as determined by the sensor on the flash
    • M = manual output - you determine the output Guide Number value (GN)
    • FP TTL = TTL auto exposure controlled by the camera but in SuperFP mode - see super FP flash mode
    • FP M = manual output but in SuperFP mode
  • if flash is not connected via TTL pins to camera the modes available are:
    • RC = remote control mode controlled by camera - will flash a control light every second
    • SL A = optical SLAVE auto exposure as determined by the sensor on the flash - will flash a light every second, and must be triggered by another flash
    • SL M = optical SLAVE manual output - you determine the output Guide Number value (GN) - will flash a light every second, and must be triggered by another flash
    • A = auto exposure as determined by the sensor on the flash - requires PC sync trigger via hotshoe
    • M = manual output - you determine the output Guide Number value (GN) - requires PC sync trigger via hotshoe

• press the zoom part of the rear dial
• the zoom setting will flash briefly, while it is flashing, rotate the rear dial to desired setting:
  • settings without the M icon will result in zoom head and maximum output changing as your lens focal length changes to ensure optimum performance and adequate frame coverage of the flash
  • those with M icon are fixed as set by you

• settings for this could be:
  • A = auto - comes on in movie mode
  • M = manual - the LED light control (right side of rear dial) toggles it ON and OFF
  • OFF

• adjust flash exposure via:
  • flash unit flash exposure compensation setting, or,
  • camera eg. Live Super Control Panel
• HOWEVER, the setting one of the above does not alter the other, but they are additive!
• TTL flash exposure compensation and ambient exposure compensation
  • this is set via Menu:Cogs:F: flash exp. comp + ambient exp. comp
  • eg. if you set ambient to -1 EV to under-expose the background 1 stop
    • if this setting is OFF:
    • flash exp. comp can stay at 0EV to ensure flash exposes subject as main light
    • if this setting is ON
      • flash exp. comp must be set at +1EV to ensure flash exposes subject as main light

• must point flash sensor at the subject
• if flash is attached to camera via TTL pin communications:
  • flash will determine flash output with knowledge of camera ISO and aperture
  • will not work with legacy lenses if flash is attached to camera
  • works as with TTL mode otherwise
• if flash is not attached to camera via TTL pins:
  • you must set the aperture and ISO on the flash
  • flash will then determine flash output based upon these settings
  • exposure compensation must be set on the flash unit

• you must set the flash output manually by changing the GN setting:
  • press OK and the GN setting will flash briefly, whilst flashing, rotate rear dial
• the GN setting is based upon ISO 100
• alternatively, you can change the defaults so relative output is displayed instead of GN
• if flash is attached to camera via TTL pin communications:
  • changing the camera aperture and ISO, or the flash GN, will result in a recalculation of the correct flash to subject distance for correct exposure under normal circumstances
• if flash is not attached to camera via TTL pins:
  • this becomes less intuitive to change the GN:
    • you must press the Zoom button first, the zoom setting will flash, press Zoom again and the GN will flash then you can change it via rotating rear dial
  • there is no distance range as the flash does not know what ISO or aperture you are using

• only available when not connected to camera
• must point sensor at camera's flash unit, and must be within the transmitter's field of view and range
• set channel and group on the flash
• other settings can be controlled by the RC Mode control panel on the camera according to the assigned Group
  • exposure mode
  • flash exposure compensation (or manual output if manual mode)
  • Super FP mode