Olympus External Flash Support by Michael Meissner

This web site is an attempt to list the external flashes that work with the Olympus DSLRs starting with the E-1 (E-1, E-300, E-500, E-330, E-400, E-410, E-510, E-3, E-420, E-520, and E-30), but not the older E-10 and E-20 cameras. Note, the E-1 could use both the older Olympus flash (FL-40) as well as the new flashes, but all of the other DSLRs introduced after that only support the new flash systems. Information presented here is based on sales brochures and user postings, and may be inaccurate.

Some of the Olympus point and shoot cameras also have a hot-shoe and take the modern Olympus flashes (SP-350, SP-570UZ, C-8080WZ, C-7070WZ). Older cameras tend to take the earlier flash protocol (based on the FL-40) and may or may not work with the modern flashes. The widest lens category refers to 4/3rds DSLRs and not to 35mm equivalent field of view.

Panasonic has two DSLRS (DMC-L1, DMC-L10) and one superzoom point and shoot (DMC-FZ50) that take Olympus compatible flashes. The earlier superzoom DMC-FZ30 has a hot-shoe, but does not support the TTL functions of the flash. Panasonic has two Panasonic branded flashes that appear to be FL-36 and FL-50 clones, except the price is higher.

Leica has a DSLR (DigiLux 3) that takes Olympus compatible flashes.

Flashes that should work with Olympus DSLRs

Maker	Model and Adapter	Max Guide Number	Size			Weight	Power	Bounce	Zoom	Wireless TTL	Max Recycle Time	FP-TTL	Widest Lens		Extras
			W	H	D								Normal	Diffuser
Olympus	FL-36 Manual	36m 118 feet	65mm 2.6"	95mm 3.8"	105mm 4.2"	270g 9.6oz	2 AA (or) 1 CR-V3	Tilt Swivel	Auto	No	8 seconds	Yes	12mm	8mm	Builtin diffuser Old-sytle auto mode
	FL-36R Manual	36m 118 feet	67mm 2.6"	95mm 3.7"	108mm 4.2"	260g 9.2oz	2 AA (or) 1 CR-V3	Tilt Swivel	Auto	Yes	8 seconds	Yes	12mm	8mm	Builtin diffuser Optical slave trigger Stand Old-sytle auto mode
	FL-50 Manual	50m 164 feet	77mm 3.0"	132mm 5.2"	116.5mm 4.5"	350g 12.3oz	4 AA (or) 2 CR-V3 (or) FP-1 bracket (or) HV-1 high voltage pack	Tilt Swivel	Auto	No	6 seconds with AA 1.3 seconds with HV-1	Yes	12mm	8mm	Builtin diffuser Old-sytle auto mode
	FL-50R Manual	50m 164 feet	78mm 3.1"	141mm 5.5"	107mm 4.2"	350g 12.3oz	4 AA (or) 2 CR-V3 (or) FP-1 bracket (or) HV-1 high voltage pack	Tilt Swivel	Auto	Yes	6 seconds with AA 1.3 seconds with HV-1	Yes	12mm	8mm	Builtin diffuser Bounce card Extra diffuser Optical slave trigger Stand Old-sytle auto mode
	FL-300R	20m 66 feet	56.4mm 2.2"	89.2mm 3.5"	26.9mm 1.1"	97g 3.4oz	2 AAA	Tilt Swivel	Auto	Yes	Unknown	No	12mm	8mm	Optical slave trigger
	FL-600R	36m 118 feet	62mm 2.4"	104mm 4.1"	98mm 3.9"	255g 9oz	4 AA	Tilt	Auto	Yes	Unknown	Yes	14mm	9mm	Optical slave trigger
	FL-20 Manual	20m 66 feet	56mm 2.2"	96mm 1.1"	28mm 3.8"	74g 2.6oz	2 AA	No	No	No	5 seconds	No	17.5mm	12mm	Old-sytle auto mode
	FL-14 Manual	14m 46 feet	70mm 2.8"	42.5mm 1.7"	57mm 2.2"	84g 3oz	2 AAA	No	No	No	5.5 seconds	No	14mm	N/A	Old-sytle auto mode
	SRF-11 Manual	11m 36 feet	120mm 4.7"	135.5mm 5.3"	24mm 0.9"	445g 15.7 oz	4 AA (or) 2 CR-V3 (or) HV-1 high voltage pack	No	No	No	4 seconds with AA 1 second with HV-1	No	14mm	No	Macro ring flash
	STF-22 Manual	22m 72 feet	146.5mm 5.8"	100mm 3.9"	22.5mm 0.9"	625 22 oz	4 AA (or) 2 CR-V3 (or) HV-1 high voltage pack	No	No	No	4 seconds with AA 1 second with HV-1	No	11mm	No	Macro twin flash Diffuser
Panasonic	DMW-FL220	22m 72 feet	61mm 2.4"	98mm 3.9"	46mm 1.8"	111g 3.9oz	2 AA	No	No	No	5.0 seconds	No	12mm	N/A	N/A
	DMW-FL360	36m 118 feet	67mm 2.6"	95mm 3.7"	108mm 4.2"	270g 9.6oz	2 AA	Tilt Swivel	Auto	No	7.5 seconds	Yes	12mm	8mm	Builtin diffuser Old-sytle auto mode
	DMW-FL500	50m 164 feet	79mm 3.1"	141mm 5.5"	107mm 4.2"	455g 16oz	4 AA	Tilt Swivel	Auto	No	5 seconds	Yes	12mm	8mm	Builtin diffuser Old-sytle auto mode
Metz	24 AF-1 O	24m 79 feet	65mm 2.6"	98mm 3.9"	54mm 2.1"	140g 4.9oz	2 AA	Tilt	No	No	5 seconds	No	17.5mm	N/A	N/A
	28 AF-3 O	28m 92 feet	58mm 2.3"	85mm 3.5"	32mm 1.3"	100g 3.5oz	2 AAA	No	Auto	No	6 seconds	Unknown	17.5mm	12mm	Discontinued
	36 AF-4 O Manual	36m 118 feet	73mm 2.9"	110mm 4.3"	87mm 3.4"	205g 7.2oz	4 AA	Tilt	Auto	No	3 seconds	Unknown	14mm	N/A	N/A
	48 AF-1 O Manual	48m 157 feet	71mm 2.8"	137mm 5.4"	99mm 3.9"	340g 12oz	4 AA	Tilt Swivel	Auto	Yes	3.5 seconds	Yes	12mm	9mm	Builtin diffuser Bounce card Stand Replaced by Metz 50 AF-1
	50 AF-1 O	50m 164 feet	71mm 2.8"	137mm 5.4"	99mm 3.9"	340g 12oz	4 AA	Tilt Swivel	Auto	Yes	3.5 seconds	Yes	12mm	6mm	Builtin diffuser Bounce card Stand Metal foot
	58 AF-1 O Manual	58m 190 feet	71mm 3"	148mm 5.8"	99mm 3.9"	355g 12.5 oz	4 AA (or) Metz P76 power pack	Tilt Swivel	Auto	Yes	5 seconds with AA 2.5 seconds with P76	Yes	12mm	9mm	Builtin diffuser Bounce card 2nd flash Stand Old-sytle auto mode Replaced by Metz 58 AF-2
	58 AF-2 O	58m 190 feet	71mm 3"	148mm 5.8"	99mm 3.9"	363g 12.8 oz	4 AA (or) Metz P76 power pack	Tilt Swivel	Auto	Yes	5 seconds with AA 2.5 seconds with P76	Yes	12mm	6mm	Builtin diffuser Bounce card 2nd flash Stand Old-sytle auto mode metal shoe
Promaster	7500EDF Manual	42m 138 feet	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	4 AA	Tilt Swivel	Yes	No	10 seconds	Unknown	12mm	8.5mm	Diffuser 2nd flash USB upgradable Multi-flash mode Slave mode Modeling light
	7400EDF Manual	37m 120 feet	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	4 AA	Tilt	Yes	No	10 seconds	Unknown	12mm	8.5mm	Diffuser USB upgradable
	7200EDF Manual	30m 100 feet	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	4 AA	Tilt	No	No	10 seconds	No	14mm	12mm	Diffuser USB upgradable
	5250DX + 5050DXR-7154	24m 80 feet	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	4 AA	Tilt	No	No	10 seconds	No	14mm	No	N/A
	5550DX + 5050DXR-7154 Manual	30m 100 feet	74mm 2.9"	128mm 5"	48mm 1.9"	212g 7.5 oz	4 AA	Tilt Swivel	No	No	10 seconds	No	14mm	No	N/A
	5750DX + 5050DXR-7154 Manual	40m 130 feet	75mm 2.9"	155mm 6.1"	45mm 1.8"	308g 11 oz	4 AA	Tilt Swivel	Manual	No	10 seconds	No	17.5mm	14mm	Diffuser 2nd flash
	Digital Macrolume + 5050DXR-7154 Manual	11m 36 feet	125mm 4.9"	133mm 5.3"	27mm 1.1"	376g 13.3 oz	4 AA	No	No	No	10 seconds	No	17.5mm	14mm	Macro ring flash
Sakar Digital Concepts	952AF/OLY	42m 138 feet	72mm 2.8"	125mm 4.9"	100mm 3.9"	270g 9.5 oz	4 AA	Tilt Swivel	Auto	No	Unknown	No	14mm	No	Builtin diffuser
	918AF/OLY	30m 99 feet	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	4 AA	Tilt Swivel	Unknown	Unknown	8 seconds	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
	736AF/OLY	26m 85 feet	72mm 2.8"	125mm 4.9"	100mm 3.9"	270g 9.5 oz	4 AA	Tilt	No	No	Unknown	No	14mm	No	N/A
	728AF/OLY	22m 72 feet	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	4 AA	No	No	No	Unknown	No	Unknown	No	N/A
Vivitar	DF383-OLY	45m 148 feet	72mm 3"	125mm 5"	100mm 4"	270g 9.5 oz	4 AA	Tilt Swivel	Auto	Unknown	9 seconds	No	12mm	Yes	Builtin slave
	DF293-OLY	42m 138 feet	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	4 AA	Tilt Swivel	Auto?	Unknown	Unknown	No	14mm	Yes	diffuser bounce card
	DF283-OLY	42m 138 feet	77mm 3"	132mm 5.2"	102mm 4"	260g 9.2 oz	4 AA	Tilt Swivel	Auto?	Unknown	7 seconds	No	14mm	Yes	N/A
	DF183-OLY	45m 148 feet	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	4 AA	Tilt	Auto	No	Unknown	No	12mm	No	N/A
	DF400MZ	40m 131 feet	74mm 2.9"	175mm 6.9"	59mm 2.3"	270g 9.5 oz	4 AA	Tilt Swivel	Auto	Unknown	Unknown	No	12mm	No	Builtin slave
Cullmann	D 4500-O/P	36m 118 feet	74mm 2.9"	175mm 6.9"	59mm 2.3"	270g 9.5 oz	4 AA	Tilt Swivel	Auto	No	9 seconds	No	12mm	No	Builtin diffuser
Quantum	T5D-R + D10W	150 w/s	81mm 3.2"	89mm 3.5	165mm 6.5"	450g 16 oz	Quantum batteries	Tilt Swivel	No	No	Unknown	No	Unknown	Unknown	N/A
Targus	DL-20	18m 59 feet	65mm 2.6"	98mm 3.9"	54mm 2.1	127g 4.5 oz	2 AA	Tilt	No	No	10 seconds	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	N/A
	DL-80	32m 100 feet	75mm 3.0"	112mm 4.4"	85mm 3.3	250g 8.8 oz	2 AA	Tilt	Yes	No	7 seconds	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	N/A
	DP-38	45m 148 feet	72mm 2.8"	125mm 3.9	100mm 2.1"	270g 9.5 oz	2 AA	Tilt	Yes	Slave flash	9 seconds	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	N/A
Tumax	DPT386AFZ-OP Manual	45m 148 feet	72mm 2.8"	100mm 2.1	125mm 3.9"	270g 9.5 oz	4 AA	Tilt Swivel	Auto	No	9 seconds	No	12mm	Yes	Builtin slave, diffuser, bounce card
	DSL886AFZ-OP Manual	32m 105 feet	75mm 2.9"	112mm 4.4"	85mm 3.3	250g 8.8 oz	4 AA	Tilt	Auto	No	7 seconds	No	14mm	Optional (12mm)	N/A
	DSL876AF-OP Manual	24m 79 feet	75mm 2.9"	112mm 4.4"	85mm 3.3	250g 8.8 oz	4 AA	Tilt	No	No	7 seconds	No	17.5mm	No	N/A
	DSL286AF-OP Manual	18m 59 feet	65mm 2.6"	98mm 3.9"	54mm 2.1	127g 4.5 oz	2 AA	Tilt	No	No	10 seconds	No	17.5mm	No	N/A
	DMF880-OP Flash manual DMR manual	32m 105 feet	72mm 2.8"	110mm 4.3"	85mm 3.3	250g 6.8 oz	4 AA	Tilt	Yes	No	7 seconds	No	14mm	Optional (12mm)	Optional DMR ring flash
Xotopro	XTTFSO Flash manual	6mm each 19.7 feet	72mm 2.8"	110mm 4.3"	85mm 3.3	500g 13.6 oz	4 AA	Tilt	Yes	No	7 seconds	No	14mm	Optional (12mm)	2 DMT twin flashes + TUMAX DMF-880-OP
Bower	SFD926O	38mm each 125 feet	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	4 AA	Tilt Swivel	Yes	No	9 seconds	No	12mm	Yes	Builtin diffuser, bounce card
Rokinon	D20AF-OP	24m 79 feet	63mm 2.5"	98mm 3.9"	54mm 2.1	127g 4.5 oz	2 AA	Tilt	No	No	10 seconds	Unknown	17.5mm	Unknown	N/A
	D870AF-OP	24m 79 feet	63mm 2.5"	114mm 4.5	44mm 1.7"	Unknown	4 AA	Tilt	No	No	Unknown	Unknown	35mm	Unknown	N/A
	D980AFZ-OP	45m 148 feet	99mm 3.9"	124mm 4.9	71mm 2.8"	270g 9.5 oz	4 AA	Tilt Swivel	Yes	No	9 seconds	Unknown	24mm	Unknown	Builtin diffuser, bounce card
Cactus	AF50 Manual	50m 164 feet	65mm 2.6"	100mm 3.9"	120mm 4.7"	250g 8.8 oz	4 AA	Tilt Swivel	Yes	Yes	9 seconds	Yes	12mm	12mm	Builtin diffuser, bounce card, manual/TTL slave
Nissin	Speedlite Di466 Datasheet	33m 108 feet	67mm 2.6"	95mm 3.7"	105mm 4.1"	240g 8.4 oz	4 AA	Tilt	Yes	No	4 seconds	No	14mm	12mm	Builtin diffuser, bounce card, filter holder manual slave
Zeikos	ZE-FL70	60m 199 feet	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	4 AA	Tilt Swivel	Yes	No	Unknown	No	Unknown	Unknown	Builtin diffuser, bounce card

Flashes that may have problems with Olympus DSLRs

Maker	Model	Adapter Needed	Max Guide Number	Size			Weight	Power	Bounce	Zoom	Wireless TTL	Max Recycle Time	FP-TTL	Widest Lens		Problems
				W	H	D								Normal	Diffuser
Metz	44 MZ-2 Manual	Sca-3202	44m 144 feet	75mm 2.9"	125mm 4.9"	108mm 4.2"	400g 14.1 oz	4 AA	Tilt	Auto	No	4 seconds	No	14mm	No	no TTL flash
	44 AF-4 Manual	none	44m 144 feet	75mm 2.9"	125mm 4.9"	108mm 4.2"	325g 11.5 oz	4 AA	Tilt	Auto	No	4 seconds	Yes	12mm	10mm	Discontinued
	54 MZ-4i Manual	Sca-3202	54m 177 feet	75mm 2.9"	125mm 4.9"	108mm 4.2"	480g 16.9 oz	4 AA (or) Metz P76 power pack	Tilt Swivel	Auto	No	5 seconds with AA 2.5 seconds with P76	No	12mm	10mm	No fill flash
	45 CL-4 Manual	Sca-3202	45m 148 feet	92mm 3.6"	247mm 9.7"	102mm 4.0"	680g 24 oz	6 AA (or) Metz P76 power pack (or) Metz NIMH battery cluser	Tilt Swivel	No	No	4 seconds with AA 3 seconds with P76 4 seconds with NIMH cluster	Yes	17.5mm	14mm	No fill flash, 2nd curtain, flash information
	76 MZ-5 Manual	Sca-3202	76m 249 feet	91mm 3.6"	254mm 10"	102mm 4"	880g 31 oz	Metz P76 power pack (or) Metz NIMH battery cluser	Tilt Swivel	Auto	No	3 seconds with P76 4 seconds with NIMH cluster	No	12mm	10mm	No fill flash
Cullmann	20 AF-O Datasheet	none	20m 66 feet	54mm 2.1"	65mm 2.5"	98mm 3.8"	127g 4.5 oz	2 AA	Tilt	No	No	10 seconds	No	Unknown	No	Customer reviews indicate it is not compatible

Notes

• Weight is without batteries. In flashes with adapters, it is unclear whether the weight includes the adapter. The twin flash weight includes the shoe ring and 2 flashes. Both the twin flash and ring flash include the controller weight.
• Metz 48/58 flashes can now support wireless TTL mode after updating firmware, but doing so will eliminate the Metz wireless support.
• There have been several reports that the FL-36 (and maybe FL-36R) flashes don't work with several radio triggers. It might also be the case that the FL-36 does not work with some optical slave triggers.
• The wireless TTL support only works with the E-3, E-420, E-520, and E-30 cameras. The FL-36R and FL-50R flashes can be used as an optical slave for other cameras if you shoot with the camera in manual/auto flash mode (i.e. the pre-flash of the TTL flash sets off the flash and it will be recharging when the main flash comes along).
• I've seen complaints that the older versions of the Sakar flashes did not support the Olympus DSLRs. If you buy this flash, it is probably a good idea to buy it from a store with a good return policy. It is interesting that I've seen one ebay site list the 952AF for Olympus, but the sakar.com web site does not list it. Similar complaints exist about Cullmann.
• Promaster flashes tend to only be available from smaller US independent dealers.
• Swivel support is useful if you want to do bounce photography when shooting in portrait orientation mode.
• Tilt support is useful if you want to do bounce photography at all.
• FP-TTL support is useful if you want to use the flash for fill-in mode on bright sunny days where the shutter speed is likely to be higher than 1/180 (or 1/250 on the E-3).
• Manual zoom is a pain in the neck because if you are like me, you will forget to change the zoom setting when you change the focal length of the lens.
• Flashes work better with rechargeable batteries than with non-rechargable alkaline batteries.
• The newer batteries (like Sanyo enloop, or Kodak pre-charged batteries) that come pre-charged don't discharge when the flash is sitting on the shelf. Otherwise you need to get into the habit of charging batteries routinely. There are some reports that the pre-charged batteries also will charge the flash faster than some of the older batteries.
• I prefer to use chargers that charge each battery individually, rather than in groups of 2, so that each battery gets fully charged. The charger that I use is the LaCrosse BC-900.
• Thomas Distributing is one place to get good chargers and batteries. I'm sure there are other places as well.
• If you use a high speed battery pack and discharge the flash continously, you might run the risk of overheating the flash. Even without a battery pack, you do want to be careful when doing many shots continuously. I have burned out a Promaster 5750DX flash shooting 220 shots in an hour and a half using just AA batteries.
• When firing direct, the Metz flashes appear to use less power than for the same focal length on other cameras. This appears to be due to the 4:3 aspect ratio of the Olympus and Panasonic cameras, and the flash is trying to make sure the whole scene is illuminated.
• I've seen at least one report that the Vivitar 383 does not work on the Olympus E-1. I would imagine many of the other clone flashes are made by the same company and may have the same restriction. It may be that the E-1 uses the older FL-40 protocol, and the clone flashes don't understand that.
• Some of the clone flashes do not support setting the flash exposure compensation on the flash itself. You can set the FEC in the camera, but it can be more convenient to set it on the flash. However, some Olympus cameras don't seem to record the FEC in the EXIF information if you set it in the flash rather than in the camera.
• Panasonic specifically says that the G-1, GF-1, and GH-1 are not compatible with the Olympus FL-20 flash. Given the FL-20 was released before the FL-36 and FL-50 flashes, it may be more compatible with the older FL-40 flash. Olympus on the other hand, does say that the E-P1 is compatible with the FL-20.
• Most of the Olympus flashes and the Metz 58 support an old-style auto mode. This is the original flash automation. In auto mode, you set the flash to a particular setting that specifies ISO and aperture. You set your camera to those settings in manual mode, and the flash has its own sensor to sense light reflecting off of the back wall to determine when enough light has been emitted for that setting. Generally, TTL is better, but one place where the old auto mode is useful is if you have people with fast blink reflexes. These people will sense the pre-flash that TTL puts out to measure the light, and start blinking, and every picture of them will be with their eyes closed. With auto mode, there is no pre-flash, so they won't start blinking. On the other hand, auto mode depends on you shooting in fairly small rooms with the subject near a wall so that the flash will properly sense when to shut off the light. Also, the flash has no idea what you are shooting, and it can be fooled if you are shooting mostly white or mostly black subjects.
• Olympus has a note in its flash compatibility lists that the FL-300R will not function as a manual flash on the older Pen bodies (E-P1, E-P2, E-PL1, and E-PL2. I imagine the same is true on classic 4/3rds cameras, and Panasonic cameras.