vivitar 283 review

Average Ratings
Ease of Use9.3/10 Based on 3 ratings
Value for Money9.8/10
Reviewer Rating9.8/10
Overall Rating7.2/10 Based on 11 ratings
100% Recommended4 out of 4 Reviews

expert review of Vivitar 283 Flash Gun

By Niladri Kar. Rank: Lance Corporal on 9th Feb 2001

Niladri Kar.'s Ratings
Value for money9/10
Overall value9/10
yes Niladri Kar.'s recommendation

Good Points

Cheap, easy to use, moderate GN.

Bad Points

Rather heavy, weak foot.

General Comments

Vivitar 283 is perhaps the best non-TTL autoflash available. I have two of these wonderful flashes. They are highly reliable for indoor as well as outdoor flash photography. For some time I was forced to use built-in flash of my first compact SLR, Pentax zx-50. It was a very sad experience. Soon I discovered that this flash is virtually of no use except for use as fill-in flash in daylight. After I got Vivitar 283 the quality of night photography changed dramatically. No more underexposure or sharp, flat light. You can buy a new one below $70.00 from B & H Photovideo or you can pick one from ebay half of that price. But in case you are planning to buy a second-hand Vivitar 283, make sure to check two things: 1. the quality of the foot (which is rather weak and shows the first sign of misuse); 2. the discharge voltage (some old flashes have very high discharge voltage that may burn the electronic circuit of modern camera, I was told). Go to photographyreview.com for more reviews.

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2 Comments on Review by Niladri Kar. for Vivitar 283 Flash Gun


  1. windcruzer. on 11th Sep 2002

    I burned out my 1980 Olympus OM-2 using the Vivitar 283.

  2. Geoff Powers. on 4th Jul 2003

    I have used the Vivitar 283 with a Sto-fen diffuser on my Bronica ETRSi and have gotten spectacular results. It's a versatile flash that does a great job. You MUST read its documentation thoroughly to get the most out of it.