Thread: Fuji EF42 Flash

I ordered one of these yesterday from Amazon. Originally I was going to try to find one of the smaller EF-20 flash units. The EF-42 appears to have more bounce capabilities. I will report back on the forum after some testing.
As of this morning Amazon still has a few of these in stock.
By the way, I emailed Sunpak yesterday to see if they had any flashes with the proper pin configuration for TTL operation with the X100. They said they didn't in an email I received this morning.
. . . David

David, I'd be very much appreciate your thoughts on this flash.
It's not something I use often but the X100 has put me back to my early roots.
I'll be using this camera for work also and a flash will be mandatory in the near future.
I also like the idea of more

I await your findings...
Thanks, Don

Thanks for the reply, Don. I'm not a big fan of flashes but sometimes there simply isn't an other choice. I have a FL-36 Olympus flash that works wonderfully on my Digi-Pens as it did on my G1 before I sold it. I also have one of these on the way for the EF-42;
STO-FEN Store - Omni-Bounce Units. I've used Stofen Omni bounces for a very long time all the way back through my Mamiya 645 years. A great edition that really helps a lot to soften up that harsh flash look.
I should be able to post a couple of pictures later today.
By the way, how was your trip to Washington? I'm an Air Force Vet, got out in '74.
. . . David

David, That image I posted was at the USAF memorial.
Thanks for your service. My daughter is still in at 19 years.

Anyway, I've used Stofen also for many years. I still have them.
Lumiquest made a balloon type diffuser that looked crazy but works better than anything.
You loose maybe 1-1 1/2 stops but it softens the light so that it doesn't even look like flash.
I used it straight on sometimes and no harsh shadows at all...

Thanks, Don. I was just looking through the Lumiquest bounce devices on Amazon. Do you have a model name or number for the particular one you mentioned? Thanks.
. . . David

Well, the long and da' short of it is - that it arrived, I tried it and it appears to work well. But, I sent it back to Amazon. It just didn't seem worth the money. I will do some more experimenting with my Olympus FL-36 and manual EV overrides. It was nice but once again since I own an FL-36 I couldn't justify it. If I didn't own the Olympus flash I most likely would have kept this one. 'Hope this helps.
. . . David

Well that was quick. The flash is made by Sunpak.
So, it should be available under that name.
I generally use 5.6 or 8.0 with an auto mode for flash.
There's a gazillion that should work. I'm not sure of the voltage max at the shoe.
Maybe that would help things along.

The balloon thing, I'll look around and try to get the info.
I bought half a dozen years ago. I'll look around and get back to you.

I think it was a record for me. 'Nice, but not worth the money. Yes, thanks for looking around for the "balloon". I'm not sure but I think Gary Fong makes something similar.
. . . David

This is very similar. This does the best diffusion I ever saw, bar none.
Universal Inflatable Flash Diffuser for speedlite flash | eBay

Thanks, Don. That one is, well, unique and I did order one. Actually, it's pretty cool.
I played around with the Olympus FL-36 when I got home this afternoon. It has three modes; TTL, Manual and Auto. In auto after I figured out how to set ISO, the f-stop chosen on the camera was adjustable to match on the flash and it worked very well including in bounce. With the Fuji flash on the way back to Amazon, I'll work some more with the FL-36 on the X100 and post a couple of pictures using this combination later.
By the way, with the FL-36 on the Pens the TTL controls settable through the camera are pretty incredible. Thanks again for the tip on the diffuser.
. . . David