Shooting with flash? Olympus Pen EE.

[Army35mm]

So this olympus pen I just got is turning out to be really enjoyable. The half frame formatting is just such a joy, saves so much on film. Ran through a roll out on the town today, and I can't express the smile on my face when I only used a single roll for 72 exposures. Framing consecutive shots to be shown together adds a cool extra dimension to shooting.

Anyways though, I am curious if anyone has used one of these with a hotshoe flash before, and what their results might've been. I have a vivtar auto 252 flash unit, and I tested it, and it works properly and syncs to the camera just fine. I'm curious if anyone has any tips, or examples of exposures run with flash so I can see what kind of results I can expect and be able to effectively deliver properly exposed photographs.

I'm currently running B/W agfa 100.

I should add, I'm very new to flash photography. I've yet to develop any night shots with any of my slrs that I'm happy with...

 

[MattKing]

The only things I can think of that might be particular to your combination of camera and film are:
1) the "native" format of your camera is vertical, while the flash was probably designed to best illuminate the horizontal format of a standard 35mm camera. So the light from the flash may illuminate slightly more distant backgrounds in a fairly distinctive way. It shouldn't be a problem, but it may be noticeable. A flash that you can rotate 90 degrees from normal would be easier to match to the format of the camera;
2) Your camera is small. While the flash isn't a big one, if you put it on the hotshoe, the combination may be a bit top heavy.

All camera mounted flashes work best in environments where there are ceilings and/or walls and floors that can serve as reflectors to bounce some of the light into the shadows on the subject. You can see the effect if you compare a flash illuminated shot taken in a standard living room to one taken outside or in a big room like a gymnasium. On camera flash is somewhat harsh and very direct - reflectors and diffusers can help. With your flash, be careful to ensure that the sensor on the flash isn't accidentally covered if you use a diffuser.

One warning: your flash is from an era when the flash circuits on cameras were mechanical and very robust. The synch voltage is quite high (250V+). Do not use that flash on a digital or more electronic film camera.

 

[Aristotle80]

My Olympus Pen EE worked great with flash. Just remember to turn the aperture ring to the right setting for your flash and the distance. My aperture got stuck in the stopped down position using it that way, so I took the lens apart to unstick the shutter with naptha and Q-tips. After a few months of working again it got stuck again, and I didn't bother to take it apart again. It's just a display item now. But if your aperture is trouble free then you'll get great flash pictures, bearing in mind what MattKing said about portrait vs landscape orientation of the flash tube and the film. The lens on mine was as sharp and contrasty as I could ask for.

 

[Ricardo Miranda]

This might help: http://kenrockwell.com/vivitar/252.htm