Vivitar 285 alternative

[MFstooges]

Hola,
I finally junked my Vivitar 285 after it broke the shoe twice and melted the battery terminal. Best investment I made so far. So now I'm looking for better alternative if there's any. Has higher GN (My 285 GN is 20 in meter) and can be abused with slightly higher voltage (I used 7.4v lithium battery for fast recycling) and around the same price is even better (I got my 285 for $15 LOL). Any advice for the alternative?

 

[beemermark]

Vivitar 283

 

[MFstooges]

Vivitar 283

285>283

 

[Born2Late]

Another 285!

 

[Bill Burk]

I have a 285 and 283. I like the 283 more but probably because I bought it new (and the 285 kind of fell in my lap)

 

[AgX]

It depends were in the world you are located. I for instance very rarely come across any Vivitar flash, but countless of other makes.
I never paid more than 5€ for any on-camera flash (except for those by the camera-makers).
I can't advise on the higher feed voltage, as I never tried that.

 

[larfe]

I've a "made in Japan" 285 I'm not using and won't mind selling you if you want that

 

[John Koehrer]

There are metal shoes for the 283/285. You lose the hot shoe but gain a pc>standard(2 prong AC) plug.