Add External Flash to Polaroid EE100

I recently purchased a Polaroid EE100 on Ebay. I wanted to add an external flash rather than using flashcubes. I read on the net where you can use the two pins where the flashcube attaches to trigger an external flash. You have to solder wire to these pins and connect the other end to your flash.

Tools Needed

1) Wire strippers
2) Soldering Iron (with pencil tip)
3) Solder
4) Needle nose pliers

Material Needed *

1) 1 ft flash sync cord (to connect to pc adapter)
2) Hotshoe with pc input **
3) Electronic flash
4) Flash bracket

* get hotshoes and pc cables from FlashZebra.com
* *Hotshoe may not be necessary if your flash has a pc input

Cut the unused end of of the sync cord. Strip back the insulation. Peel back the wire braid and twirl into a wire. I apply solder to center wire and braid prior to soldering to flashcube contacts.

Scratch the flashcube contacts with a sharp object to clean off any crud or oxidation. Solder the braid of the sync cord to one contact. Solder the other wire to the other contact. You may melt a bit of the plastic around the flashcube contacts, that's why a pencil tip iron should be used.

I covered my soldering job with duct tape. Do not cover the center of the flashcube mount. The center piece must be free to operate.

You can test the flash operation without film installed as long as you have the batteries installed.

Here are a couple of images of the completed assembly.

Better Beamer for Metz 48 Flash

I use a Metz 48 flash for my Olympus DSLRs. I recently purchased a Better Beamer FX-6 for the flash. This will give me some more flash range when using the telephoto lenses. The FX-6 fits the Metz 48 pretty well. Here are some photos.

Off camera flash cord for Olympus E Series DSLRs.

As mentioned in a another post I use the Manfrotto 233B flash bracket with my E330/E510 cameras. This requires a flash cord. I have two of the Adorama cords discussed below. This cord currently costs $39.95. The Olympus brand, Hot Shoe Flash Cable (FL-CB05), cost $79.95 on the Olympus website.

Adorama's description: These heavy duty TTL cords are designed to fit the Olympus E Series DSLR Cameras that use dedicated flash units. They feature a molded shoe on one end that slides onto the camera hot show and locks to prevent accidental dislodging of the shoe. A second shoe mounts onto a flash bracket or light stand via either a standard foot with lock or a 1/4-20 thread. The top of the shoe accepts the flash unit. A heavy duty 3 foot coiled cord connects the shoes.

This cable works as you would expect. It supports TTL metering for your flash unit. My Metz 48 responds accordingly. The construction of my units have three weaknesses: 1) the coiled cord is very stiff. It does not extend and return to shape easily, 2) The cord pulled out from the plastic housing on the flash end on one unit. While this did not effected functionality, it was worrisome. So much so that I reworked that end by disassembling the unit, and remaking the connections. When reassembling - I added a little super glue to the cord outer sleeve to anchor it to the plastic housing. I assume that the design intent was that the compression of the cord by the housing would hold the cord intact.3) On one unit, the hot shoe connector is very snug and requires a lot of force to mount and dismount the flash.

I do not have any experience with the Olympus FL-CB05, so I cannot make a comparison. The problems above are minimal. Overall, I believe the flash cord is a good buy.

Adorama Off-Camera TTL Coiled Flash Cord (extends to 3') for Olympus DSLR Cameras - Heavy Duty Version, Mfr. Part: RS0448P

Home Made Flash Diffuser

This is probably not something you want to show up at a wedding shoot with, but it works great. I made this flash diffuser from a plastic storage tub. I cut a hole in the bottom to fit my Metz 48 flash. I used an exacto knife and razor blade to make the cutout. Be careful if you try it. I covered the opening with a double layer of wax paper. I attached the wax paper around the edges with hot glue. It has held up well, being bounced around home and in the car. I will post some comparison photos later on.

Manfrotto 233B Flash Bracket

The first flash bracket I had was an "L" shaped piece of plastic with a flash mount. While it did get the flash off the camera, it was flimsy and the camera would twist on the bracket. The unit was so flimsy that the flash would droop noticeably. It did not have a professional feel to it at all. I began looking for a new flash bracket to replace the plastic model. I decided on the Manfrotto 233B telescoping bracket. Manfrotto describes the 233B as follows:

Product Description
This is the ultimate in Camera flash brackets. With a telescopic column this will extend from 30 cm to 45 cm. Perfect for wedding and on location photography. Attachment: type1 + Adapter Art.118; attachment 2: 1/4-Inch screw; color: black; column tube diameter: 19.16mm.; load capacity: 2.20 lbs.; material: aluminum; maximum height: 17.72 in.; minimum height: 11.81 in.; 2 sections; weight: 0.97 lbs.

When I received the unit, I was immediately impressed with the sturdiness and flexibility of the unit. The fit and finish is very tight. The telescoping column works well and there is little play. I use a Metz 48 flash unit with the Olympus remote flash cable which attaches easily to the flash shoe. Attachment to the camera is through the tripod mounting nut. The camera attaches firmly to the unit.

Note the minimum height of 11.81 in. This is probably good for photos but doesn't make a very compact system when just carrying your camera around. Also, changing from landscape to portrait work is a bit cumbersome and will take some time. You are not going to be flipping back from landscape to portrait on the fly with great success.

Overall, for mostly shooting in the landscape position, this is a very good flash bracket. I highly recommend it.