I went shooting last night at the Fukuyama Matsuri (summer festival) to take photos of all the Japanese dancers in the street and got some pretty horrible results using just the K10D and with Pentax M 50mm 1.7. Even though I got some interesting shots, not many were in focus as I was shooting with such a large aperture (f/1.7) because of the low light or with smaller aperture (f/8) with a high ISO (digital noise), so basically I needed a flash!

Slightly pissed off, I started researching flashes and came across many references and referrals to the Vivitar 285HV, a cheaper alternative to other more expensive brands such as Pentax, Sigma, Metz and Sunpak. I decided to order one from ebay at John's Camera Store for $89.00 USD which seemed pretty damn reasonable to me as I just can't justify spending more on a flash. It should get here in a few days and I'll post some pics, thoughts, opinions and troubles in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, here are two reviews on the Vivitar 285HV at Strobist and PopPhoto.