Unattractive: Hard light with sharply defined shadows due to the frontal flash.		The wirelessly controlled flash softly scatters the light through a diffuser for this object photograph.

One of the most interesting equipment features since the invention of the electronic flash is the wireless TTL flash. Here, the camera controls one or more flash units without
them having to be connected to the camera housing with a cable. Together with the E-3 professional single lens reflex, Olympus also presented two new flash units that can be activated wirelessly. They are the FL-50R Top Model and the slightly less powerful but more compact FL-36R flash. The Olympus E-420 and E-520 also have wireless flash control. With wireless flash control, the camera electronics communicate via the housing flash with the flash unit detached from the DSLR housing. This gives the photographer completely new freedom in setting light. Gone are the days when frontal flash light flatly illuminated, and in many cases downright struck, the subject. For interior photographs, the flash mounted on the camera as usual, which shines onto the white ceiling, provides a soft, harmonious light, it’s true, but many subjects lack flair
nevertheless. Often, an accent light from the side or even from the back illuminates the subject perfectly. Portrait photographs are classic examples of this. Here, a flash unit directed at the ceiling or at a reflector supplies the main light. A second flash unit angled behind the model illuminates the hair and provides radiating brilliance.
Even for object photographs in a mini studio, a flash detached from the camera perfects the lighting. With the current Olympus technology, such photographs are child’s play. With the E-3, the photographer has only to activate the “RC Mode” (Remote Control) option in Photo Menu 2 and pull out the housing flash. On the FL-50R or FL-36R flash unit, the MODE key only has to be pressed until the letters “RC” appear in the flash’s display. If the camera and flash unit displays still indicate that the units are  communicating with each other on the same channel (up to four are possible) and belong to the same group (up to three are possible), there is almost nothing left in the way of unhindered wireless flash. Depending on the focal length, subject, and desired light quality (directed or widely scattered), the photographer now must only manually bring the
zoom reflector into the desired position. The camera flash generally controls one or more flash units without affecting the image itself. By the way, with two Olympus flash units, even the flash bracketing functions in the wireless operating mode. Even if working with the RC flash system from Olympus provides good results quickly and
automatically,some fiddling and experimentation is still called for when using the recommended two wireless flash units in order to achieve interesting lighting effects. But be careful; there is a serious risk of addiction!

An FL-36R Flash is hidden behind the vase so that the coloured glass glows.

Maximum ranges and sequence of signal processing for wireless flash.