It took a bit of searching to find this 1976 era Braun 380 BVC VarioComputer flash has its manual listed as a Braun 2000 VarioComputer. It is explained the Braun 2000 is a series of two flash—the 380 BVC and the 460 VCS—that look the same except the 460 VCS is slightly more powerful and has rechargeable batteries as opposed to the 380 BVC that operates from four AA batteries.
The slight power difference is 77 wattseconds compared to 105 wattseconds—which results in a guide number of 125 compared to 151 (at 100 ASA). Even more startling is the recycle time is 12 seconds (380 BVC) compared to 6 seconds for the 460 VCS. You can get equal rcycling performance using Ni-Cad batteries in place of Alkaline in the 380 BVC. The trade off is capacity. Using Alkaline batteries in the 380 BVC you can get 80 full power flash, falling to just 50 using Ni-Cad batteries. The 460 VCS can only shoot 40 full power flash.
Of course, using the thyrister circuitry of the 380 BVC VarioComputer electronics, operating from 3⅓ feet to 16 feet you can get 2800 flash exposures at the near distance, lowering to 460 at 16 feet (using Alkaline batteries).
And those flash come from a reflector that covers a 35 mm lens on a 35 mm camera. With the built-in wide reflector lens the coverage is for a 24 mm lens. The reduced distance of the wide reflector modified flash is shown on the calculator dial by dotted lines. * When shooting with the wide panel in place you can adjust your manual flash exposure on the calculator dial by opening one stop.
While on the subject of using the 380 BVC as a manual flash each of the three auto exposure settings changes the output of the flash in two-stop stages. The green range produces the least light, the red range two stops more output and the yellow two stops more output again. This feature is handy when using the 380 BVC in multiple light set-ups when moving the light isn’t always possible.
3The flash head can tilt back 120º—with a click stop at 90º—and rotate 174 to the left and right.
The built-in slave cell can be triggered from 40 feet away when hit full frontal, but that falls to 20 feet at 45º. Successful slave operation depends on the ambiant lighting, the reflecting surfaces around the subject, the distance between the flash and the angle of the photocell to the other flash unit. A test flash is recommended.
While on the subject of the slave operation the switch on the side of the flash has to be set to “1” for slave operation. The switch disconnects the PC flash connection to the camera and then the flash only fires when hit with light from another flash.
The 380 BVC connects to cameras with a short dedicated PC-cord.
In comparison to the Vivitar 285—a compatible 4-AA cell flash from about the same era—the Braun 380 BVC VarioComputer claims to be slightly more powerful.
*You may wonder about that small tape stuck on to the upper left of the calculator dial. We will return to it after we explain this label shown in the first image at the head of the blog on the side of the flash's head.
I think what it is trying to say is-
Initial guide number—120
extension requires 2-stop change —30 (new guide number)
Flash Distance = New Guide number / Effective aperture
There is a second piece of tape on the back of the unit that does that calculation-
So we have the guide number (30) divided by f/22 which equals 17 inches.
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