Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I have used many of the older nissin hammer head flashes in the past and they have served me well, so in looking for a 2nd flash this unit looked promising and knowing nissin ( from 10 years ago ) I thought I would give it a try.
So far it has worked well in just testing it but this weekend I have a wedding and that will show if it is up to the task for real pro use, no worries I still have the 580 and a spare metz 48 just in case.
Points to note and for nissin to improve on.
- Build quality is decent but not great, you loose the weather sealing from the 580 at the hot shoe, sturdy but not as well built as the 580, nissin should license the 580 shoe mount locking system from canon, it's still the best out there.
-Colour LCD works, the menu is easy to use with out the manual but the lcd is a bit slow to respond, need to figure out how to turn the lcd off when not needed as it is distracting.
- The sub flash saps main flash power, I'd say 1/3 to 2/3 stop power loss, it's repeatable. The sub makes up for that loss if ( but only if ) you need direct fill with the bounce, if not turn it off.
- The spot beam pattern is funny, the 5D mk2 does lock on with it but not as fast as the spot beam pattern from the 580, also no where does it say how to turn the spot beam off.
- Wireless works but I need to test it alot more to see just how well.
- the zoom head makes lots of weird noises, not just mine but all other nissin units I have tried, normal but it just sounds like there is something broken when it is not.
- Who ever wrote the manual needs to learn English, it is honestly the worst written ( but still understandable ) of the recent manuals I have read recently, Honestly your almost better off figuring it out on your own as the menu system is easy to figure out.
- Good built in diffuser and bounce card, the stofen I have for the 580 also fits the nissin, a tight but usable fit. Nissin needs to add a pocket in the included flash case for the shoe stand like canon does, as it is the show stand will just get lost somewhere.
- Great battery tray, all batteries fit in the same direction and pop the tray in, works very well in the dark, nissin you need to offer the trays for sale separately.
- This flash needs to add a low battery warning, I'm also sure that lcd saps battery power more than the regular mono colour ones.
- my Opteka external battery pack works with this and the 580, no adapter needed but I will break the rubber cover on the flash it's not well attached.
- Waiting to see firmware upgrades, they might just fix some of the missing but needed menu items ( turning off the lcd or spot beam etc )
- Nice my ttl menu item, you can set the flash to consistently expose in ettl with a exposure comp, ie set 1/3 or 2/3 stop more or less so you can match the exposures of other flashes you may have, I found the Nissin to expose 1/3-1/2 stop more than the 580 but I have the 580 set to 1/3 comp consistently. Now I have them both balanced to each other and can swap flashes at will and not see the difference in pics.
- so far the flash is not compatibly with the 5d mk2s flash control from camera ( another firmware fix ? )
So a few gripes but for the price vs performance I think it's a good buy, I would buy it again over a 430 or other similarly priced flash, I think the MEtz 58 is better than this nissin but it and the canon 580 both cost more with no real performance difference, but they do have some features/ build that makes the price difference worth it.
Based on price alone I would give the 866 a 5 star but it has pro aspirations and it needs some improvement so it gets a 4.
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Nissin is a traditional Japanese flash
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