Camera Labs

Ok, so up until now, whenever anybody wanted advice on which flash to buy, I always told them (based on my previous experience) to buy a first party flash (Canon, Nikon, Sony etc) as it would meter better and colour temperature is known etc.

Now however I am looking for a flash. Im not a massive fan of flash, and so far havent found a need for anything other than the pop-up flash for digital. Now however, with the convenience of my 18-200mm, I find I take this lens out so often which poses some problems for flash. Most notably, its aperture is small and even with VR is tough to shoot in dim conditions. Also, zoomed out or focussed close, there is often a shadow of the lens in the frame. Also, the low power of the pop-up flash and bounce flash are more reasons why I want to get a proper digital compatible flash gun.

A friend over the last few days has let me borrow and test out his Nissin Di622 which he swears by. I was surprised to see that the flash experienced none of the problems I thought it would and turned out to be highly competent. Its actually cheaper than Nikon's cheapest flash, and is much more powerful, recycles faster, can rotate horizontally as well as vertically, easier to use as a slave flash, and reaches further above the lens.

As of this, Im actually going to buy this flash rather than one of Nikon's own. Its only for light use, nearly always going to be on camera so I have no need for anything higher upmarket.

_________________
Nikon D5000 and D300 with 12-24mm, 35mm f1.8, 50mm f1.4, 60mm f2.8 Macro, 18-200mm, 17-55mm f2.8 (all Nikon)

I agree the Nissin Di622 is phenomenal value and I have one, but just be aware it doesn't do high speed sync. At the point I ran into that, I wondered if either a different 3rd party would have been better. Then again, I don't often need fill flash in big aperture daylight which is the only time I've wanted HSS.

_________________
Canon DSLRs: 7D, 5D2, 1D, 600D, 450D full spectrum, 300D IR mod
Lenses: EF 35/2, 50/1.8, 85/1.8, 135/2+SF, 28-80 V, 70-300L, 100-400L, TS-E 24/3.5L, MP-E 65, EF-S 15-85 IS
3rd party: Zeiss 2/50 makro, Samyang 8mm fisheye, Sigma 150 macro, 120-300 f/2.8 OS, Celestron 1325/13
Tinies: Sony HX9V.

Thanks for the advice Popo.

Im not really too fussed about high speed sync flash, dont think Ill have too much need for it

_________________
Nikon D5000 and D300 with 12-24mm, 35mm f1.8, 50mm f1.4, 60mm f2.8 Macro, 18-200mm, 17-55mm f2.8 (all Nikon)

Bought myself a Di622 recently and I'm happy with it.
I'm still learning to use it, but for what I need it for, it seems to be a perfect fit considering the price.
It does seem to do odd things sometimes, but I think that's more down to me rather than the flash.

_________________
Canon 500D, 18-55mm IS, 55-200mm IS, Nissin Di622

If you're after a decent 3rd party flash, have a look at the Metz AF-1 48. It's well built, and does high speed sync and wireless flash.

_________________
PhilipGoh.com