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The new flash units?


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I can't even figure out what the new flash unit IS. Fuji (as is well known) doesn't make their existing flashes - they buy them from (former maker of sturdy mid-line flashes, now junk flash purveyor) Sunpak. My first thought when I saw the announcement was "I wonder which Sunpak this is, and what the reviews are like"? Two of Fuji's three existing flashes are identical to Sunpak models, but sell for about 25% more (the EF-X20 has similar specs to the Sunpak RD-2000, but adds manually variable power, which the Sunpak doesn't have). The EF-X 500 is not any existing Sunpak... They made a flash with an identical guide number, but it's an older model with a much less sophisticated interface, and it's (recently?) discontinued. It could be the successor model to that, or it could be something else.

 

One rainy afternoon, I sorted through B+H's collection of dedicated flashes (for other brands), to see if I could find out what this one is - hoping to find reviews. I hoped it would be  from a well-known maker of decent flashes (Metz?) or someone up-and-coming like Phottix. I figured that I'd find it pretty quickly. It's almost certainly not a Metz - once you get into the higher power levels, including the GN 50 model this is close to, Metz flashes are touchscreen (with almost no buttons). I'm not AT ALL sure I want a touchscreen on a flash, but that's what Metz uses. It doesn't look anything like a Phottix, either - they don't have a model in this power range, and they don't use the wheel-and-softkeys interface that this unit has.

 

I then looked at everyone else (once my three best theories were shot), and I still couldn't find it. Nothing's even close - most flashes with a control wheel have only a couple of (marked) buttons, and most flashes that use softkeys (unmarked buttons with the label on the display) have no wheel. Two of the very few wheel AND softkeys flashes are the Nikon SB910 (and the new SB5000) and the Canon 600EX, about the LEAST likely flashes for Fuji to get ahold of and rebrand (and the guide numbers are wrong)!

 

I'm not AT ALL sure what this is! I briefly considered the idea that Fuji might have made the darn thing themselves, and it's not an especially close relative of any other flash. The reason I discarded that idea (besides that Fuji is known to buy flashes, and has never, to my knowledge, made one) is that it is made in China. I would think a genuine Fuji flash would be made in either Japan (at the Fuji Sendai plant that makes the X-Pro, X-T and X100 lines) or Thailand. Made in China suggests that it is most likely from one of the lower-end flash manufacturers (Metz is German, and makes their higher end units in Germany, and most other higher-end flash makers manufacture in Japan) - although Phottix may very well manufacture in China, and a Phottix would make a lot of Fuji photographers very happy.

 

My best guess (unfortunately, in my opinion) is that we're looking at a brand-new Sunpak model. Sunpak may be planning to release their version of it at CP+ in February, and they could actually beat Fuji to market - maybe that's why the flash is delayed compared to the X-Pro2 and other announcements from Friday?

 

Does anybody know more???

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We don't know what the build quality will be on the new flashes yet.

 

Quite true but you can not tell me that you don't have issues with your Nissin. The dials turns rather easily, the head doesn't stay put and can wiggle quite a bit, it feels utterly cheap when holding it in hand.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love the TTL of it on Fuji and it serves perfectly as a secondary flash, plus it's really small and very good for its size but my main workhorse is still the good 'ol SB800 from Nikon, I am on full manual on that one but it still has to fail me at one point.

 

In a pinch or when I need TTL, the Nissin is a good flash, but it is not something I would trust at 100%, every now and then, I double check it to make sure the dials didn't turned because I might have lightly brushed against it. It is also a nightmare to use in low light situation. You really have to make a mental check to remember your settings before adjusting your dials.

 

It's not much, but it adds distraction and take a bit of your mind away which is annoying when you are trying to nail down a certain shot or when waiting for the moment.

 

For leisure shooting, god I love this flash, it's super small and easily stored in a bag and serve its purpose well enough.

On a paid assignment, I simply can not trust it, at least not fully.

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Quite true but you can not tell me that you don't have issues with your Nissin. The dials turns rather easily, the head doesn't stay put and can wiggle quite a bit, it feels utterly cheap when holding it in hand.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love the TTL of it on Fuji and it serves perfectly as a secondary flash, plus it's really small and very good for its size but my main workhorse is still the good 'ol SB800 from Nikon, I am on full manual on that one but it still has to fail me at one point.

 

In a pinch or when I need TTL, the Nissin is a good flash, but it is not something I would trust at 100%, every now and then, I double check it to make sure the dials didn't turned because I might have lightly brushed against it. It is also a nightmare to use in low light situation. You really have to make a mental check to remember your settings before adjusting your dials.

 

It's not much, but it adds distraction and take a bit of your mind away which is annoying when you are trying to nail down a certain shot or when waiting for the moment.

 

For leisure shooting, god I love this flash, it's super small and easily stored in a bag and serve its purpose well enough.

On a paid assignment, I simply can not trust it, at least not fully.

 

Yep. My i40 died on me suddenly, while 'on assignment' in Warsaw. I wasn't doing anything heavy duty with it, but it just went red-LED of death and stopped working. That was a shame, because it's so small and handy. Fortunately, I got a deal on a new Fuji EF-42 that was almost too good to be true. I expect it will also die on me at one point. It's no big deal either way, though: I mostly use Cactus flashes off camera.

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I agree with everything here.  My experiences have been the same.  It isn't trust worthy when I'm doing paid work, so I'm always worried about it because of repeated problems.  But it is small and sits nicely on my XT1.  For non-paid work, it does the job fine (if it doesn't fire or I can't get it to work I have time to fidget with it).

 

For manual work, I have a couple of the Yongnou and they are great units.  Built tough, always work and with the Tx that sits on the camera I can control the manual and zoom power from my camera from a very far distance.  They are 1/3 the price of the iNissin and work much better.

 

 

Quite true but you can not tell me that you don't have issues with your Nissin. The dials turns rather easily, the head doesn't stay put and can wiggle quite a bit, it feels utterly cheap when holding it in hand.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love the TTL of it on Fuji and it serves perfectly as a secondary flash, plus it's really small and very good for its size but my main workhorse is still the good 'ol SB800 from Nikon, I am on full manual on that one but it still has to fail me at one point.

 

In a pinch or when I need TTL, the Nissin is a good flash, but it is not something I would trust at 100%, every now and then, I double check it to make sure the dials didn't turned because I might have lightly brushed against it. It is also a nightmare to use in low light situation. You really have to make a mental check to remember your settings before adjusting your dials.

 

It's not much, but it adds distraction and take a bit of your mind away which is annoying when you are trying to nail down a certain shot or when waiting for the moment.

 

For leisure shooting, god I love this flash, it's super small and easily stored in a bag and serve its purpose well enough.

On a paid assignment, I simply can not trust it, at least not fully.

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  • 5 months later...

So what is the deal with camera flash like the new fuji 500 model. The thing is huge when put on small fuji x bodies. You have to buy two of these just for remote TTL flash?

 

It is just not fuji but why still have hot shoe

when it is so rarely used. Why so difficult

to make small wireless TTL commander

Built into the body or mount on hot shoe and

Allow remote flash?

 

They advance so far with sensors and processors

but flash is still same dinosaur as slr film days

 

fuji could have done what yongnuo system

does with small master commander and control

Multiple flashes, well they still could build one.

 

Im just reading how everyone is struggling with simply wanting remote flash with TTL function

 

3rd party wireless TTL is great if you can afford it

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fuji needs to step up on this one .....its the weakest link in the system they are forming now and into the future .......if they wanna go head to head with canikon and sony , they need to produce  a wireless unit with advanced capabilities  and several flashes  at different price points ... 

also my efx20 using aaa batteries   was a huge  blunder....  so underpowered   , slow to recycle, and quick to exhaust     what were they  smoking   on that one?

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Yes, the Fuji flash system is obviously an area that has been a low priority for them.  But it looks like this year that will start to change.  And hopefully in time they will offer a smaller, lighter and cheaper version of the 500 that is coming out this fall.

 

Needing two of these new 500 units is the same approach Nikon and Canon do on their high end bodies that don't have a built in flash and thus don't have a built in TTL transmitter.  When I use to shoot with my Nikon D3s I had to have the 800 or 900 flash on the body to trigger another Nikon flash.  So pretty much needed two of them.  I recall there was an optional Tx device for the flash we could buy for the body versus using a flash, but it was costly alternative.  

 

The approach that Fuji is taking is the same.  So those coming from the high end pro bodies of Nikon and Canon understand why and have been through it.  That's just the way the camera's' that don't have a built in TTL transmitter do it.  Now .... it would be nice to see Fuji release a lower cost Tx device to put on the camera versus another 500 flash to keep the cost and size/weight down ... and maybe they will in time.   Here's hoping!

Edited by Adam Woodhouse
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Yes, the Fuji flash system is obviously an area that has been a low priority for them.  But it looks like this year that will start to change.  And hopefully in time they will offer a smaller, lighter and cheaper version of the 500 that is coming out this fall.

 

Needing two of these new 500 units is the same approach Nikon and Canon do on their high end bodies that don't have a built in flash and thus don't have a built in TTL transmitter.  When I use to shoot with my Nikon D3s I had to have the 800 or 900 flash on the body to trigger another Nikon flash.  So pretty much needed two of them.  I recall there was an optional Tx device for the flash we could buy for the body versus using a flash, but it was costly alternative.  

 

The approach that Fuji is taking is the same.  So those coming from the high end pro bodies of Nikon and Canon understand why and have been through it.  That's just the way the camera's' that don't have a built in TTL transmitter do it.  Now .... it would be nice to see Fuji release a lower cost Tx device to put on the camera versus another 500 flash to keep the cost and size/weight down ... and maybe they will in time.   Here's hoping!

Agreed and understood in regard to 2 flash system however Nikon Canon bodies are bigger and balanced to

accomodate large flash units. There is imbalance with fuji x bodies and large fuji x flashes, yes?

 

Hopefully like you said, there will be something smaller and cheaper down the road as main flash wireless ttl controller

 

I just picked up a used fuji ef-42 flash, does any canon off camera cable work? eos?

will be using flash camera bracket, offset the flash and cable for now.

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Yes, my thought when I first saw the Fuji 500 flash on the XT2 was that the flash was too large and thus unbalanced.  My saving grace is I don't have a flash mounted too often on my camera body.  But when I do ... I expect it will be a bit awkward.  

 

I'm hoping the new iNissin model will be better than the current (more reliable and a bit more durable) than the current iNissan as well as a bit smaller and a bit cheaper than the new Fuji 500 to give us another option.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hello, Forum Virgin here,

 

I wonder if you can give me your opinions?  I have an x100T and Xpro2. I'm looking for an on camera flash for them. I was going with the i40 Nissin but I read on here about the poor build quality.  So what would you recommend? Thank you in anticipation.

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Hello, Forum Virgin here,

 

I wonder if you can give me your opinions?  I have an x100T and Xpro2. I'm looking for an on camera flash for them. I was going with the i40 Nissin but I read on here about the poor build quality.  So what would you recommend? Thank you in anticipation.

 

The Nissin i40 is still a great flash for the money. Compact with good, consistent color temperature. By all means, do buy one. It works great with the Fujifilm cameras.

 

If you need to buy one only and never look at flashes again, the new 500 is a good bet. However, it would not sit as nicely as the i40 even though it's a low center of gravity design like the i40. And the price....

Edited by Aswald
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What are they offering that Nissin i40 doesn't have?

 

Higher output, High Speed Sync, Wireless multi flash capabilities, dust and weather resistance and judging by their ef-x20 flash, better built quality.

Edited by Aswald
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Hello, Forum Virgin here,

 

I wonder if you can give me your opinions?  I have an x100T and Xpro2. I'm looking for an on camera flash for them. I was going with the i40 Nissin but I read on here about the poor build quality.  So what would you recommend? Thank you in anticipation.

 

The Nissin i40 sits well on the X100 series I have one and have no problems with build quality and no issues with TTL

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