I had the opportunity to test the new Nissin Di866 flash which if you didn’t know what it was you would think is a Nikon SB900. It has a very similar look and size to Nikon’s top flash. Nissin is a company from Japan that makes aftermarket flashes for many manufacturers. The Di866 can be found for Nikon or Canon utilizing their proprietary TTL systems. For an aftermarket flash that is a good feature to have.
At my first glance of the flash it looked pretty neat. It had a good range, good swivel and even a modeling light just like the Nikon SB800. There is a full color LCD on the back of the flash which may not be that great for batteries but a cool feature of the LCD display is if you have the flash mounted sideways the LCD will turn so it is always right side up. This can be disabled to help save batteries as well.
Now for the uh oh…
During my first testing I changed the default setting from TTL to Manual and the entire flash froze. I could not change settings, test fire or even turn the flash off. I had to pull the batteries.
I took the Nissin flash to the live shoot I had recently, put a Honl Snoot on it and even at a low power setting the flash still took a long time to recharge causing a few under exposed shots. After happening way too many times I switched to my Nikon SB900 and went on with the day.
That is a big fail for Nissin. Sorry, but your flash needs some speed to keep up with a photographer.
Check out this small video I made using the Flip camera. Please don’t mind the blurry as it doesn’t focus well close up.
Note to self: I need a video camera
Thanks for reading and happy shooting,
Scott
Hi Scott,I really wanted to buy this flash especially considering it's superior power (and price). Your comments however, stopped me from doing so.I was wondering if you have some more info about the flash since you have had it for while now.I am using a sb-900, sb-600 and sb-80-dx. I would love to trade in my two sb-600 for one of those. I need a flash with PC connections and more power. Would that be a smart choice in your opinion?Thanks,Motti
In my opinion I would try and find another SB-800 instead of the Nissin. However I was informed my Nissin that they are looking into the problem and it could be a firmware fix.
In my opinion I would try and find another SB-800 instead of the Nissin. However I was informed my Nissin that they are looking into the problem and it could be a firmware fix.
Same problems: the flash still took a long time to recharge; the entire flash froze up several times. I could not change settings, test fire or even turn the flash off. I had to pull the batteries. checking for software updates and downloading them hasn’t worked for me. i haven’t been successful in finding out how to reset the flash back to its default settings. The LCD display went black and I couldn’t read the settings.
Too much to try to “figure” out.