kb6kgx Loc: Simi Valley, CA

Anyone with current impressions of or comments on any of the following: Promaster, Nissin, Yongnuo, or others?

Looking for a Speedlight for my D7100. Presently have an older Sunpak 555, however I am looking for something that will work automatically with the camera with a zoom lens (once I get one of those). Right now, with a prime, the auto functions are not an issue, but when I add a zoom, they will be.

My local camera shop sells Promaster. Prices are halfway between Nikon and Yongnuo. The shop used to sell Nissin, but no longer do. I put my hands on a Promaster this afternoon, and they feel solidly built.

I don’t really care about off-camera flash or wireless capabilities. What I’m looking for is something that will do what I can do with my Sunpak, but with less “futzing”. Something similar in GN to the Sunpak, without having to buy the Nikon. Basically, I need something that will light something up that’s up to 150’ away, maybe more.

Any recommendations or comments, positive or negative. Do any of you use these “3rd party” flashes and, if so, are you happy with your choice or do you wish you’d gone with the “name” brand?

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

I shoot Canon, but, I have a Yongnuo yn600ex that works great, at least everything I have learned to do so far works. It is basically a clone of the Canon 600 ex-rt. I have even found that articles on using the 600 ex-rt apply almost exactly to the yn600ex.
They also make Nikon compatible versions of their flashes.

kb6kgx Loc: Simi Valley, CA

Thank you. It might help to put my hands on one, but none of my local shops sell Yongnuo. Some have the Nissin, which are priced similar to the Promaster.

I supposed I’d like to know that buying a 3rd party unit that is a third the price of the brand name won’t be a mistake. That I won’t be sacrificing build quality and performance for price.

I don’t care what name is on the unit, just that it does what I want it to do, won’t be a piece of s**t that will fall apart and need to be replaced within a year, and that I won’t be sorry I didn’t shell out three times as much for the name brand.

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

Solidly built doesn't always mean much. I once purchased a Canon 600 ex-rt unit from a reputable eBay store and although it is solidly built and boxed correctly and had the correct manual and warranty card, and appeared to work just fine, turned out to be a fake. I found out when I went to set up custom functions and what appeared on the screen and what was in the manual we two entirely different things.

I've personally had very good luck with Yongnuo units. They're easy to use, well made and quite powerful. My only complaint is you can't plug an external power pack into the units I have so you need to have fresh AA batteries available just in case.

I also have a couple Pixel units, made in China like Yongnuo. They're well made, full feature units that get the job done and cost a little less than Yongnuo.

kb6kgx Loc: Simi Valley, CA

Thanks. I don’t care about external power, when I use it, it won’t be for hours at a time. Don’t mind carrying a few sets of AAs.

Old Timer Loc: Greenfield, In.

I have two of the Yongnuo lights and they work good for me. I have a Canon 430 ex but over all I can not tell the difference. The 430 will not work with My cameras that fire the flashes and Yongnuos will. I would recommend using the the Panasonic Eneloop rechargeable batteries as they last a long time. Using alkaline batteries for me was a waste of time, they took to long to cycle and did last but a few shots.I have read some complaints but over all I can have thee of the for price of 580 exll.

martinfisherphoto Loc: Lake Placid Florida

yongnuo flashes work great, but you will need to add a Better Beamer to get the distances you are talking about. Great for birding..http://www.adorama.com/FAFX4.html?hotlink=t&svfor=5m&gclid=CJOexrbW4MsCFUFehgodtLkGdQ

rborud Loc: Minnesota

kb6kgx
I use several kinds of flash for my work, Nikon included. However an inexpensive unit I have has proven to work as well as any, an I use it often is the 750II Neewer I got at Amazon. It zooms and works automatically with any of my Nikon bodies.
RBorud

Carl D Loc: Albemarle, NC.

My camera shop sold e a Promaster which is a solidly built flash, but I found the Neewer with LiON battery to be equally as good as Canon or Promaster and even less money. I now have 4 of them. Love the fact that you just have to recharge 1 battery not 4.

Orca Loc: Little Egg Harbor, NJ USA

I have a Metz 44 AF-1. This is a TTL flash and works extremely well. Less then most camera mfg. flashes but IMO just as good.

kb6kgx Loc: Simi Valley, CA

My ONLY reason for needing “power” is that I used to do, and would like to do again, shooting of “newsworthy” events, many of which occurred at night, and, for safety reasons may not be able to get right up to something and would have to shoot from a distance. Nothing worse than your subject being 150 feet away and your light drops off at 40 feet.

kb6kgx Loc: Simi Valley, CA

Just looked it up on the Neewer site. It seems amazing that a flash with a GN of 58 (equivalent to the higher-end units costing 3-4x that much) can be had for just over $50. I’m just a little hesitant going with a brand I’ve never heard of that I haven’t been able to touch and feel in the store first.

kb6kgx Loc: Simi Valley, CA

How does the 750II compare to the 860, which is three times as much? Other than the 750II takes only 4 AA batteries while the 860 takes a single Lithium-Ion battery, both are GN of 58, and I can’t see any other major differences. Recycle time is about half as long with the 860, but that’s not a must-have feature.

kb6kgx Loc: Simi Valley, CA

Same question to you as I posted to rborud above.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Haven't used their flashes but my Neewer battery grip for my Canon 6D has been working fine for over 2 years.

A lot of these third party items are made in China. And due to their rather loose patent laws they are basically just clones of brand names, maybe simplified or made with different materials. They make a very slight change, often cosmetic and crank them out. The Chinese government just collects their share and smiles. then too many large companies in China are owned or partly owned by gvt agencies, like the Army.