Nissin Di866 Mark II VS Nikon SB700

[cameracrack]

<p>Hi<br>

I was at the PDN PhotoPlus Expo yesterday in NYC. I am just starting out with lighting and I have been looking to buy my first lighting equipment without breaking the bank. I stumbled on the Nissin booth. They demo'd the Nissin Di866 Mark II and I was wow'd! I really like the ease of use.<br>

<br />I already own a Sigma Super DG610 and I was going to buy the Nikon SB700 until I saw the Nissin. So I am just wondering what your opinions are.</p>

[frank_skomial]

<p>Not knowing for what camera ? and how you intend to use multiple flashes, is hard to help you.</p>

<p>If by any chance you have a Nikon CLS compatible camera, then the SB700 would be the best from your selection, and not breaking the bank.</p>

<p>You will need one flash that is truly Nikon CLS, or else, you will wonder what you are missing in the 3rd party flashes, that usually implement some limited set of features.</p>

[wmervine]

<p>Having owned the baby brother, the 622 mk.2, I'm quite impressed with the Nissins. What they give you is a simpler interface and more power compared to the Nikons. Based on the reivew at speedlights.net the 866 works failry well in CLS mode. Had no issues controlling the 622 from my D300 in CLS. Unless you are looking to use some of the advanced features like HSS the Nissin will give you more bang for the buck.<br>

I feel for general strobing use it's the better deal.</p>

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>I have the Nissin Di866 MkI. It works superbly with my D700, full CLS operation included, as well as offering Auto FP high-speed synch. You also get other features like Aperture-auto mode not offered by current Nikon speedlights and the Nissin is considerably more powerful than the SB-700.</p>

<p>The Di866 offers manual adjustment down to 1/128th power in 1/3rd stop steps, as opposed to only 1/64th for the SB-700. It also has a little sub-flash built in. Recycling time for the Di866 varies between 4 to 6 seconds for full output, depending on the state of charge of the batteries used. Nissin's 866 and 622 models also take interchangeable battery-holders for quick swapping of batteries.</p>

<p>The Nissin user interface is a lot less cluttered and intimidating than Nikon's, but it does take a bit of getting used to since all the menu options take a few button presses to get at. Still, all the settings are kept exactly as you left them during power down and there's a useful "favourite" settings menu option. The design of the Nissin looks good and I would rate its build quality as very good, but it still doesn't feel quite as solid as Nikon's or Canon's. Then again the Di866 does practically everything that you get from an SB-900 at under 2/3rds the price.</p>

<p>So basically the only thing I'd want to change in the Di866 is the user interface. I'd like to see a few more buttons and less menu-mining, but maybe that's just me?</p>

[frank_skomial]

<p>Since Nissin Di866 has USB port for upgrades, there is a chance that they will fix some issues.<br>

Besides CLS reliability, and general product reliability problems reported, there are other gripes from variuos web reviews, like one below:</p>

<ul>

<li><em>Auto FP is not working in the green A mode, in the brown M and Av modes, nor in any AWL mode.</em></li>

<li><em>When Auto FP is not working, there is no restrictions on what shutter speeds are available.</em></li>

<li><em>FV lock does not work when the flash is used as a remote in AWL mode.</em></li>

<li><em>There seems to be no way to turn group A off (<tt>---</tt>) when using it as an AWL master.</em></li>

<li><em>It does not pick up ISO and aperture from the body in Av and M mode.</em></li>

<li><em>The set ISO and aperture is not shown in the standard display in TTL mode.</em></li>

<li><em>The sub-flash in the Nikon version only goes down to 1/8 power, not 1/32 power as it does in the Canon version.</em></li>

</ul>

<p>See if any of the gripes would affect your shooting. Search web for more as there is plenty. Hopefully fixed by now with the newest firmware upgrade ?</p>

 

[cameracrack]

<p>I'd be using it with my Nikon D7000. I'm still kind of stuck in this decision. But I'm glad to see some good reviews from people who own Nissin flashes. I want a lighting set up for portraits. A B&H rep suggested that I get a speedlight set up to start with.<br>

If I could afford any flash I would buy the Nikon SB900 but it's not an option since I need to buy other gear as well.</p>

[wmervine]

<p>I don't know about the other issues, but have read the Mark 2 version fixes the sub flash issue. And at least you don't have to send the unit in for firmware updates.</p>

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>Frank, most of those "issues" seem more like pointless whinging or user misunderstanding to me.<br>

For example: Why would the flash need ISO or aperture information in manual mode? How could that possibly affect the power selected by the user? Also the ISO and aperture is set on the <em>camera</em> in TTL mode, and that's where it's displayed. The flash TTL display shows flash-relevant information only - like any compensation factor applied. In any case TTL flash is supposed to be an automatic idiot-proof mode. So why would the average idiot want to read ISO and Aperture information from the flash display?</p>

<p>The sub flash only goes down to 1/8th power. Well, boo-hoo - at least it has a sub flash! Unlike any of Nikon's current speedlight offerings.</p>

<p>The fact that Auto FP isn't available in Manual mode is perfectly understandable, since the FP guide-number depends on the shutter speed chosen. <strong>Hello</strong>, it's MANUAL mode - you're supposed to choose the output power yourself, based on a test exposure.</p>

<p>"<em>When Auto FP is not working, there is no restrictions on what shutter speeds are available."</em> - Is this a complaint or praise? Actually, the camera shutter speed <em>is</em> restricted whenever a non-FP compatible flash is detected on the camera. If the flash is not FP compatible then the camera won't go any higher than it's maximum X-sych speed. If the flash is FP compatible (which the Di866 is) then the camera allows any speed to be set.</p>

<p>"<em>There seems to be no way to turn group A off (<tt>---</tt>) when using it as an AWL master." -</em> No, there isn't, but exactly what would be the point of turning off ALL groups from the master? What would there be left to control?</p>

<p>The fact remains that the Di866 is arguably the most powerful CLS compatible flash you can currently buy, and represents excellent value for money.</p>