is the Nissin Di866 flash for canon recommendable?

zerohamster

Ive been looking at external flashes for a few weeks now for creative purposes and for more power and flexibility then the inbuild flash on my 500D.
I am on a budget and I can buy it for just over half the price of the 580EX II, it has some great features and a better GN then the canon so for the price it seems like a bargain.
I was just wondering do any of you have this flash and is it reliable etc...

thanks

swingking

I use that flashes little brother as a secondary external flash to my 580ex and it's brillant.

I wouldn't dismiss the Nissin flashes one bit. I've seen some great results with mine

hbr

zerohamster wrote: »

I was just wondering do any of you have this flash and is it reliable etc...

thanks

I will watch this thread with great interest because I have been looking around for a suitable flash for my 500D too. The options in my price range are the Canon 270ex, the various models from YongNuo like the YN-467, YN-468 and possibly a Metz 48 AF-1 (around €200). One nice feature of the Metz is a USB port which can be used to update the firmware so that it should work with your new Canon 60D or whatever you buy next.

Before you buy a Nissin or Sigma, make sure it has up-to-date firmware which
has full support for auto-focus assist and TTL metering on the 500D and newer
models. I notice that a lot of adverts for Nissin flashes only mention older
Canon models like the 1000D, 450D, 40D etc... I see lots of reports of Sigma
flashes not working with the 500D, even though they work fine on the 450D.
I know this can be fixed with a firmware upgrade, but for most flashes, this
involves a trip back to the factory.

gman2k

zerohamster wrote: »

Ive been looking at external flashes for a few weeks now for creative purposes and for more power and flexibility then the inbuild flash on my 500D.
I am on a budget and I can buy it for just over half the price of the 580EX II, it has some great features and a better GN then the canon so for the price it seems like a bargain.
I was just wondering do any of you have this flash and is it reliable etc...

thanks

I'm in the exact same position as you, and the best price I can get for the Nissin is £180 and £315 for the Canon.
Reviews online say that the Nissin is just as good as the Canon, but the Canon is a much better made product.

gman2k

hbr wrote: »

I know this can be fixed with a firmware upgrade, but for most flashes, this
involves a trip back to the factory.

The Nissin's firmware is updateable via USB.

hbr

gman2k wrote: »

The Nissin's firmware is updateable via USB.

Thanks. I hadn't spotted that feature on the Di866. I can put it back on my list of candidates.

stcstc

ne thing to be aware of with the nissin flashes

they done use the centre pin for firing, so trying to use them with ebay triggers requires a modification to the flashgun

i have 2 of the 622 versions and they are great, got a few features missing compared to the 580 but i only use them as slaves and they are good for that

zerohamster

hbr wrote: »

I will watch this thread with great interest because I have been looking around for a suitable flash for my 500D too. The options in my price range are the Canon 270ex, the various models from YongNuo like the YN-467, YN-468 and possibly a Metz 48 AF-1 (around €200). One nice feature of the Metz is a USB port which can be used to update the firmware so that it should work with your new Canon 60D or whatever you buy next.

Before you buy a Nissin or Sigma, make sure it has up-to-date firmware which
has full support for auto-focus assist and TTL metering on the 500D and newer
models. I notice that a lot of adverts for Nissin flashes only mention older
Canon models like the 1000D, 450D, 40D etc... I see lots of reports of Sigma
flashes not working with the 500D, even though they work fine on the 450D.
I know this can be fixed with a firmware upgrade, but for most flashes, this
involves a trip back to the factory.

Thanks for the heads up
A month or two ago i was about to get the Sigma ef 530 dg (£109) but i heard about the problems with the older models that didnt support E-TTL II and would not work correctly with the 500D and i believe the 50D aswel so i steered clear but i since got some cash together and heard good things about the Nissin.

Thanks for the help

zerohamster

gman2k wrote: »

I'm in the exact same position as you, and the best price I can get for the Nissin is £180 and £315 for the Canon.
Reviews online say that the Nissin is just as good as the Canon, but the Canon is a much better made product.

Thats great news, where did you see the Nissin for £180? cheapest i saw it was on amazon for £196+postage so it would be great to save that extra cash as im on budget
Thats great news about the USB firmware update aswell as i was slightly weary of the flash being fully compatible with E-TTL II.

thanks

smokie2008

Anyone any advice on buying a yonguno YN-468 Flash for a 450d??

I'm new to photography and need a flash and was thinking about getting this one.

OP did you end up getting one of these or what did you get?