I have a Sony A7RII and I'm looking for a good on-camera flash. I'm completely new to flash photography however I plan on taking indoor/outdoor shots of kids, family shots, portraits, etc.
The Nissin Di700A has received great reviews at $260. Any other suggestions, caveats, etc.?
I have the Nissin Di700A and the Air1 Commander and I would say it works pretty well. Quality looks to be better than the much cheaper Yongnuo flashes I used with my Canon. TTL and HSS works well with the A7RII too.
The Nissin i40 is a nice option. I use this one on the Fujifilm. For my Sony a7rII I use the Cactus rf60 and Cactus v6. These are not TTL but manual. Think the Nissin is a good pick ;-)
I use the Meike MK320 on an A7 II. It supports TTL and is pretty good and flexible. Its size and power work well with the A7.
It can bounce and I think swivel and comes with its own diffuser. Exposure is accurate for electronic lenses where it can read the aperture, but poor for old manual adapted glass.
It is certainly great value for money.
If you are looking for on-camera only, I would recommend a used Sony 43m. Reason being, you get ADI support. ADI is the best on-camera flash you can get. The problem? On camera is almost always worse than off camera.
Big Cheese wrote:
I use the Meike MK320 on an A7 II. It supports TTL and is pretty good and flexible. Its size and power work well with the A7.
It can bounce and I think swivel and comes with its own diffuser. Exposure is accurate for electronic lenses where it can read the aperture, but poor for old manual adapted glass.
It is certainly great value for money.
I haven't used Meike with Sony but I use it with m4/3 and completely agree with you. Other than Wireless TTL, it has pretty much everything at a price that is hard to beat.
p.1 #10 · Sony A7RII - Flash Recommendation Please
The Sony F43 is the obvious choice. Offers TTL HSS and swivels for horizontal / vertical orientation. Will also wirelessly trigger other Sony units or can be used wirelessly as off-camera slave when triggered by any appropriate master flash, including the lowly and cheap F20. The F43 is ergonomically more manageable than the F60 and, unlike the F36, can be used as a wireless monitor. It's the optimal bet of the three larger Sony flashguns. I can't see why one would choose any other brand for use on the A7R II.
p.1 #12 · Sony A7RII - Flash Recommendation Please
waterden wrote:
The Sony F43 is the obvious choice. Offers TTL HSS and swivels for horizontal / vertical orientation. Will also wirelessly trigger other Sony units or can be used wirelessly as off-camera slave when triggered by any appropriate master flash, including the lowly and cheap F20. The F43 is ergonomically more manageable than the F60 and, unlike the F36, can be used as a wireless monitor. It's the optimal bet of the three larger Sony flashguns. I can't see why one would choose any other brand for use on the A7R II.
For whatever reasons, Sony still uses a dated, optical triggering rather than radio for their flashes. The range is more limited and more importantly, it is less effective for flashes not in direct sight and/or for outdoors during the day. And, yes, people do the later to get a certain look.
p.1 #13 · Sony A7RII - Flash Recommendation Please
This wouldn't matter for on-camera, would it?
AGeoJO wrote:
For whatever reasons, Sony still uses a dated, optical triggering rather than radio for their flashes. The range is more limited and more importantly, it is less effective for flashes not in direct sight and/or for outdoors during the day. And, yes, people do the later to get a certain look.
p.1 #14 · Sony A7RII - Flash Recommendation Please
TheEmrys wrote:
This wouldn't matter for on-camera, would it?
It doesn't matter a bit for on camera flash. After awhile people though may want to expand and get more than just a single flash for more lighting flexibility. One on camera to trigger and the other(s) to provide more interesting lighting rather than just frontal (even when the head is tilted) and that's when the shortcoming becomes more apparent. Don't get me wrong, it still works indoors, most of the time, at least but you can almost forget about that outdoors.
p.1 #15 · Sony A7RII - Flash Recommendation Please
I beg to disagree about this not working outdoors, I do outdoors model shoots using either the F20 or F43 to trigger off-camera F43, Minolta 5600 / 3600 without issue.
AGeoJO wrote:
It doesn't matter a bit for on camera flash. After awhile people though may want to expand and get more than just a single flash for more lighting flexibility. One on camera to trigger and the other(s) to provide more interesting lighting rather than just frontal (even when the head is tilted) and that's when the shortcoming becomes more apparent. Don't get me wrong, it still works indoors, most of the time, at least but you can almost forget about that outdoors.
p.1 #16 · Sony A7RII - Flash Recommendation Please
waterden wrote:
I beg to disagree about this not working outdoors, I do outdoors model shoots using either the F20 or F43 to trigger off-camera F43, Minolta 5600 / 3600 without issue.
That's great, your mileage varies than mine then. Like you, we can only "report" what we experienced first hand and that has not been the case for me, at least not on a consistent basis.
p.1 #18 · Sony A7RII - Flash Recommendation Please
I have the Nissin Di700a with air commander - nice setup and pretty affordable. Supposedly the only downside is that you can't trigger an off camera unit from an on camera one, which you can do with two Sony flashes. I only have the one unit, though, so I haven't tried it.
p.1 #19 · Sony A7RII - Flash Recommendation Please
ajamils wrote:
I haven't used Meike with Sony but I use it with m4/3 and completely agree with you. Other than Wireless TTL, it has pretty much everything at a price that is hard to beat.
I tried the Meike 300 recently - two models from two different shops and neither would work other than intermittently (like once in 10 shots) on both my A7r and A7. Returned. Pity because I have a Meike Mk910 for the Nikon which is excellent.
p.1 #20 · Sony A7RII - Flash Recommendation Please
Another vote for the Nissin i40. The output to size ratio is awesome. Of course the size is sweet. We were in Costa Rica last month and I used it extensively on the A7Rii and have only positives to say about it.
I did 'diffuse' it with packing material found wrapped around DVRs and the like.
I'm currently trying to find a way to remotely fire it, maybe with the HVL 20 ??
