Nissin Di866 for Canon, Pros and Cons?

[AndrewOMBP]

Hey Guys,

I've been reading up a bit about the Nissin Di866 and I'm seriously considering it instead of forking out double for a 580EX II.

I want to know a few things though and I hope some of you can help me out here.

1. Can is do multi strobe?
2. Any idea what is it's bulb life?
3. What would your reason be, if any, to choose a 580EX II over the Nissin Di866?

If it helps, my intentions of getting this particular flash is for the following reasons:
- Multi Strobe photography
- Continuous Flash
- Master and Slave Function
- Other regular flash usage (like bounce, etc)

I currently own a 450D btw, with intentions of upgrading to 7D or the newer 50D replacement some time soon hopefully.

 

[Dhoy2x]

Hey Guys,

I've been reading up a bit about the Nissin Di866 and I'm seriously considering it instead of forking out double for a 580EX II.

I want to know a few things though and I hope some of you can help me out here.

1. Can is do multi strobe?
2. Any idea what is it's bulb life?
3. What would your reason be, if any, to choose a 580EX II over the Nissin Di866?

If it helps, my intentions of getting this particular flash is for the following reasons:
- Multi Strobe photography
- Continuous Flash
- Master and Slave Function
- Other regular flash usage (like bounce, etc)

I currently own a 450D btw, with intentions of upgrading to 7D or the newer 50D replacement some time soon hopefully.

Hi,

Been using Nissin Di866 for almost a year now and it is working perfectly fine for me. I'm using it on and off-camera flash. I have Canon 500D and it is just worth my money.
Though i havent tried using this flash as a master/slave on TTL, but it works perfectly fine for off-camera trigger using external radio triggers.

just my 2 cents Bro..

rgds

 

[denniskee]

issue with using 3rd party stuff is compatibility for future product.

few weeks back, i test 1 3rd party flash (probably 1yr old model) on 2pcs of 550d and it cant fire. but when used on 40d it can fire.

some old sigma EF mount lens are known to be unable to use with canon's dslr (any model newer than the old d60) unless u send in back for re-chipping.

i m not saying Di866 will have similar problem, but just so that TS is aware of such problem.

 

[Shahrie]

I have on and off good experience with Di866. Its definitely a powerful flash. Good TTL on flash. 90% accurate.

But compatibility issues come in after this. My Di866 doesn't work with my 3rd party TTL cord anymore. It mean that it worked before but not now. The cord works well with my bro 580EX II. I just don't understand why.

I gonna trade this flash for 580EX or EX II in future. IMO, its a better investment talking about reliability.

 

[AndrewOMBP]

Thanks guys.

Seems like the bigger concern isn't performance, but compatibility and future proofing, guess that's good enough a reason for me to consider saving up for the real deal.

Cheers!

 

[Trickster]

Love the flash, though a little noisy compare to my canon flash. No problems at all on my 7D and 350D, both on and off camera! A little more than the price of the 580EX2 you can get 2 nissins for some strobist work!

 

[kenny888]

Ya, the drawback i heard of it the zoom head sound thats all. other than that, nissin 866 works wonders!

 

[bblurrr]

Ya, the drawback i heard of it the zoom head sound thats all. other than that, nissin 866 works wonders!

bought it recently as a backup to my 580EXII. in general OK only issue i have is recycle is not as fast as the 580EX II

 

[justinwoon]

Been using it with my 7D on and off camera, triggered with a radio transmitter, and they work perfectly together. =D

 

[KY1977]

Di866's 'firmware' can be upgraded right? So it should be quite future proof.

 

[sougen]

Di866's 'firmware' can be upgraded right? So it should be quite future proof.

Tired of your flash no longer working whenever a new camera comes onto the market ? A firmware upgrade service is available for the Di866 professional, which provides a service terminal to upload the latest software. A charge for the firmware update service will apply, varying depending on the area. Please check at your local dealer for details about the update service.

Source

 

[kenny888]

Hmm okie, tks for the info. Tsk tsk. Toking about recycle rate.. hmm lately i do get frustrated when my flash doesnt recycle fast enough haha!

bought it recently as a backup to my 580EXII. in general OK only issue i have is recycle is not as fast as the 580EX II

 

[akszaksz]

using it on my 500D, so far so good =)

 

[paul k]

Thought I'd piggyback on this thread instead of starting my own.

Bit the bullet and bought a 866 last night. Based on what I've read about it on the web, can anyone help me with:

1. Subflash should be able to go down to 1/32, but mine only seems to be able to go down to the old 1/8, even after trying to upgrade the firmware.
2. Flash seems rather noisy, some people have reported that theirs is noisy too, but others have said theirs are very quiet.

Thanks for any help!

[EDIT] Called Schmidt up and the rep said it should go down to 1/32 according to the manual (manuals on mini CDs are useless when you only have a slot loading DVD drive lol). Will bring the flash down to the service centre and have it checked out.

 

[skylover]

Hey Guys,

I've been reading up a bit about the Nissin Di866 and I'm seriously considering it instead of forking out double for a 580EX II.

I want to know a few things though and I hope some of you can help me out here.

1. Can is do multi strobe?
2. Any idea what is it's bulb life?
3. What would your reason be, if any, to choose a 580EX II over the Nissin Di866?

If it helps, my intentions of getting this particular flash is for the following reasons:
- Multi Strobe photography
- Continuous Flash
- Master and Slave Function
- Other regular flash usage (like bounce, etc)

I currently own a 450D btw, with intentions of upgrading to 7D or the newer 50D replacement some time soon hopefully.

For the benefit of those thinking or planning to get DI866.

I have got a link with quite a good review pertaining to DI866.
Its benefit more of Nikon and Canon user btw.
http://dpanswers.com/content/rev_nissin_di866.php

 

[SamTac]

Thought I'd piggyback on this thread instead of starting my own.

Bit the bullet and bought a 866 last night. Based on what I've read about it on the web, can anyone help me with:

1. Subflash should be able to go down to 1/32, but mine only seems to be able to go down to the old 1/8, even after trying to upgrade the firmware.
2. Flash seems rather noisy, some people have reported that theirs is noisy too, but others have said theirs are very quiet.

Thanks for any help!

[EDIT] Called Schmidt up and the rep said it should go down to 1/32 according to the manual (manuals on mini CDs are useless when you only have a slot loading DVD drive lol). Will bring the flash down to the service centre and have it checked out.

As for the mini cd, just put it on the center of your DVD drive & it will work as per normal.

 

[paul k]

As for the mini cd, just put it on the center of your DVD drive & it will work as per normal.

Yes I know how it works, but slot loading means you just slide the CD or DVD in from the side, there is no tray.