AmazonBasics Electronic Flash for DSLR Cameras (Canon, Nikon)

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This is a fantastic product. My present Camera is Pentax K-3ii. This one comes without built-in flash and I wanted to buy an external flash for occasional use. The good thing is it is about 1/3rd the cost of lowest costing Pentax I saw on Amazon. The only thing which I didnt like is the lid/cap of the battery compartment, rest is good and it will last at least 2 summers. Check out this flash in action on youtube. Just search for this model number on youtube!

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This product is dangerous. I have another speedlight and it has never done what this Amazon Basics speedlight has done. It overheats to the point of no longer working, and when I removed the batteries last night at a photoshoot during a church recital, I had to let them drop on the floor. They were so hot. Id like to return it for a refund, but since I dont do flash photography as often as I do natural light photography, I did not discover that it was faulty in time for return. I will never buy an Amazon Basics speedlight again, and will think twice about future Amazon Basics purchases. I will say that although I waited past the time to return the faulty speedlight, Amazon gave me a full refund anyway.

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Keeping in mind the price of this speedlight its pretty good. If I could have only one speedlight would this be the one? Well no, but I bought this for a specific purpose. I needed a cheap speedlight to trigger other units and for basic fill and I needed it fast. This unit works fine and was really cheap. The biggest draw back is this light is not zoomable but works good with a diffuser or a snoot. This unit only works in manual or slave mode which is fine since those are really the only modes I needed. I rarely shoot with TTL on my speedlights and would use a different light if I needed to. In another review I saw the reviewer claim the light temperature was off with and did not mix well with other speedlights. I did not find this to be the case. I used this for fill with two other speedlights for some quick portraits at an event I shot last weekend and the light temp and color mixed well with my other speedlights. Maybe there are constancy issues with the power and temp of these lights but I did not find a problem. If you need a simple speedlight on the cheap this might be the unit for you. It worked fine for me and Ill be using it in the future when I need a third light.

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How does this compare with a Canon Speedlite 550 EX II? First, let me tell you, this flash is NOT meant to replace any of your Canon Speedlites. In comparison, after some testing in a controlled environment in my photography studio, this flash is 1.8 stops darker at 50mm and 650 Kelvin cooler than the Canon counterpart. With that said, it is best NOT to use this flash in combination with other brands if you want a consistent white balance. The almost 2 f-stops lack of brightness makes this flash pretty useless for outdoor portraits, but at this price you can buy 4 and get the equivalent output of a Canon Speedlite (if thats your thing). PROS: * Price * Ease of use * Did I mention price? CONS: * Almost 2 f-stops darker than Canon * Slightly cooler color temperature * Cheap plastic feel I personally bought this flash to use on a stand and remotely trigger it at 1/2 power using a Yongnuo during events such as fashion shows. Per the users guide, I can probably take 200 pictures in one hour before the flash overheats. Why didnt I mention TTL? Because in my experience TTL is pretty inconsistent when using off-camera flash, so I dont use it. I do use TTL with on-camera flash though, but thats a different story for a different flash.

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I thought this would be a good quality product based on the reviews, but it’s not. I just revived mine last week and I’ve already had to replace the batteries three times. The batteries only last one session. I take a couple photos with my camera each day, and the batteries only last me a couple photos. I’m able to continue using the device as long as I don’t turn it off. The batteries don’t quit working when in use. However, when I turn the device back on after an hour or so of rest, the lights work but the flash will not even test. It’s so wasteful to keep putting in new batteries every time I need use this device. Am I doing something wrong? I’ve read the manual... amazon already replaced my device and here I am again having the SAME problem.

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We would say that this flash makes for a great backup for a lot of cameras. It doesnt replace your more expensive options, but it does give you something that is definitely better than nothing. It gives you a result that is better than using the cameras built-in flash. However, it doesnt respond to all cameras listed under the named brands. We can also confirm that it will not work with Panasonic (at least the models we have tested it against, which are all modern within the last two years). What it does do well with is acting as a slave to a master flash. If you are already using a flash on your camera and want to use this to light the back of the individual or whatever else you are shooting, it does a good job. There were a couple times where it didnt go off, but it was just a couple within many, and you will notice it immediately and be ready to take another shot to get it right. Build quality is decent and quite comparable to other options out there.

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Ive had quite a variety of digital cameras over the years but recently bought the first one that supported an external flash. After having the camera for a few days I decided I would try this flash as it was a decent value and had decent reviews. Now, I am by no means a photographer. I have worked with digital cameras since some of the very early consumer grade cameras became available (think 320x240 resolution - LOL) but I do not claim to fully understand all of the photography jargon or most of the settings on my camera. This unit attached to my camera easily. I slide on firm but that may loosen up a bit after I use it more. As a "techie" I generally ignore the manuals and this was no exception. The device is simply to use and simple to adjust. My first picture turned into a total white-out because the flash is THAT BRIGHT. By adjusting the intensity a bit and flipping the flash so it was at a 45degree angle, my next picture and all of the ones since have turned out very well. Tonight I took my camera outside and took some pictures zoomed into a tree about 15-20 ft away and at an angle. It was after dark and I purposely turned all other exterior lights off just to see how the flash performed. Without any problem I can see the details in the leaves on the tree like I was standing over a leaf in broad daylight. I would certainly recommend this flash for anyone who like me is just getting started with this level of photography.

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I bought 2 of these flashes. They are OK for the money. Its nice that you can shoot with them and not care much if it breaks or is abused because its so cheap, yet seems to be ruggedly made. It would be nicer if you could give more control to the flash output power instead of having to move it in full stops, but I am not docking stars for that. What I did not like is that you need to be in a pretty dark room for the slave function to work properly. On an overcast day, inside and facing a window, the ambient light prevents the slave from triggering. I have a better flash that I use for my primary light; the only reason I would use these would be as slaves. I will try to fix this by taping a neutral density gel over the light sensor. Still, that is more work and hassle when youre thinking about a million other things trying to get a nice image, thus, 3 stars.

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I have a Nikon D3400 and this flash is a wonderful addition to my photography learning process! I have a small budget so the price is amazing! It works fine for my level of knowledge. I dont have any advanced lighting needs so the lack of TTL is not an issue for me. I can adjust the amount of light on the unit itself and for now that works fine. The pivot of the top is excellent, can go almost anywhere I want to have the flash or bounce the light. The batteries last through several hundred photos. I use Amazon Basics rechargeable batteries. I have tried the off camera flash, but so far it only syncs up fast enough about 1/3 of the time. When it flashes at the right time it is awesome, and Im sure its a matter of more experimentation to get it right. I might not have the settings on the camera shutter speed or flash right yet to get it to fire off every time. I have watched a few videos that do say that off camera infrared flash simply isnt that reliable so Im not convinced its a problem with this inexpensive flash.

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Not bad! Bright enough for any of my needs! Really saved me taking photos for a low light event. Love this thing. I was having connectivity issues trying to use it with a t5i. Not as many issues with my 6d. It can be temperamental sometimes. Sometimes it works great, sometimes it doesn’t trigger. It doesn’t process in tandem with my camera so I always have to shoot manual when using this flash, which I do anyway, so definitely worth the money (as long as you know what you’re getting into separately manually controlling flash level and camera brightness). One thing I noticed is that since the camera and flash don’t really speak together, they don’t sync very well for anything faster than 1/200. I’ll get images that two thirds of it have flash and the last third of it is dark. Update: I’ve had it for a while now. Though the light it emits itself is great, that’s the only good thing about it. I keep having more connectivity issues with my camera not triggering the flash. Literally 50% of my attempts don’t trigger the flash. Especially if I’m shooting in portrait. The fact that it does not speak to my camera was fine at first, but now I’m sick of manually adjusting every time. I want to be able to just enter shutter priority mode and have a blast. I found a 430ex on eBay for $40. I recommend you do the same or something similar.

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