Performance

In our tests the maximum power output didn’t live up to its Gn 54 claims, but equalled that of the Nikon SB-700. The recycling time is 5.5 seconds. TTL flash exposure accuracy is good, with a touch of underexposure.

The only real weak point is that the dual ‘wireless slave’ modes lack TTL flash metering and are merely based on a lightsensitive cell. The first mode doesn’t work with a pop-up flash or other flashguns as it’s triggered from the first pre-flash pulse and so fires before the exposure. The second ignores pre-flashes but needs a much stronger main flash to trigger it. The Di700 is Nissin’s newest addition to its popular range of flashguns. It looks a little basic around the back, with a matte black panel covering most of the rear section, but this is actually a colour screen that reveals a very intuitive interface. The maximum power rating of Gn 48 doesn’t look massive, but in our tests the Di700 delivered more clout than most of the other flashguns, including the two higher-rated Nissins.

There are no fewer than three slave modes. Sd (Slave digital) is for triggering from flashguns that emit pre-flash pulses, Sf (Slave film) is more suitable for use with studio flash heads and flashguns without pre-flash pulses, and Wireless slave links to all channels in either group A, B or C, when using a Nikon wireless flash setup. The only catch is that there’s no wireless master facility. There’s also no strobe flash function, but HSS mode is supported.

Like the pricier Nissin flashes, this has an input socket for an optional external power pack, but a different-shaped internal battery caddy.

Performance

Recycling from a full-power flash takes 4.1 seconds, which is slightly quicker than the other Nissin flashguns. Overall performance is good but TTL flash suffers from a little underexposure, and light coverage across the whole frame isn’t massively even.