nissin i60a £240/$340

Small but mighty, this diminutive Nissin goes a lot further than most compact flashguns

The vast majority of compact flashguns are lightweights in terms of features and onboard controls. This one bucks the trend, packing the same punch as its larger DI700A sibling, with a Gn 60 power rating, driven from four AA batteries. It beats the larger DI700A for onboard controls, with far-reaching adjustments available from an elegant interface and colour display.

Yet more ‘big’ features include a 24-200mm zoom head that’s motorized rather than requiring manual adjustment, full 180º swivel in both left and right directions, and a neat range of supplied accessories including a pouch, stand and diffusion dome. A unique feature in this group is a secondary, constant LED light for video capture.

Further similarities with the Nissin DI700A include both infrared and RF wireless slave triggering. However, this time the ‘Air 1 Commander’ RF transmitter is sold separately, instead of being supplied as part of the kit. Even so, the transmitter is great value at around £50/$80, especially compared with Canon’s somewhat similar Speedlite Transmitter ST-E3-RT, which costs about £240/$290.

performance

The maximum power output through the zoom range matches that of the DI700A, stride for stride, which is particularly impressive for such a small flashgun. We suffered a similar issue of constant underexposure during TTL flash firing, but of a lower order equating to about one-third of a stop. Recycling speed after a full power flash is also more than a second slower when using NIMH batteries. Even so, it’s a small flashgun that goes large on power and versatility.