Fast wireless 600RT flashgun kit on test
£280/$TBC All the power at half the price with Hähnel’s new flash
The Modus 600RT is built to rival top-end flashguns from camera makers, but at a much lower
price. You can buy it on its own, as the ‘Wireless Kit’ reviewed here, which includes the Viper RF transmitter; or as a ‘Pro Kit’ (£450/$585), which adds an extra 600RT flashgun for versatile dual-flash lighting setups.
The 600RT’s RF transceiver enables it to work in wireless RF master/slave modes, and the addition of the Viper hot shoe mounted trigger enables you to use the flashgun off-camera.
Power comes from a rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack, instead of AA batteries. This gives up to 550 full-power flashes between recharging, and a fast recycling time of just 1.5 seconds at full power.
Build & handling
The 600RT has a motorised zoom head with a 20-200mm range, a flip-down 14mm wide-angle diffuser and a pull-out bounce/ catch light card. It has a power rating of Gn 60 at the 200mm zoom setting, and a complement of advanced flash modes, including high-speed sync, rear curtain and programmable strobe (multi-flash during a single exposure).
The only minus points are a lack of weather-seals and no locking mechanism for the bounce and swivel head. There’s also no firm click step between the bounce positions of -7 and zero degrees.
Performance
The 600RT performs flawlessly, firing from the hotshoe and in off‑camera mode with the RF wireless Viper transmitter. You’ll need optional Viper receivers (£60/$80 each) to enable Canon or other makes of flashgun to join the RF wireless party, but optical master/slave operation works straight out of the box with cameras and flashguns that support this basic mode. TTL flash metering is accurate and consistent, and the flashgun lives up to its power output claims.