Nissini40N Flash (Black)

I've had this flash for a year-and-a-half. In A (Auto) mode this flash does the job with the Sony mirrorless. I am not a prolific flash user but there are times it has come in very handy. I have no problem using it as a bounce flash with the diffuser attachment. Overheating does not seem to be a problem with this flash. I fired off about 60 full power test shots in a row and the overheat cutout never kicked in. Recycle time was only a couple of seconds so it seems the battery life is respectable for light use. The flash did get warm, though, and the NiMH batteries were just shy of what I'd call hot when I removed them.There's no way to connect external power so if its to be used all day better have spare batteries handy.I have a lot of experience with Nikon speedlights and they are very smooth and solid units so far as construction is concerned. The Nissin, to me, seems brittle and not so refined in comparison. It is almost toy-like in the crudeness of some moving parts. Edges tend to be sharp and some parts feel loose and others are tight. The mounting foot is the worst so far as inspiring confidence. It is plastic with sharp edges. It fits so tightly in the camera's shoe that it seems like something will break when mounting it. Dismounting it is an exercise in keeping the release button pressed while carefully wiggling the unit just a bit while pulling it back. The large wheel is only slight raised from the back of the unit and it has weak detents for each position. I defy you not to move it while mounting/dismounting the flash. It needs to be thicker and click positively instead of nearly freewheeling from one setting to the next.The tilt and swivel mechanism does the job but it does seem to be a bit noisy and loose in operation. However, it does repeatedly click into the proper position when adjusted. The battery door always feels like it is about to break. It has an exposed mechanism that extends and slides the battery door. Once again, it does not inspire confidence.The pop out card for eye catchlights is good. The slide out beam diffuser works fine. I had no trouble with the zoom mechanism and it automatically motors back and forth to follow the lens. To me, this is a silly feature but everybody's doing it now. I like that there are no silly latches to press to unlock the tilt and swivel adjustment. The detents are strong enough to hold the head in position.For all the faults I've pointed out I can't deny that this flash is still working OK for me. It's small, light, but would be easier to tote if it could fold flat.

I was looking for an alternative TTL capable flash for the Fuji X-T1, and this works perfectly. It's half the size of my Yongnuo 560-III, which is manual only and weighs twice as much as the Nissin.The flash head articulates in all directions and has some nice resistance to it as well, so it's not easily moved. A nice bonus is the video light in the front. Not as bright as it could be, but enough if you need to highlight your subject who is about three feet (or one meter) away from you. The video light would be okay for an interview type video, but won't throw much light beyond that. Perfect for a slightly dim setting, but don't count on it throwing the same amount of light that the main flash would throw.Setting the flash to "SF", for "slave film", allows you to trigger the flag via your on camera flash.The light from the actual flash itself can be controlled via the knobs on the back. For most folks, Auto mode will do just fine. But TTL is a plus, especially if you want to tweak the light up or down 3 stops. The photo of the DVD case that it's a little dim was taken with the flash power reduced by three stops. And the bright photo was shot in Auto.The nice thing about this flash is that if you want to use it off-camera as a "manual-only" flash, it actually works with the Yongnuo YN560-TX Flash Controller mounted on the X-T1 and the Yongnuo RF-603C II set to receive and mounted on the flash. The only disadvantage is, of course, having to do the manual power and zoom adjustments on the flash itself.It comes in a compact case that holds the flash, the soft box, and stand. The battery door could be a slight weak point if man-handled, but I'm careful to close it properly.Great little flash. Perfect for travel. I'd definitely reach for this one more often than my Yongnuo manual flash just because of the size and weight.

The flash itself is very nice, lightweight and sufficiently powerful as others have said, with a quick recycle time. There are two minor issues with the hardware. The first being that red-eye is very prominent because of the size of the flash. I'd highly recommend a flash bracket to raise it off the camera body and away from lens axis, or using it only in bounce.Second, the flash exposure dial is way too easy to touch and change without intending to. It's irritating on a busy shoot day when you have to continually keep your eye on the dial to make sure it hasn't changed from the last time you picked the camera up. I don't want a lock, just a firmer detent to prevent exposure errors. I managed to lose, on the first day, the included softbox. I thought, no big deal, I'll write to Nissin to ask where to purchase a spare one. They responded instantly and referred me to Minoxusa, the US distributor. I used the email link provided, asked for a purchase source for a spare, and nada. Sent them a second email to tell them I'm not impressed by lack of response, got no response to that one either. Wrote to Nissin to make them aware their distributor was MIA, again instant response with a nudge to distributor.Finally got an email apologizing saying they had been working on sending me a new part for free. I received that yesterday and am most appreciative. Suggested that next time, letting a customer know their email was received and being addressed might avoid frustration on everyone's part.

For some reason, it will randomly fire at FULL POWER, but only seldom. I'm unsure if this is a battery issue, or the fault of the flash. But it certainly can ruin what might have otherwise been the perfect shot. Other than this, the flash is wonderful.

Giving the flash a 5 star rating because of the build quality and the fact that I can finally get a flash that I can use on camera (xpro2) for the few times that I need it. I am sure that I will be testing it much more in the days to come. It is a little pricy but feels solid and works flawlessly. I really like Nissin. I have 3 866's and one 866 mkII. The build of the i40 is superior.

Excellent flash unit for my Sony A6000. Very easy to use and the unit feels solid. Video light isn't very useful at a distance over 4-5 feet, but the flash itself is very powerful and is a must have for the A6000. Should have bought it years ago.

I love the small size and fits really good on my Sony a6000. Well made and better than I expected. Will consider getting one for my DSLR.

Works really well with the XPro2.