The Di622 is Nissin's mid-range flash, and with a Guide Number (GN) of 44 (ISO 100 at 105mm) it is in direct competition with the Canon Speedlite 430 EX II and Nikon Speedlight SB600.

But, as you might expect with it being a third party flash, it comes with a price tag that's around £100 lower.

The Di622 is compatible with Canon's E-TTL, E-TTL II or Nikon's I-TTL system depending upon the flashgun's fit.

Build and Handling

The Di622's build quality reflects its price, and whilst good, it doesn't quite match the finish of its rivals.

While the Canon Speedlite 430 EX II and Nikon Speedlight SB 600 both feature LCD screens that show the settings and modes, the Di622 has a simple set of coloured LED's and a few simple buttons.

There's also an on/ off switch and power ratio is adjusted through a simple + - rocker switch.

On the side of the Di622 there's a standard PC sync connector for using the flash off camera. There's also a USB connector for hooking up to a computer and updating the firmware or adding new features, if and when they become available from Nissin.

Although the Di622's design is simple, there are five modes accessed by pushing a small illuminated button. This button changes its colour of illumination depending on the mode selected, these modes include; TTL, Manual, Slave Digital, Slave Film and Wireless. Each colour highlights the mode that's selected. Coloured lettering on the back of the gun make it easy to identify what mode you are in until you get familiar with the Di622, but they aren't much help in the dark.

Using the camera with bounce flash the head has a vertical adjustment of 90 degrees, left rotation of 90 degrees and right of 180 degrees, this gives good flexibility to adjust the direction of the light exactly where needed.

Performance

In Slave Digital (SD) mode the Di622 ignores any pre-flash and only fires when the master flash unit fires. It is easy to set up and use works without issue.

Meanwhile, in Slave Film (SF) mode the flash syncs with more tradition single flash systems where there is no pre-flash from the master flashgun. Again selection and use is simple enough.

Wireless mode allows the Di622 to be used to trigger other flash units wirelessly, but there is only one channel available. This should be fine in most situations, but it would be limiting if shooting with other photographers with a similar flash setup.

In TTL mode, the Di622's power is set by the camera, but there is room for adjustment through the flash from –1.5EV to +1.5EV in 0.5EV steps. This power level can be adjusted using the Nissin "My TTL" settings and can be changed to +/- 0.75 EV in 0.25 increments, once you've set your custom setting these are then remembered by the flash as default.

The Di622 is very easy to use, but the illumination isn't as even as its competition. The centre of the frame tends to be a bit brighter than the corners - though this can look nice in some situations.

Verdict

The Nissin Di622 offers features that are comparable with those in the Canon Speedlite 430 EX II and Nikon Speedlight SB600, but the build quality and finish are a step down.

The flash zoom motor is noisy, but results and ease of use do make this a good cheap alternative, provided you can accept the sometimes rather uneven illumination.

The Nissin Di866 was launched as direct competition to the Canon 580 EX II and Nikon SB 900, albeit for a price of £190, over £100 less than its competitors.

A quick check through the specifications makes the Di866 seem very tempting, with impressive features including a GN of 60 (ISO 100 at 105mm), 2 greater than either the Canon 580 EX II or Nikon SB 900, and compatibility with Canon's ETTL II or Nikon's iTTL systems, depending on fit.

It also includes a Metz style secondary sub flash and a host of other great features.

Build and Handling

A side-by-side comparison instantly shows the differences between the Di866 and Canon Speedlite 580 EX II with a lack of buttons to change modes and settings across the back. Instead Nissin has chosen an LCD interface to navigate through mode selections and adjustments.

Whie the build quality is good, the Nissin flash doesn't have the robust feel and quality finish of the 580 EX II or SB 900, but does feel suitably robust to live up to professional use.

In use, selecting modes is straight forward using the multi function button. Although clicking around the screens to select modes or make adjustments is easy, there is a short but noticeable lag between each click.

A nice feature of this interface is that the orientation of the display flips depending on the whether the flash is vertical or horizontal, with the four way control, multi function button (around the set button) mirroring the change.

There is also a sub flash mounted on the front of the unit which supplies a handy fill-in flash when bouncing the light, helpful when taking portraits. If you have no need of the extra light then it can be switch off through the advanced menu.

The head can be tilted up through 90 degrees, to the left by 90 degrees and to the right by 180 degrees, giving a good amount of flexibility when it comes to directing the light.

Performance

With four fully charged AA sized Eneloop batteries the flash takes about 6 seconds to recharge after each full power shot, which is just slower than it's rivals.

At more standard power ratings the recharge time is dramatically reduced with flash ready almost instantly at 1/8 for portraits shots of up to 2.7mm (9 ft) distance.

In Auto mode the Di866 offers fully auto TTL (through the lens) metered lighting with no manual adjustment. There's more flexibility in TTL mode with –3 to +3EV adjustment in steps of 1/3 EV. These adjustments are made using the multi control pad.

Further adjustment can be made by holding down the Set button for 2 seconds to access the advanced menu. From here you can switch on or off the sub flash, and manually set the head's zoom.

In TTL mode, as in Auto, the ISO and aperture setting information is gathered from the camera.

More advanced shooters may like to use the Manual and Aperture priority (Av) modes, which share the same menu icon.

In Manual mode the power can be set from 1/1 to 1/128, and again holding down the Set button will take you through to the advanced menu where the ISO and Aperture can be set.It is also possible to set the flashgun to work as a slve unit in Maanual mode.

In Slave Digital (SD) mode the Di866 ignores any pre-flash and only fires when the master flash unit fires. While in Slave Film (SF) mode the flash fires with the first flash and is designed for more traditional camera and flash systems without a pre-flash.

Aperture priority (Av) mode enables you to set the aperture, but as with Manual mode the sensitivity (ISO) needs to be set manually.

Multi mode is the option to go for if you need to fire the flash several times during a single exposure. It enables some creative effects, for example, generating a multiple exposure of a moving subject with a single shot.

The final mode available is Wireless, with two options Master or Remote. With Master selected, you can control a further three flashguns, whilst the Remote option sets the flash to act as a slave.

In both wireless modes the channel can be set to help avoid interference with other flashguns. There are a series of sockets on the side of the Di866 flashgun to enable PC sync (ie camera) and battery pack connection.

There's also a USB port to allow the flashgun to be connected to the computer so that the firmware can be updated. This means that the flash can be kept up to date with the latest cameras and new feaures or bug fixes can be added if necessary.

Verdict

The Nissin Di866 doesn't have the finish of the Canon Speelite 580 EX II or Nikon Speedlight SB 900, but then this reduction in quality is more than made up for in the price.

In use, the flash handles well and produces a good even light. With features such as the sub flash, rotating LCD image and wireless control the user experience is improved over both the 580 EX II and SB900.

Where this flash is let down is the time it takes to recharge after each full power shot and the slight lag between menu screen changes and settings adjustments.

In all, the Di 866 is a powerful and well-featured flashgun and a good alternative to the more expensive Canon and Nikon models.

Bad points
LCD screen can be slow
Build quality
ISO and aperture need to be manually set in some modes

Score 4/5

It simply sports a flash test-button and a switch to select one of three modes. Plus points include the good lateral and vertical head movement, 28mm to 105mm zoom range and a 17mm angle of coverage when used with the built-in wide panel.

This flashgun punches above its weight (or price tag) registering just over f/8 at maximum power. However, users might have to accept a bit of colour shift from the highest and lowest power settings as it produced a cool 6500K reading at maximum power and more neutral 5950K on the minimum setting.