Can the SF C1 control the Nissin i60A for others systems?

[sillbeers15]

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On 10/3/2020 at 8:00 PM, Think! said:

I have a Leica SFC1 Unit and a Nissin i60A Flash Unit for Fuji. I sent the Nissin in for a software update and can now trigger the Fuji Nissin 60A with my M10 and M240 Cameras. Has anybody experience with the same set up? I struggling a bit the the modes and I am not sure that TTL really works

TTL works for sure if manual does. But the other way round on HSS is not true.

[FMB]

The current models Nissin i40 can be bought dedicated to Nikon, Canon, Olympus, etc. All of them can be used  off-camera and jointed to others by mean radio-transmitters. I suppose then it could be used with SF C1 as I did with the Nissin i60, although not on the body of our Leica cameras. Look at the compatible software number as I did with the i60!

Francisco

[sillbeers15]

On 10/9/2020 at 2:38 AM, FMB said:

The current models Nissin i40 can be bought dedicated to Nikon, Canon, Olympus, etc. All of them can be used  off-camera and jointed to others by mean radio-transmitters. I suppose then it could be used with SF C1 as I did with the Nissin i60, although not on the body of our Leica cameras. Look at the compatible software number as I did with the i60!

Francisco

 

i40 should not be in the Nissin NAS range of wireless controlled flashes.

[FMB]

2 hours ago, sillbeers15 said:

i40 should not be in the Nissin NAS range of wireless controlled flashes.

Why? Please..

Francisco.

[sillbeers15]

3 hours ago, FMB said:

Why? Please..

Francisco.

The is a range of Nissin flash models that can accept wireless control from Nissin transmitters such as the Air10. I suppose the i40 range of flashes do not have built in wireless receivers to accept wireless triggering as compared to i60s.

[FMB]

5 hours ago, sillbeers15 said:

The is a range of Nissin flash models that can accept wireless control from Nissin transmitters such as the Air10. I suppose the i40 range of flashes do not have built in wireless receivers to accept wireless triggering as compared to i60s.

If  you ask "Google" for Nissin flash i40 for Nikon, Olympus, etc you will see on the back of that flashes there are the i40 own options plus the  Groups A B C D  options that are in the model i60. I think of new i40 is a mini version without screen: G.N. 40, TTL, HSS, zoom, four batteries, etc. As a Leica user I can't know more details about its behavior with dedicate cameras.

When Leica offered brand previous model SF 40 I bought one of them and I can say that is a very useful flash to complement my Leica M10  with a lot of power and utilities for its size, also useful to help in a group of other flashes.

[sillbeers15]

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On 10/13/2020 at 2:36 AM, FMB said:

If  you ask "Google" for Nissin flash i40 for Nikon, Olympus, etc you will see on the back of that flashes there are the i40 own options plus the  Groups A B C D  options that are in the model i60. I think of new i40 is a mini version without screen: G.N. 40, TTL, HSS, zoom, four batteries, etc. As a Leica user I can't know more details about its behavior with dedicate cameras.

When Leica offered brand previous model SF 40 I bought one of them and I can say that is a very useful flash to complement my Leica M10  with a lot of power and utilities for its size, also useful to help in a group of other flashes.

I am certain that Leica offered the SF40, it was before the remote off camera flash trigger SFC1 and SF60 were offered to Leica digital cameras.

[biswasg]

On 10/3/2020 at 2:00 PM, Think! said:

I have a Leica SFC1 Unit and a Nissin i60A Flash Unit for Fuji. I sent the Nissin in for a software update and can now trigger the Fuji Nissin 60A with my M10 and M240 Cameras. Has anybody experience with the same set up? I struggling a bit the the modes and I am not sure that TTL really works

After leaving the above comment in another thread on the topic of Flash unit, I experimented again with my Leica SF C1 transmitter and the Nissin i60A flash for Canon. Soon after buying the i60A, I had to send it to the distributor to get the paid firmware upgrade. I believe there are three factors in play, the SL2 itself, the SF C1 transmitter and the i60A flash. Below are some of my observations:

1. Even when I set the lowest shutter speed to 1/60sec in the SL2 for flash, when I select P or A modes, the shutter can go down to any duration, depending on the ambient light. This creates hazy images in low ambient light, one from the longer shutter speed the camera auto selects and the other from the flash.

2. Part of my problem of uneven exposure seems to be due to the low power output during bounce flash.

3. When I am using the flash with a set up for fill in or main light: M mode, ISO to Auto, f8 and shutter 1/250, at the time the image is clicked, the a higher ISO is autaomatically selected, generally in the 500-650 range. I believe it is to have a higher flash exposure compared to the strong ambient light- not fully explainable.

5. If the ISO is moved from Auto to a fixed one, say 100, the image is under-exposed. To check if it was due to the low power, I changed from TTL to M on the SF C1 and used full power. I got a good exposure at ¼ the power. However, in TTL mode, I get underexposure by 2 stops.

Not sure if people have the similar experience with the SF C1 and Leica's SF60 or any other Nissin flash MG-10.

Sharing with the hope that Leica or Nissan,  more likely someone from the forum can provide some solutions to make the use of off-camera flash more reliable.

[sillbeers15]

6 hours ago, biswasg said:

After leaving the above comment in another thread on the topic of Flash unit, I experimented again with my Leica SF C1 transmitter and the Nissin i60A flash for Canon. Soon after buying the i60A, I had to send it to the distributor to get the paid firmware upgrade. I believe there are three factors in play, the SL2 itself, the SF C1 transmitter and the i60A flash. Below are some of my observations:

1. Even when I set the lowest shutter speed to 1/60sec in the SL2 for flash, when I select P or A modes, the shutter can go down to any duration, depending on the ambient light. This creates hazy images in low ambient light, one from the longer shutter speed the camera auto selects and the other from the flash.

2. Part of my problem of uneven exposure seems to be due to the low power output during bounce flash.

3. When I am using the flash with a set up for fill in or main light: M mode, ISO to Auto, f8 and shutter 1/250, at the time the image is clicked, the a higher ISO is autaomatically selected, generally in the 500-650 range. I believe it is to have a higher flash exposure compared to the strong ambient light- not fully explainable.

5. If the ISO is moved from Auto to a fixed one, say 100, the image is under-exposed. To check if it was due to the low power, I changed from TTL to M on the SF C1 and used full power. I got a good exposure at ¼ the power. However, in TTL mode, I get underexposure by 2 stops.

Not sure if people have the similar experience with the SF C1 and Leica's SF60 or any other Nissin flash MG-10.

Sharing with the hope that Leica or Nissan,  more likely someone from the forum can provide some solutions to make the use of off-camera flash more reliable.

I use the MG10 as my main light and SF60s as fill & rim light. I find it much stable due to the stronger output of MG10 and less dependent on SF60s. I hope that Leica will adopt MG80 as SF80. The SF80 will combine the SFC1 and a fill light for Leica users and it gives Leica camera users the option & flexibility of turning on and off OCF or/and on camera flash on the go.

[helged]

5 hours ago, sillbeers15 said:

I use the MG10 as my main light and SF60s as fill & rim light. I find it much stable due to the stronger output of MG10 and less dependent on SF60s. I hope that Leica will adopt MG80 as SF80. The SF80 will combine the SFC1 and a fill light for Leica users and it gives Leica camera users the option & flexibility of turning on and off OCF or/and on camera flash on the go.

For those (still) not deeply into flash-land...: How would SF80 (assuming that this is MG80) differ to the existing SF60? The fill-in-light? 

A comparison here: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/compare/Nissin_MG80_Pro_vs_Nissin_i60A_vs_Godox_V860IIS_vs_Godox_V1/BHitems/1524965-REG_1236471-REG_1341866-REG_1465917-REG

[sillbeers15]

16 hours ago, helged said:

For those (still) not deeply into flash-land...: How would SF80 (assuming that this is MG80) differ to the existing SF60? The fill-in-light? 

A comparison here: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/compare/Nissin_MG80_Pro_vs_Nissin_i60A_vs_Godox_V860IIS_vs_Godox_V1/BHitems/1524965-REG_1236471-REG_1341866-REG_1465917-REG

The MG80 functions as a ‘on camera flash’ or/and commander to control other ‘off camera flashes’ when mounted on the camera hotshoe.

It can also function as a off camera flash controlled by Nissin’s Air10 (SFC1) remote trigger.

As a flash, it has higher guide number of GN80 and recycles faster than Nissin’s i60A (SF60).

On outdoor shooting applications, one can choose to mount the MG80 on camera to be a fill light for subject and use it to control the off camera key light ( say MG10) while using the ambient back light as rim light on shooting portraits when you  do not have an assistant to help you carry multiple lights and stands. In layman terms, the MG80 functions like a Profoto A1.

[helged]

5 hours ago, sillbeers15 said:

The MG80 functions as a ‘on camera flash’ or/and commander to control other ‘off camera flashes’ when mounted on the camera hotshoe.

It can also function as a off camera flash controlled by Nissin’s Air10 (SFC1) remote trigger.

As a flash, it has higher guide number of GN80 and recycles faster than Nissin’s i60A (SF60).

On outdoor shooting applications, one can choose to mount the MG80 on camera to be a fill light for subject and use it to control the off camera key light ( say MG10) while using the ambient back light as rim light on shooting portraits when you  do not have an assistant to help you carry multiple lights and stands. In layman terms, the MG80 functions like a Profoto A1.

Thanks, much appreciated! 

[FMB]

8 hours ago, sillbeers15 said:

The MG80 functions as a ‘on camera flash’ or/and commander to control other ‘off camera flashes’ when mounted on the camera hotshoe.

It can also function as a off camera flash controlled by Nissin’s Air10 (SFC1) remote trigger.

As a flash, it has higher guide number of GN80 and recycles faster than Nissin’s i60A (SF60).

On outdoor shooting applications, one can choose to mount the MG80 on camera to be a fill light for subject and use it to control the off camera key light ( say MG10) while using the ambient back light as rim light on shooting portraits when you  do not have an assistant to help you carry multiple lights and stands. In layman terms, the MG80 functions like a Profoto A1.

To full understanding, can we use Nissin MG80 on a Leica SL2 as a Leica flash SF60, as well as a Leica commander SF C1 without any restriction? Or only for using Nissin MG10 or i60 flashes? Do we need install an special software in it to be used in the Leica flash workflow?

Again we must thank you very much for your always wise advises.

Francisco.

[sillbeers15]

48 minutes ago, FMB said:

To full understanding, can we use Nissin MG80 on a Leica SL2 as a Leica flash SF60, as well as a Leica commander SF C1 without any restriction? Or only for using Nissin MG10 or i60 flashes? Do we need install an special software in it to be used in the Leica flash workflow?

Again we must thank you very much for your always wise advises.

Francisco.

Unfortunately the short answer is no.

Until we can convince Leica to commission Nissin digital to produce a SF80. Then like SF60, we can use it with SFC1 & MG10 plus other Nissin flashes in the NAS system.

[FMB]

For many years, decades, the hobbyist that usually wanted to help their images with the aid of flashes, in Leica have been considered as sinners against the pure essences of Photography. It seems that the light only can be used if it flows from the darkness of poor faces, in poor villages of poor countries. (See the prevailing of that images along last years in  LFI  magazines as a sample of I want to remark).

Leica should take in mind we want to manage the light wherever grows may be with less complexity than Nikon, Canon, etc. use to fulfil their Menus. We want to do with simplicity as Leica does, but with the capacity of buy the best brands of flashes joining us to a more compatible software as Nikon´s one as many of us had suggested. If flash production is a secondary and profitless branch for Leica then forbit it and do things easier for us. Please....

[J.P.B]

On 12/21/2019 at 1:23 PM, budjames said:

I purchased the SF-60 and SF C1 controller to use on my SL2 and M10. It paired easily and seems to work okay. 

According to my recent correspondence with Nissin tech support, any of the current Nissin speed lights with their NAS wireless capability can be controlled by the SF C1 controller. I ordered the Nissin MG10 potato masher style speed light as I have seen good reviews from Leica users. It's on backorder, but I hope to receive it soon.

My portable speed light set up with be 2 SF-60s and the Nissin MG10.

I do wish that Profoto would become compatible for Leica HSS. They make a controller that allows manual operation of Profoto speed lights and moonlights, but with no TTL or HSS on Leica. Bummer.

Regards,
Bud James

Please check out my fine art and travel photography at www.budjames.photography or on Instagram at www.instagram.com/budjamesphoto.

Thanks to you , I  dared to add the Nissin MG10  Potato masher  unit to my   Leica SF C1 controller and use it flawless in HSS TTL mode with two  SF-60 on M10

Edited December 10, 2020 by J.P.B

[jc1]

Hi all 🙂

Has anyone ever tried using off camera flash with MG80pro and with the combination of SFC1+SF60?

Edited September 4, 2021 by jc1

[sillbeers15]

2 hours ago, jc1 said:

Hi all 🙂

Has anyone ever tried using off camera flash with MG80pro and with the combination of SFC1+SF60?

I have not tried to work with the MG80pro.

By the following rational, your required application should but not replacing the MG80 pro as a SFC-1 to fire the other Nissin NAS & SF60/MG10.

1. MG80 Pro is part of Nissin NAS system that can be triggered by Nissin's remote trigger or leica SFC-1;

2. MG80 Pro was released after Leica SFC-1, so the firmware in MG80Pro should recognise SFC-1.

 

 

 

[jc1]

Hi Sillbeers, thank you for your pointer.

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[fiatlux]

Hi, digging up a very old thread.

I have 3 Nissin Di700As and an Air1 that I use with my Sonys, and only recently became aware of the potential compatibility with my Leica M10 and Q2 via the SF C1.

Being able to use the Nissin strobes with my Leicas for the cost of a SF C1 alone (around €300 new or €200 used) looked very tempting.

The problem is that my Di700As are running on a fairly old firmware and the local distributor has not replied to my email asking about the possibility and cost of a firmware upgrade. My local photo store (which sells both Nissin and Leica) was unaware of the option, but warned me that the Nissin service could be very slow (2-3 months).

Now the same local store has the Nissin i60A on sale, so one option is to sell the old Di700A and get newer, sturdier and more powerful i60As to use with both the Air1 on my Sonys and the SF C1 in my Leicas (total cost of about 350€ for two new strobes after the resale of the old stuff).

Another option is to ditch the Nissin system and switch to Godox, who now have X Pro II transmitters for both Sony and Leica (total cost closer to 400€). I somehow trust Godox more than Nissin when it comes to future proofness.

So I guess my questions are:

• Has any of you managed to get your Nissin Di700A/i60A upgraded by Nissin recently, and at what cost? I live in Europe/Belgium, if that's relevant.
• If I buy a new i60A, is it likely to have the latest fw? I think the update that brings Leica SF C1 compatibility was brought in 2018.
• How much better is the Godox 2.4 system than the Nissin one? I read that it is more powerful, but also more complex to use...

Edited February 15, 2023 by fiatlux