Chinese lighting manufacturer Nicefoto—the company behind the pioneering N-Flash series of wireless studio flashes—has introduced three new lines of studio heads: A, B and C, all of them mains powered and with built-in radio triggering and TTL support.
There is very little to distinguish Nicefoto’s A, B and C series, except the physical shell and the energy levels available. All models in all series have the same backlit LCD control panel, a grab handle, a Bowens S-fit accessory mount and are made of aluminium alloy. All have 10W, 5500K LED modelling lamps and two built-in cooling fans. The flash tubes are all user-replaceable. All have manual power control down to 1/128 power and a built-in 2.4 GHz wireless receiver, allowing TTL when used with either the TX-N02 (for Nikon) or TX-C02 (for Canon) radio transmitters.
Recycle times are similar across the board, too. Most are just under 1 second at full power, or slightly above for the more powerful models.
None of these heads support high-speed synchronisation. But, in the studio you probably won’t need it. The trigger is the same as that used for Nicefoto’s other recent TTL flashes, including the modular K-series and the self-contained N6, which we recently reviewed.
Nicefoto A series
| Model | Energy | GN | Recycling time |
|---|---|---|---|
| A4 TTL.M | 400J | 76 | 0.1–0.9s |
| A6 TTL.M | 600J | 93 | 0.1–1.0s |
| A8 TTL.M | 800J | 105 | 0.1–1.1s |
Nicefoto B series
| Model | Energy | GN | Recycling time |
|---|---|---|---|
| B4 TTL.M | 400J | 76 | 0.1–0.9s |
| B6 TTL.M | 600J | 93 | 0.1–1.0s |
| B8 TTL.M | 800J | 105 | 0.1–1.1s |
| B10 TTL.M | 1000J | 118 | 0.1–1.2s |
Nicefoto C series
| Model | Energy | GN | Recycling time |
|---|---|---|---|
| C3 TTL.M | 300J | 66 | 0.1–0.8s |
| C4 TTL.M | 400J | 76 | 0.1–0.9s |
| C6 TTL.M | 600J | 93 | 0.1–1.0s |
Though lots of manufacturers are producing portable flashes with TTL, not all of them support mains power. Some that do include the Profoto D2, Godox AD600 (with AD-AC adapter) and Jinbei HD-610/RoveLight HD610 (with AC adapter).
Most of these are 600J or below. The introduction of the Nicefoto B10 TTL.M makes it the most powerful mains-powered TTL studio flash on the market, jointly with the Profoto D2 AirTTL 1000. Of course, some photographers might question the benefit of adding TTL — typically used on location — to a studio lamp that needs to be plugged into the mains.
One benefit would be that you don’t have to use these features in the studio, but you still have a very capable studio head, which can then be taken on location with a battery inverter or extension cords on occasion.
Not all models have gone on retail sale yet, but here are some listings we’ve found.
- Nicefoto A6 — $440 — AliExpress
- NiceFoto B6 — $500 — AliExpress
The TX-C02 and TX-N02 TTL flash controllers are already available for about $50 on Amazon and eBay.
For more information, visit the Nicefoto web site.
Interested in different TTL studio flashes? See the full list!