I like studio flashes and I dislike cables, so over the last few years I have been trying quite a few battery-powered studio monolights. When I was asked to test the NiceFoto N6, I had never even heard about this brand and I was very curious to see how it would be!
Here you can read the results of my testing but, if you are impatient to know what I think, I can tell you already now that this is currently the flash that I use the most! Just saying 🙂
Features
- 600Ws, GN89
- Flash duration time: 1/20’000-1/800sec
- Shots with a battery charge (at full power): max 500
- Recycle time (at full power): 2.5sec
- LED modeling lamp: 10W
- 2.4G Transmitter range: 100m
- Transmitters included for both Canon and Nikon (with TTL support): TX-C02 / TX-N02
- Modes: TTL/M/Multi/High-Speed
- HSS up to 1/8,000sec
- 2nd curtain sync only for Nikon
- Power range: 1/128 – 1/1
- Bowens mount
- Cooling fan
- Optical slave mode, 3.5mm port, USB port
- Illuminated LCD display (on both flash and transmitter)
- USB port (on both flash and transmitter)
- Comes with small bowl-reflector (with incorporated plastic diffusor)
- Integrated hand-grip
- Weight (including battery): 2.5Kg
- Optional external power adapter
At the time of writing the flash costs around 800€, including the trigger (you actually get two triggers, one for Canon and one for Nikon).
First impressions
What I liked
- Flash and transmitter are solid and well built
- The included reflector is nice
- The displays are simple but clear
- Bowen mount works well with all modifiers I tried
- The carrying bag is a nice addition
The color of the unit I got does take some getting used to (other colors are available too) but this product is definitely solid and well built. The external surface is metallic, which makes handling the flash quite nice, the handle (which includes a useful hand-grip) is very solid and stable and the bowl-reflector works very well as a protection for the lamp. The display is simple (no fancy colored or high-definition display) but clear and easy to read. And, very important, the Bowens mount takes easily and firmly all the modifiers I tried; with other flashes I was not always this lucky with all my modifiers.
The transmitter is also quite nice, although it does feel a little less “premium†than the flash (my unit for example had some dust trapped inside the display). It lets you control all flash settings remotely, is very responsive and features a simple but clear display (showing all settings, including the power output). As mentioned, you get two transmitters, one for Canon and one for Nikon.
Even the carrying bag is very nice. It is light and soft but features shock-absorbing materials, and features some extra space for all of your small gadgets (like extra triggers, batteries, battery chargers and cables). The yellow lines on the bag also does take some getting used to, but makes it quite unique 😉
What could have been better
- Flash’s power switch is placed in an odd position
- No glass dome to protect the lamp
What I did not like so much was the power switch, which is placed on the bottom of the unit, right next to the front end. In order to power on the flash, you need to first switch it on here and then press a button next to the display for a few seconds. I have not quite understood the utility of having to do both these things to turn the flash on but what disturbed me is the fact that the switch is exactly in the place where I usually grip the flash when I swap modifiers: accidentally turning the flash off during use can happen quite easily, and I will actually say more about this later.
Something that could also be improved is the fact that no glass dome is featured to protect the lamp, which means that special attention must be paid when mounting modifiers. To be honest it would anyways be quite hard to break the lamp this way, but an extra protection would have been nice.
In a nutshell, what you get here is durable and well-built equipment. Sure, there is some room for improvement, but only if you want to be picky!
Conclusion
Well, what should I say on top of the fact that this is the flash I currently use the most? If you are shooting Canon or Nikon and if you are looking for a monolight flash, then look no further 🙂 Well, do look further as there are a lot of alternatives out there and I have not tried all of them… But I believe the NiceFoto N6 is a flash that will hardly ever let you down! And hey, you will not have to deal with cables as it is battery-powered 🙂
Just one caveat: if you have a very new camera model and if TTL (or AF assist) is important for you, then make sure your camera is 100% compatible with the trigger.
Some photos I lit with the NiceFoto N6
