Japanese manufacturer Nissin Digital have announced a new speedlight, the MG8000 Extreme, capable of 1,000 consecutive flashes without overheating. The flashgun was first unveiled at the CP+ trade show in Japan this month and is poised to outperform even the industry-leading Nikon SB-910 and Canon 580EX II.
Wielding a quartz flashtube – found more commonly in studio lights than in system flashes – the MG8000 apparently handles heat much better than rival products from Nikon and Canon. For the first 200 shots, the recycle time is three seconds, which then increases to up to seven seconds but without any drop in light intensity.
Owners of this “machine gun” speedlight are treated to a full colour display, a tilting, swivelling head, metal hotshoe foot, full Nikon or Canon TTL, advanced wireless control (master and slave) and a secondary fill flash. There is an input port for external battery packs and a USB port for firmware updates. You can zoom from 24 to 105mm and adjust intensity down to 1/128 of full power.
Further reading
- Amateur Photographer article
- Nissin press release (in Japanese)
Where to buy
Nissin reps say the projected price is around 50,000 yen, or Ă‚ÂŁ400 (source) on shelves in the next month or so. The Nissin MG8000 Extreme isĂ‚Â listed by Park Cameras (UK) for pre-order at a “Competitive Price TBC”.
A list of Nissin distributors is available on the manufacturer’s web site.
Would you switch from Canon or Nikon flashes to a third party offering like this one? Share your thoughts in the comments below.