The battery cover door of my 2 year old Metz 50AF-1 flashgun broke over the Chinese New Year period – *groan*. The flashgun still otherwise works fine, though it still has that odd quirk about having to dial in a +0.7 to +1.0 EV flash output for me to get the appropriate amount of bounced lighting, but a broken battery door meant a struggle to close the battery compartment each time I had to recharge the batteries. Also, the flashgun was an extremely tight fit into the new LX100’s metallic hotshoe, and in-fact became stuck. I practically had to forcibly pry the flash loose from the hotshoe. Double bummer.
So, looking around for a replacement flashgun that would work for my existing m4/3 bodies and also the LX100, I found a ‘lil flash that looked like it’d meet my lighting needs, and then some too. Below is the Nissin i40, a third party flash unit for m4/3s and also compatible with the LX100. The i40 is sold cheaper here in Singapore than through online stores like Amazon – shocker indeed when the converse is usually more true. The pictures might not convey the real idea of how tiny is this flashgun – but it is. The flash body itself is barely just larger than the battery compartment holding 4 AA batteries!
Unlike the Metz 50AF-1, the i40 is a bit more barebones information screen-wise, featuring two command dials on the rear-panel. On the other hand, unlike the 50AF-1, the i40’s flash head can be reversed to point backwards, and also supports LED video light.
Some of our children’s pictures using the Nissin i40. No output compensation required – hooray! All taken with the LX100 + i40.
In all, I’m very happy with this new purchase, and the flash pictures remind me of the kind of exposures I was getting off the old Nikon DSLRs with SB600 flash guns. The only oddity at this point is that the i40 seems a bit finicky with some of the rechargeable batteries I’ve got, and refusing to prime/ready the flash gun for firing unless the set of batteries is fully charged. Something to continue keeping an eye on for sure.
Can you use the Nissin i40 off the camera and trigger it for off-camera flash work with the LX100?
Hey there. I haven’t tried that function yet so not sure how/if it works. Will do so soon.
Hi CY. Great review. I’m thinking of getting the Nissin i40 as well. I’m pretty confused of the different mounts, some says Panasonic, some says micro 4/3, so if I purchased the micro 4/3 mount it would work well with the LX100? Thanks in advanced!
Well, I never really put my i40 to rigorous testing on the LX100 while I still had it, but the i40 worked fine with it for me without issues when set to full-on auto at least. Here’s what I thought prior to its purchase: the LX100’s officially compatible flash guns are Panasonic’s three DMW–FL units, and these units in turn are compatible with Panasonic GH cameras – which themselves are micro four thirds cameras. Convoluted yes – but it seemed to work just fine.:)