Can I use a Nissin i40 off-camera with a Sony a6000?
Asked 8/16/2016
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I want to use a Nissin i40 as an off-camera flash with a Sony a6000. Is this possible, and what triggering options are available? I'm especially interested in whether the built-in flash can trigger it, what limitations that has, and what alternatives exist for more reliable off-camera use.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
9y ago
2 Answers
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There are a number of different ways to trigger the i40 off-camera.
SD/SF slave modes
These are simple optical slave modes that are built into the flash, and can trigger it remotely on any flash burst, including the one from your α6000's pop-up flash. SD (slave digital) is if your pop-up is in TTL (has a single preflash), SF (slave film) is if your pop-up is in manual (has no pre-flash). Your pop-up flash will have to be up and turned on for this to work, and the sensor on the i40 has to "see" the flash burst from your pop-up. It may not work well outdoors in bright sunlight, without direct line-of-sight. And all you can do is tell the flash to fire. No TTL/HSS*, or remote power control.
Wireless TTL
AFAIK (I'm a Canon shooter, so...) this can only be accessed if you have a Sony wireless TTL master unit on the flash hotshoe (any of the Sony HLV flashes with controller capability). It's also optical, and has the same limitations, but will offer TTL and remote power control. Not sure about HSS.
Radio triggers
You can also use radio triggers to get past the shortcomings of optical triggers. With radio triggers, you put a transmitter on the camera hotshoe, and it signals to a receiver you connect to the flash's foot. Because it's using radio, there are no line-of-sight requirements, and reliability in bright light is good.
However, finding TTL triggers that use the Sony multi-interface hotshoe is tough. They're not particularly common. The Sony versions of the Phottix Odin II and Godox X1 triggers, however, should have multi-interface hotshoes, and can communicate TTL and HSS.
You could also use manual-only triggers (e.g., Phottix Strato, Yongnuo RF-603II), but they won't communicate anything but the sync signal.
* For definitions of TTL and HSS, see: What features should one look for when selecting a flash?
Originally by user27440. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user27440
9y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes. The Nissin i40 can be used off-camera with a Sony a6000 in a few ways.
The simplest option is the i40’s built-in optical slave modes:
- SD: use when the camera flash is firing TTL pre-flashes
- SF: use when the camera flash is in manual and does not pre-flash
With this setup, the a6000’s pop-up flash triggers the i40 remotely. The downside is that it requires line of sight, the pop-up flash must fire, and reliability can drop outdoors or in bright sunlight. It also only tells the flash to fire—generally no remote TTL, no HSS, and no remote power control.
If you want a more dependable off-camera setup, use a radio trigger system compatible with Sony and the i40, or a flash system designed for Sony wireless control. Radio is usually better than optical because it doesn’t need line of sight and works more reliably in varied lighting.
So: yes, it’s possible with the built-in optical slave, but for flexibility and consistency, radio triggering is the better alternative.
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