I picked up a new Sigma EF-530 DG Super Electronic Flash for my Nikon iTTL system the other day for a cool $200. Today I am going to review this little unit for you today. In summary, it is a great, inexpensive potential replacement for the now discontinued Nikon SB-800. Aside from a couple of potentially irritating quirks, it performs flawlessly.
Specifications
- Guide Number 53 (ISO 100/m, 105 mm head position)
- Power source: 4AA type alkaline or Ni-Cd or Ni-MH(Nickel Metal Halide) type batteries
- Recycling Time: ~ 6.0 sec alkaline batteries: ~ 4.0 sec Ni-Cd or Ni-MH batteries
- Number of Flashes: ~200 for Alkaline batteries: ~100 for Ni-Cd or Ni-MH batteries
- Flash duration: ~ 1/700 sec (full power)
- Flash Illumination Angle: 24mm-105mm motor powered control (17mm with built in wide panel)
- Auto Power off: available
- Weight: 335 g / 11.8 oz
- Dimensions; 77mm(W) x 139mm(H) x 117mm(L) / 3.0 in(W) x 5.5 in (H) x 4.6 in (L)
All in, this unit is a viable substitute for most of the features on the now discontinued Nikon SB-800. The guide number is a bit weaker than the rating for the SB-800 (56 @ ISO 100/m, 105mm head position), but not by much. Let’s take a closer look!
Features:
- Zooming Flash head with settings for 24mm, 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, 70mm, 85mm, 105mm. Can be set manually or automatically.
- Wide Panel diffusor which can extend angle of coverage to 17mm. Built in, flip down design.
- Adjustable flash head, vertical adjustments to -7, 0, 60, 75 and 90 degrees: Left to 0, 60, 75, 90, 120, 150, 180: Right to 0, 60, 75, 90 degrees. Unlike the Nikon, the head adjustments are controlled by two buttons; One on the side of the head adjusts the vertical and another one on the back controls the horizontal adjustment.
- When connected to the camera hot shoe the unit automatically senses the ISO and f stop setting on the camera (see image below). This can be manually over-ridden on the unit.
- iTTL mode or D-TTL mode selection. Also has a BL setting.
- Guide number chart on back panel display. Once the unit knows the ISO and f stop being used a handy distance meter is displayed on the back panel. Handier than running those pesky computations in your head!
- Manual Flash option with adjustments from 1/1 to 1/64 power in 1/3 stop increments.
- Distance priority Manual Flash: With this setting you can lock in the distance to the subject and the unit will use the ISO, f stop data to adjust the power output.
- Flash exposure compensation (iTTL mode). Can be set from +1 to -3 stops in 1/3 stop increments.
- FV lock allows you to choose and lock the exposure (set using camera settings).
- Auto FP High-Speed Sync (FP Flash)
- Rear curtain synchronization (set using camera settings)
- Red eye reduction (set using camera settings)
- Modeling Flash
- Multi Flash Mode (Repeating Flash mode)
- Wireless Flash mode as a slave unit or a master unit(for other Sigma flashes…don’t know if it will act as a controller for Nikon units). Works as a dedicated slave when controlled by the D300 (etc) built in flash as a controller.
- Slave Flash mode (as a master or slave unit)
What is missing
Now, while I said that this unit has most of the key features on the SB-800, there are still some missing features which may disappoint a few users. Here is what they did not include on the EF-530 DG Super:
- Built in Bounce Card
- External Power source terminal
- External AF assist contacts
- Modeling flash illuminator button
- TTL multiple flash terminal
- PC sync terminal
- Sound monitor
Some operational idiosyncrasies
Unlike a dedicated Nikon unit, the Sigma EF-530 DG Super is not quite as smart. While a Nikon Speedlight can be set up for wireless, for example, turned off and turned on, it remembers who it is and works right away. The Sigma unit is a bit more involved for setup for wireless. To begin with, the unit must be first attached to the hotshoe of the camera. Once turned on, you need to depress the camera shutter release to send the camera information to the flashgun through the hot shoe. (This is a slight modification to the procedure described in the manual, which suggests that you only need to half press the shutter button). After this operation, the unit can be removed and used in wireless mode. If the unit is turned off, however, it goes brain dead and must be re-attached to the camera and set up again.
Additionally, the absence of a sound monitor is important. I find the sound monitor on my SB-600 is helpful in telling me if the unit was able to output enough light to properly expose the image. If I get a warning beep, I know I need to check my image in the view finder and, if necessary, change something (usually the f stop) to improve the exposure. The Sigma unit, having no such warning, does not help me out in difficult lighting situations, forcing more reviews of the histogram in the viewfinder to see if the flash put out enough light.
My verdict
First, for the price I paid for this unit, I have no real complaints. It costs less than a SB-600, and has many of the features on the discontinued SB-800. While the need to re-sync the camera and the flash unit when using it in wireless mode is a bit of a pain and time consuming, I am rarely doing time critical work, and I am usually using this unit as a second flash gun in concert with my SB-600. In that setup, I can also rely on my SB-600 sound monitor to act as a canary. If it gives me a warning, I can check my image in the viewfinder and adjust things. So I am happy to use the Sigma as a dedicated second wireless unit. Also, it has the advantage of being a pure optical slave, which gives me more flexibility.
The recycle time is a bit slower than with a dedicated Nikon unit, but again, not a deal killer for my work. The lack of the dedicated terminals is not an issue for me as I use the Sigma as either a second wireless/slave unit or as a more powerful on camera flash than the SB-600.
As an amateur, I find this to be an inexpensive alternative to the now impossible to find SB-800. A professional or more demanding shooter would certainly not view this unit as one for dedicated work and would definitely need to go with the SB-900. I may end up getting an SB-900 some day, but for the moment, the Sigma EF-530 DG Super meets my needs and my pocket book.
Being a Nikon shooter, I feel that in some ways this review is like a confession about cheating on a loved one. I have a great admiration for the Nikon system. The CLS is a fantastic system and as I become more involved with flash photography I find I want to push the edge and try new things. Guys like Joe McNally have become my inspiration for learning what these little guys are capable of adding to my photography. With my previous exposure to flash photography having taken place over 30 years ago, to say that I am impressed with the state of the art of the Nikon iTTL and CLS would be a severe understatement.
My only “problem” with the Nikon CLS is the cost of entry. Nikon products are not cheap. And these are not exactly booming times for my main business. Being on a restricted (OK, a starvation) diet for acquiring new photographic technology the cost of the next logical flash unit , the SB-900 at around C$500 is, currently, prohibitive. The SB-600 retails for about half that amount. While I liked my SB-600, it was lacking in some of the features that the discontinued SB-800 and its successor SB-900 have. I had resigned myself to waiting and saving my pennies for the day when I could pick up an SB-900. (side note: I did troll e-bay and craig’s list for used SB-800, but found the costs on them were not much savings over the full retail price of a new SB-900. People like these units and they are hard to come by.) I was intrigued when I discovered that The Camera Store (my most favourite place to shop) was selling the Sigma EF-530 DG Super electronic flash unit for a few pennies short of $200!
After a bit of online research I found several good reviews and reports of the capabilities and limitations of this Sigma unit. For the most part these reviews were accurate, and the Sigma flash is providing for me about what I expected.
I hope this review has been helpful to you. Feel free to add comments on your experiences with the Sigma EF-530 DG Super, if you have any.
