Photography News Issue 42

Photography News | Issue 42 | absolutephoto.com

85 First tests

CullmannFR60Nspeedlight £250

Specs

Price

£250

In the box FR60N flash, padded case, stand Compatible cameras Canon, Nikon, Sony Guide number 60 Recycle time 01-2.6sec Colour Temperature 5600K (+/-200) TTL function Yes Power levels (manual) 1/128-1/1 Power increments 0.3EV Zoom (Manual/automatic) 20-200mm Flash exposure lock Yes Flash duration 1/300-1/20,000sec Stroboscopic mode Yes Wireless flash functions TTL, manual (M), stroboscopic mode (multi), slave (S1, S2) Wireless groups / channels 32 channels, 5 groups Max wireless range 100m (radio), indoor 12-15m, outdoor 8-10m (optical) Modelling flash Yes AF assist beam Yes Triggering options Radio, optical, slave, PC sync lead Flash ready indicator Yes Auto power dump Yes Vertical rotation -7 to +90 degrees Horizontal rotation 360 degrees Power supply 4 AA batteries, external DC power supply Power Saving Yes Dimensions 64x76x190mm Weight (with batteries) 410g (530g) Contact intro2020.co.uk

Above The Cullmann FR60N (N being Nikon-fit) felt well balanced when fitted to larger DSLRs, like the Nikon D810, but was a bit top-heavy on smaller bodies. Button layout was easy to master and control is simple thanks to the four function buttons below the LCD screen.

These days, third-party speedlights tend to be of a high quality. What that means is you don’t automatically have to go for the same make as your camera when you’re upgrading from the built-in flash. And you can save a fair bit that way, too. The Cullmann FR60 speedlight is one such model. It’s available in Canon, Nikon and Sony fits, with a C, N or S added to the name to signify that, and it offers full TTL metered shooting, wireless triggering (via a CullmannCUlight RadioTransmitter, sold separately at around £100), a decent level of power (Guide Number 60), and lots of flash modes. The Cullmann FR60N is a fairly large and heavy speedlight (it’s over 530g with batteries), so when mounted on camera it felt a bit unbalanced on a smaller DSLR body like a Nikon D3400. But it’s right at home on larger models, like the D810 I tested it on. In the weeks I tested used it, build quality seemed very good and the unit has a solid feel, with no rattling or looseness to the swivelling head. Mounting the unit, you notice the locking ring that holds it in place in the hotshoe, which rather than the usual grooved disk design has deeper indentations, giving a better grip. Unlike some, it has enough separation from the body of the unit, so that it’s not fiddly to use. The swivelling head can be angled between about -7º and 90º, with stops at 75º, 60º and 45º, but there’s no

in its two slave modes, but the way to go is using the built-in wireless function. The Wireless Selection button, marked R allows you to set the channel (1-32), and group (Master, A, B, C, D or E). Within those, the handy Fn buttons again allow you to choose a mode, or alter the power. As a 2.4Ghz radio receiver, the system doesn’t need line of sight and has a maximum range of 100m. We didn’t have a CUlight Radio Transmitter to try at the time of testing. Power consumption and recycle times are reasonable, and with a brand-new set of good quality Ni- MH batteries, recycling took just under 3secs on full power. Below full it was virtually instantaneous, but like all battery powered guns, these times did drop away during shooting. To improve matters, you can get a CUlight PowerPack 4500 for another £250. KS

bounced, or used off camera. A good performance there. In testing the flash’s colour temperature it proved to be accurate and consistent throughout the full 1/128 to 1/1 power range. Shooting with the D810 set to manual flashwhite-balance, and shootingwith and without the flash engaged, there was very little difference in results, perhaps fractionally cooler. TTL mode (i-TTL on Nikon) is accessed via the mode button, cycling through manual (M) and strobe (RPT) modes. In TTL you can dial in +/- 3EV of flash exposure compensation, independent of the camera and there’s also Hi-sync which is automatically triggered when you push the camera’s shutter speed beyond the normal sync speed (with the Nikon D810 this means selecting the Auto FP mode under flash sync speed). This worked fine, though like all Hi-sync flash modes, flash power is much reduced. Though the FR60’s button layout initially looks complicated, it proved very straightforward, thanks in the main to the four function (Fn) buttons that sit under the main display. These control custom settings and, for examplewhen you’re in the RPTmode, they individually control the number and speed of flashes; in Manual the Fn buttons control exposure compensation, slave modes and more. It’s a good system and means you don’t need to learn some arcane method of pressing two buttons at once, as one some other speedlights. The flash can be triggered optically

lock to keep it in place. Fortunately, the head is stiff enough for this not to be a problem and won’t move even when given a strong waggling. When rotating the head through its 360º turn, it’s almost too stiff, taking more force than expected to move it. But that’s certainly better than it being too free. As you turn the head, angle markings become visible, but I couldn’t see much use for these, and there’s no indicator to alignwith them showing where you are in the turn. As you’d expect, the FR60 has a pullout wide-angle panel diffuser and a bounce card above it and these both operate well, albeit with a bit of fingernail required to pull them out. To access the bounce card, the diffuser needs to be pushed in until it clicks, at which point the card comes out with it. I tested the FR60’s zoom range, which is stated at 20-200mm, shooting against a white wall to check how well the spread of light was controlled. Shooting at f/11 to prevent any vignetting from the lens, I got good coverage from about 35mm upwards. Below that there was some fall off at the edges, even with the wide-panel diffuser (which should widen the beam to 14mm). It wasn’t too bad, but the light wasn’t quite as smooth with the diffuser down. TTL performance was very good, giving excellent exposures in a variety of situations. For example, lighting was consistent whether the flash was directed at the subject,

Verdict

Though the FR60’s button layout initially looks complicated, it proved very straightforward...

There are cheaper out there, but its build and features mean the FR60 feels reasonable value for money. You’ll need another £100 for the radio transmitter, but it’s well below first-party speedlights.

Pros Handling, performance, built- in radio receiver Cons Not the cheapest

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