Photography News Issue 45

Photography News | Issue 45 | absolutephoto.com

First tests

Modus600RTWirelessKit £269.99

Specs

Build quality is first rate and feels impressively robust, with controls having an assured feel; the LCD info panel is large and backlit

Prices Modus 600RT Wireless Kit £269.99; Modus 600RT

Speedlight £219.99; Modus 600RT Pro Kit (includes two 600RT units plus Viper TTL) £429.99; Viper TTL Transmitter £69.99; spare HLX-MD1 Extreme battery £44.99 Availability Canon, Nikon and Sony Guide number (ISO100/m) 60 Zoomhead coverage 20-200mm, 14mm with wide panel, auto and manual zoom, swing and tilt head Flash duration 1/300sec to 1/20,000sec Exposure modes TTL, manual Flash compensation +/-3EV in 0.3EV steps Autofocus assist beam range 0.6-10m centre Transmission range 2.4Ghz up to 100m, optical outdoors 8-10m, optical indoors 12-15m Channels 2.4Ghz digital channel matching, optical 4 Slave groups 2.4Ghz and optical M/A/B/C Colour temperature output 5600K +/-200K Multiflash Up to 100 flashes Sync modes First and rear-curtain sync, high speed flash sync up to 1/8000sec Wireless flash function Master, slave off Power source Li-ion rechargeable battery Full power flashes 500 Recycling time 1.5secs at full power Dimensions 64x76x190mm Weight 540g with battery Contact hahnel.ie

Hahnel is known for its batteries, chargers and camera accessories and now it is entering the world of speedlights with the launch of the Modus 600RT. It is available to suit Canon, Nikon or Sony systems. The Modus 600RT is a fully featured speedlight, with a specification list to rival those of top-end radio controlled guns from the big camera brands – but before we take a closer look at what’s on offer, there are two important differences worth highlighting. The first one is price. On its own, the Modus 600RT is £219.99. By comparison, the Nikon SB-5000 is £499, while the Canon Speedlite 600EX II-RT is £539. Secondly, power source. Both the Canon and Nikon guns are powered by almost universally available AA batteries. The Modus 600RT is powered by a rechargeable Li-ion cell, with a claimed capacity of 500 full power flashes with a recycling time of 1.5secs. Build quality is first rate and feels impressively robust, with controls having an assured feel;

the LCD info panel is large and backlit. On handling and potential durability, the Modus 600RT rates as highly as camera brand rivals. To check battery capacity I set full power manual and fired 30 bursts at a time pushing the test button when the flash had recharged – the flash got too warm if I did more. Not only that but recharging slowed significantly to about five seconds from 30 bursts but stayed at around 1.5secs until that point. I let the flash cool down for a few minutes between each set of 30 and in this fashion I got 570 flashes before the battery gave up. That’s a highly impressive amount, especially as a flashgun is unlikely to be used in this manner. Also, in TTLmode, the battery should give a great many more shots, enough for the biggest shoots from one charge. Recycling stayed at around 1.5- 2secs throughout the stamina test (except around the 30 burst mark as mentioned) and that was full manual. In normal shooting the power on LED stayed constantly on. Setting continuous shooting on the D810, which is 5fps, the flash allowed 10 to 12 shots at f/11 and 2m before the charge LED went off and the flash stopped firing. That gives you an idea of the fast recycling available on the Modus. I also checked zoom head coverage, TTL and high-speed sync performance and power using a Gossen flashmeter. The zoom head has various fixed focal length settings within the 24-200mm range or it can be left in auto, which then matches what the zoom is set to. Coverage is even across the frame while at 24mm the corners were a little darker when tested at a distance of 2m. At this

Below Having a rechargeable Li-ion power source results in high flash capacity and impressively

fast recycling even as it approaches exhaustion.

Verdict

If you need a powerful, fully featured speedlight, Hahnel’s Modus 600 must come into the reckoning. It has lots of power, performs as advertised and the rechargeable Li-ion battery has amazing capacity. I am struggling for a downside and if there is one, a dead battery means no flash because there is no AA back-up option. A spare Li-ion cell at £45 is a worthwhile investment if you can’t take the risk of having a useless flashgun, but that is a small price to pay for that peace of mind. And speaking of price, the Modus 600RT on its own is £220 which is a bargain even if you factor in a spare battery. Or take the plunge and go for the Pro kit at £430, which is less than just one Nikon SB-5000, and you have the back-up and creative versatility of two flashguns and a TTL control unit. Highly recommended. Pros Great price, great capacity, fast recycling – even when the battery is nearly exhausted Cons No AA back-up, no auto aperture mode

distance, and at wider lens settings, positioning the head at its lowest tilt angle ensures even lighting across the bottom of the frame. Tested at full power at 2m and ISO 200, the flash meter gave a reading of f/11 – by comparison a Nikon SB-900 was 0.3EV less. Going down the power settings in one EV steps gave decreasing readings of 1EV, so manual power control is accurate. With a Nikon D810, I also used high speed sync in TTL mode, again at a distance of 2m. A test shot of 1/250sec at f/8 and ISO 400 was taken to establish a standard. Increasing the shutter speed to 1/500sec and then 1/1000sec showed f/8 was fine while going to 1/2000sec needed f/5.6, and then at 1/4000sec meant f/4 gave the best result. A further f/stop was needed at 1/8000sec, so f/2.8. So if you want to mix flash with action it is perfectly feasible, providing the flash and subject are within range of course. WC

Below The Modus’s control layout is clear and setting the flashgun up is straightforward enough. Controls have a durable feel, too.