Sigma Imaging UK Ltd EF-610 DG Super Electronic Flash for Canon SLR Cameras

I've used this gun for nearly a year now and used it on several major shoots, where I was the principle photographer and it's always inspired confidence and produced clean, well-lit pictures.Being semi-pro, a long-term SB600 (Nikon) speedlight user on full-frame Nikon D700, I've been needing a supplement to/replacement for the 600 as it is ageing and comparatively underpowered. Fine for interiors; outdoors it is lacking, its GN of 32 being about one-third less than this Sigma. I needed a decent gun for night-time Carnivals, especially when shooting with wideangle lenses.I did try Nikon's flagship SB900 but it was faulty and was both unwieldy and complicated to access the many modes, with its programs and menus. I even considered a S/H SB800 but they still command prices quite a bit more than I paid for this gun (similar to its RRP, in fact). The SB700 wasn't widely available enough to be a contender, at the time.FEATURES - A couple of features from the 900 that I liked do feature on this Sigma - a flip down white card that adds a catchlight to the subject's eyes and flexible bouncing capabilities - 180 degrees (behind) for instance. All the 'normal' features considered standard on a quality gun (LCD backlit screen, i-TTL, Rear curtain sync, manual overriding of exposure in 1/3 stops, wideangle diffuser to 17mm, stand, carry case - with separate pouch inside for set of batteries) are all included (plus possibly a few that aren't so important to me).In basic modes, it's as easy to use as the SB600 though a downside is that screen goes entirely blank when the gun is resting whereas I'd expect at least something to show it was still "on". Engaging extra functions and features, such as overriding output takes some button pressing, but no menus to navigate and all that.THE GUN - The gun itself is Japanese made and is barely heavier than the 600, with batteries and has that soft-touch feel that Sigma use quite a lot. It is longer and a little bigger but not ungainly so. The battery flap opens very differently to that of the Nikon - I'm not looking forward to opening it in the pitch dark - and the poor display of the orientation of the batteries is a real annoyance, meaning you have to use another light source just to see (the Nikon uses white painted symbols that help, the Sigma uses barely raised black ones on the flap and are recessed to being almost in the chamber itself. I haven't yet got used to this nuisance.IN PRACTICAL USE - One area where there is real advantage is that there are more infrared sensors for AF in the Sigma than in the SB600 and so AF in darkness is possible, (& correctly exposed photos) whereas this hardly ever worked with the 600. When photographing a choir at night in the grounds of a ruined abbey recently, with the wideangle diffuser in place and a 24mm lens, I got perfect intensity to not burn out their white robes but enough spread to fill in on the ruins. I used the backlit mode, minus 2/3rds of a stop and employed 'shadows' in Photoshop CS to get a very nice and impressive shot, that belied its (mostly, some ambient) sole light source. The Nikon would have struggled with this scenario, by being underpowered and probably would have swamped the foreground, burning it out and also underexposing the background. Another plus was that after some 40 shots outside and another 60 inside straight after, the set of Uniross rechargeables still had quite a bit of juice left in them, so the gun seems efficient.BUILD - Build quality and quality control could be of an issue, though no worries so far. I already feel at home with and it has become my main gun, though I'm keeping the SB 600 as spare and for when I need a second one for studio use etc. I'm happy to give this Sigma 4 and 3/4 stars, the minus bit being for the slightly small buttons and the lack of a 'ready' light and the poor battery orientation display.I really only use flash where I need to, for bands and musicians it's only ever as a fill-in, hence my need for ease of overriding the output. Flash and flashguns leave me cold - I only pick one up when it's about to be used and I buy a new one about every decade. Sigma make some quality products - half of my best lenses are from them and so whilst they might not be leading lights in this field, it's rational to believe that a Sigma flashgun would do a competent job, with the same value-for-money attraction over marque products that their lenses are renowned for. For me, I can certainly say that this flagship gun continues this tradition.

Excellent value for money, works really well with my Pentax K50, I wanted a TTL flash and the Pentax versions are very expensive but this does the job just as well, full manual control as well.

Excellent value for money and ease of use. Has generated good results already . Only quibble is it does drain the batteries quickly

This flashgun does everything I wanted it to do, and with a guide number of 61 is very powerful. I used it with my Nikon D5500 camera, and the results have been very good indeed. I use View NX2 to down load my pics to my computer, and when checking data of the equipment used to take each exposure, found the flash when used was a Nikon SB-800.!!! So this Sigma flash EF-610 DG Super, looks to View NX2 as a Nikon flash, at a reduced price. The construction is excellent, feels robust, just the buttons are a bit small. I am very pleased with my purchase, and would recommend this flash to anyone.

I initially though that his was a great deal. I was using at a wedding and when I went to change batteries half way through the day the battery pack lid came off in my hand. what a mission that was to get the thing back on and working again. Also this appears to be sorer on batteries than I originally thought. An update: I have used this flash once as stated before. I have had nothing but issues with it. Today I charged brand new batteries and inserted them The flash turned on okay but would not flash. Would allow me to use the test button. I now discover that I can't return it to Amazon even though it is faulty. I will have to return it for repair. I am disgusted at this and will not use Amazon again. Do not buy this product unless you want hassle. I feel like I have wasted £100.http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00472OBDE?ref_=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_0

Everything perfect for the seller and shipping.The flash not satisfy me much. The little rubber buttons seem a little uncertain, electronics, although I have not had much time to test it, does not seem perfect in the strobe function. Good material of construction and interior motor zoom, more determined the Pentax original.

The media could not be loaded. I bought this flash few days ago , en one day I took 700 pictures on the street , very fast response , intuitive , working perfect with my new Canon T3i [ 600D ] . Looks likes professional , very happy with my Sigma EF-610 .