Walimex Pro VC-600 Excellence Studio Flash

If you are new to studio photography, like me, then this light is not a bad place to start if you have some more experienced friends around to help you as the instructions are a bit lacking. First thing to note is the size and weight, the unit is quite large and ideally needs its own dedicated stand. Un-boxing is straight forward, you need to un-clip the protective shield, screw in the bulb, and then screw on the reflector dish. Make sure the hole in the dish lines up with the stand so you can put an umbrella through if you want softbox or reflective effects.Switched on the unit is pretty quiet, and is quite like a projector with a fan running all the time. Incidentally when you switch it off you also need to give it time to cool down first, also like a projector, except this bulb is hot stuff and will need 15 minutes.Connecting is quite easy with a bit of know how. We tried a PC sync unit plugged into the hot shoe of the camera. We also tried master slave mode from a camera, both a high end Nikon DSLR and a small Olympus tough TG-4, which also has a master slave trigger and both worked well. We did not explore the photocell pre-flash trigger but it has one. I have bought a hot shoe PC sync adapter for my old Canon 350D for about £10 as this seems the simplest way.We fired the flash quite often and pretty hard, it did not give us any overheating warning beeps, so it is good for its guidelines and will allow you to make a lot of shots. All in all it is a professional level piece of kit, it is well made and feels robust. The control panel is quite straight forward but I am left with the feeling that you really need to know what you are doing to get the best out of it. If you are not a pro then you need to be a keen amateur.

I’ve only gotten into studio photography in the last six months, so cannot offer a professional opinion on these “Pro” lights, but having been previously using budget Elemental studio flashes I can say that the Walimex Pro VC-400 is a big improvement.Firstly the build quality is excellent. It is a sturdy piece of kit with a nice rubbery texture to the main body, and the composite parts all snap into place quickly and securely. I found that my (again budget) light-stand didn’t do the best job and the VC-400 wobbled on it bit, but I put this down to the stand rather than the light.The biggest improvement I noticed over the cheaper flashes was the speed of the recharge. I was able to get off a lot more shots in a short amount of time. Having never upgraded before, I was a little concerned that my soft box wouldn't fit (it fit perfectly) or that my basic Yonguo flash triggers wouldn't work (they worked perfectly), or that 400w would be more than I'd need (I've found that the extra wattage is a big advantage). If you're looking for an upgrade to a starter kit, then this could be the flash for you.When the modelling light is on the unit produces a fairly audible hum, which may make it unsuitable for some video work, but this is after all a flash unit first and foremost so that shouldn’t be held against it too much.All in all I'm delighted with this studio flash.

Walimex's VC Excellence Studio Flash range starts with the VC-300, up to the VC-1000. The number refers to the Watt-seconds (or joules) of energy, in other words, the higher the number the greater the maximum flash output. The light output of the VC-400 is at the lower end of the range and therefore most suitable for portrait work, but may not be enough for large group photography. The VC-400 is the smallest physical size of the range (30x13x13 cm - same size as the VC-300). It is suitable for the amateur and professional. Bear in mind that you will require a suitable lamp tripod to use this flash.I found the VC-400 straightforward to get to grips with, even for an amateur such as myself. Using a PC Sync cable I was able to sync the flash to my camera and I was very satisfied with the lighting results for portrait work, the ability to customise the light output on the flash unit, and the rapid recharge times.

I don't have any great pretensions about being a pro photographer, but am now on my third Big Nikon so I've got a few frames behind me. Using the inbuilt flash on a DSLR is fairly limited, and there are times when a flashgun (I owved a Metz one for a while) just doesn't work. Especially when doing portraiture or similar work indoors.This Walimex Pro flash lamp is one of those devices that sits between the real hardcore equipment and the well-meaning amateur. It isn't ridiculously expensive and is also a good starting piece to begin a static setup with.It's a hefty lump of a lamp with a built-in modelling lamp for setting up shots, a swirled diffuser to assist with spreading the light evenly as well as the sync cable and power cord. You will need some kind of stand to mount it, and its clamp and tilt attachment means setting angles is easy enough. I waited for a suitable Walimex stand (reviewed elsewhere)  Walimex 200cm Light Stand  turned up and then got to play with it properly.There is a constant running fan in the chassis of the lamp to provide cooling for the various electrical components and the bulbs themselves. I started off using the sync cable and a borrowed hot shoe connecter, which proved easy and showed up plenty of potential. There are also various radio control and optical sensor trigger modes to be explored, and I'll be picking up the accessories kit as Walimex are making these items available at reasonable prices.Well done to them. It's not an expensive high-end device, nor is it perfect as setup can be a bit fiddly. There are also not too many instructions or guides included. I think the manufacturer assumes a level of competence with this device so keep that in mind It can, however, cope with a heavy workflow and repeated triggerings thanks to the cooling system so in most usage scenarios it won't overheat.Not bad at all for the money and a good starter point into more professional flash photography