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Nissin MF18 Ring Flash any good? Alternatives?

Started Jan 17, 2021 | Discussions
G Pik
G Pik Contributing Member • Posts: 605
Nissin MF18 Ring Flash any good? Alternatives?

I've been using Nikon flash R1C1 for bug close ups but have now sold my Nikon Macro lenses and am awaiting Nikon Z Macro, which could be a while so am thinking alternatives.

I also have a Sony A7Riv and am considering buying the Sony 90mm Macro lens and would need a flash kit for this. The Nissin MF18 Macro Flash seems to have good reviews.  Any comments or suggestions?

Thanks

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 G Pik's gear list:G Pik's gear list
Sony a1 Sony a7R V Sony 2.0x Teleconverter Sony 1.4x Teleconverter Sony 70-200mm F2.8 G SSM II +8 more
ken_in_nh Senior Member • Posts: 2,399
Re: Nissin MF18 Ring Flash any good? Alternatives?

Why do you use flash?  What's your use case?  Indoors? Outdoors?  High f stop?

Most of my shooting is stacking, where a flash isn't the best option.  Outdoors I have good results (on calm days) with natural light and f8.  Indoors, where I often do higher magnification, I use a ringlight.

mack100 New Member • Posts: 18
Re: Nissin MF18 Ring Flash any good? Alternatives?

G Pik wrote:

I've been using Nikon flash R1C1 for bug close ups but have now sold my Nikon Macro lenses and am awaiting Nikon Z Macro, which could be a while so am thinking alternatives.

I also have a Sony A7Riv and am considering buying the Sony 90mm Macro lens and would need a flash kit for this. The Nissin MF18 Macro Flash seems to have good reviews. Any comments or suggestions?

Thanks

The Sony 90mm macro lens is probably the sharpest lens I have ever used with excellent ergonomics, particularly in switching from MF to AF should you want to. It also makes an excellent portrait lens.

I use mine on a Sony A6500 or on an A9 with 10+16mm macro extension tubes and sometimes Raynox close-up lenses . I also use flash either in the form of an off camera flash with a Godox TT600S and trigger or more recently with a Meike MK-MT24S Macro Twin Lite and I am pleased with the results although choosing which one to use is dependent on subjects and ambient lighting.

I have also used a ring flash which I found to be more problematic both ergonomically and also with achieving adequate diffusion. I also use stacking and I have not found using flash judiciously to be an impediment to getting good results.

 mack100's gear list:mack100's gear list
Sony a9 Sony FE 90mm F2.8 macro Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 III Sony FE 200-600 F5.6-6.3
G Pik
OP G Pik Contributing Member • Posts: 605
Re: Nissin MF18 Ring Flash any good? Alternatives?

Depending on the subject I either use LED lights or flash indoors. I use Helicon Remote for stacking but live insects at 1:1 can be tricky to stack so this is where flash is good.

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 G Pik's gear list:G Pik's gear list
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AKRover Regular Member • Posts: 289
Re: Nissin MF18 Ring Flash any good? Alternatives?

I have the Nissin MF18 and I really like, but I don’t use it much. Nissin makes great flashes and this one is no exception. The menus are straightforward (so much better than my Canon flash) and the unit is well built. The control on it is impressive. It provides control over the two halves of the ring at very precise levels and down to very minimal light output levels. It is in that very minimal lighting range that I typically operate which makes me wonder why I have such a big powerful device. I think I used it a few times at higher light levels doing studio work using it as a trigger for a second flash, but mostly what I need it for is to add just a little bit of light to live macro subjects. It seems like there should be a better lower power solution, but I haven’t found one. My primary complaint (well, other than price) is that it is just a bit big and makes carrying the camera complicated (won’t hang from the neck strap nicely). If I did more dedicated macro field work, I probably wouldn’t have that complaint, but usually macro is something I do as a subset of wildlife photography and my big lenses take priority on most days over having a dedicated macro setup. Below are some examples using the flash that show the ability of balancing the two halves to create shadows and using the low power levels to prevent hot spots on the subject.

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G Pik
OP G Pik Contributing Member • Posts: 605
Re: Nissin MF18 Ring Flash any good? Alternatives?

Thanks for sharing the images, great stuff.

I've been experimenting a bit with a small fish tank to keep live insects confined, it also means I can change the background easily.

These are a couple of shots using the Nikon R1C1 system. I recently bought a Sony A7Riv and 200-600 for bird photography as the 61Mp gives a lot of 'cropability' which could also be very useful for macro.

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Geo Cocker
http://www.gec.photography/

Ruby-tailed wasp

Angle shades moth

Aphids, needed flash for these as they keep moving!!

 G Pik's gear list:G Pik's gear list
Sony a1 Sony a7R V Sony 2.0x Teleconverter Sony 1.4x Teleconverter Sony 70-200mm F2.8 G SSM II +8 more
mack100 New Member • Posts: 18
Re: Nissin MF18 Ring Flash any good? Alternatives?

Excellent set, lovely colours and clarity.

 mack100's gear list:mack100's gear list
Sony a9 Sony FE 90mm F2.8 macro Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 III Sony FE 200-600 F5.6-6.3
jimhughes
jimhughes Senior Member • Posts: 1,856
Re: Nissin MF18 Ring Flash any good? Alternatives?

Last summer I bought a cheap LED ring flash and found it worked great for insects. I wrote a blog post about it:
https://jimhphoto.com/index.php/2020/08/16/insect-macro-with-led-ring-flash/

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www.jimhphoto.com

bohemian100 New Member • Posts: 9
Re: Nissin MF18 Ring Flash any good? Alternatives?

The MF18 is a pretty good ring flash, the only thing that lets it down is that everytime there is a firmware update for it you have to send it away to a nissin distributor to update it, its the only product i know of that you cant plug into a computer & update the firmware yourself. Poor show Nissin

Dann-Oh Contributing Member • Posts: 894
Re: Nissin MF18 Ring Flash any good? Alternatives?
1

G Pik wrote:

I've been using Nikon flash R1C1 for bug close ups but have now sold my Nikon Macro lenses and am awaiting Nikon Z Macro, which could be a while so am thinking alternatives.

I also have a Sony A7Riv and am considering buying the Sony 90mm Macro lens and would need a flash kit for this. The Nissin MF18 Macro Flash seems to have good reviews. Any comments or suggestions?

Thanks

I'm just starting to dabble in macro but I'm enjoying it a lot. I purchased the Flashpoint MF12 2 strobe kit during Adaorama's (link) last sale. I trigger the strobes with my Godox X2T trigger.  I'm still learning but its great fun.

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I take photos, not particularly good photos, mostly abstract photos. Yeah abstract is what I would call them, you might call them blurry.

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