Touted as “The world’s most powerful Hotshoe flashgun” the Nissin Di866 undoubtedly packs a punch. When used as a main light source, the Di866 has a Guide Number (GN) of 60 at ISO 100 and 105mm, or 84 at ISO 200, or when operated as a sub-flash, its GN drops to 12 (ISO 100) – still providing plenty of coverage.

    Available in Nikon and Canon fit, this flashgun comes loaded with an array of advanced features. It boasts a ‘Power zoom’ covering 24-105mm and a High Speed Synch Frequency Pulse that enables it to synchronise to all shutter speeds over 1/250 sec. equipped with an External Auto Exposure Sensor, the flashgun covers eight stops, comprising f2 –f22 with TTL flash compensation, for accurate exposures.

    The flash head is articulated and can be rotated to bounce flash off walls / ceilings etc, and incorporates a built in wide angle diffuser and catch light reflector for more natural-looking results. The Di866 is powered by 4 AA batteries, and features an auto shut off energy saving feature, fast start-up and quick recycle time of roughly 3.5sec – on a par with other own-brand professional flashguns.

    The unit also boasts a USB port and can be connected to your computer, allowing for firmware updates to be installed as and when they are released by the manufacturer – a de rigueur feature that really adds to this flashgun’s appeal. The build quality adds a solid feel to it and the interface couldn’t be much simpler, with a four-way d-pad and Set button combo, an On/Off and test fire buttons, all set underneath a clear colour LCD. The LCD is easy to read and detects the orientation in which it is being held, rotating the display to compensate and so keeping it the right way up, whichever way you’re shooting.

The Di866 is capable of being used as a master or slave unit in wireless flash setups, for all manner of creative lighting applications, making it a versatile tool that should appeal to more experienced flash photographers. Its large, powerful articulated head provides ample coverage for near and distant subjects, and produces accurate, natural-looking exposures automatically, while allowing for plenty of manual input from the photographer where desired.

Final Verdict The Di866 is a versatile flashgun that produces consistent high-quality results and offers plenty of automatic and more advanced functionality OVERALL

Josie developed a taste for photography while travelling around Ecuador, returning home to specialize in the medium as part of her BA (Hons) degree at university. Now the Reviews Editor for Digital Photographer, Josie handles all of the latest camera launches and boasts an in-depth knowledge of all things camera-related.