Review of the $56 Neewer VK750 II speedlight flash

WayneF

Senior Member
OK thanks. I've got the kit with the 2.4GHZ transmitter and receiver, and they trigger the flash in remote operation perfectly in TTL. Never even thought about trying M mode yet.


OK, maybe TTL mode then, but definitely not S1. :)

S1 is a simple manual flash (manual level set in the flash manual mode menu) and then triggered by an optical flash seen in the flash sensor.
 

WayneF

Senior Member
Wondering if this will work with my Yongnuo 603 wireless remote triggers!?!?

Sure, it's just a flash, and the trigger is just a trigger. And yes, I have verified it. :)

Flash has to be in Manual M mode, the 603 does NOT do TTL. Camera probably should be in camera Manual mode too, and with Auto ISO off. Because the camera is not aware a flash is present, and camera A mode in a dim place will have a very slow shutter and a very high ISO. Set them as you want them to be in Manual.

Camera M mode with flash is not a scary thing at all, at least not indoors. Flash in a dim place means the ambient is way down, below usefulness.... so it cannot possibly overexpose. If no flash, it will be a very dark picture. Just set shutter to something not exceeding sync speed, and set aperture normally for the flash power.
 

dh photography

Senior Member
Sure, it's just a flash, and the trigger is just a trigger. And yes, I have verified it. :)

Flash has to be in Manual M mode, the 603 does NOT do TTL. Camera probably should be in camera Manual mode too, and with Auto ISO off. Because the camera is not aware a flash is present, and camera A mode in a dim place will have a very slow shutter and a very high ISO. Set them as you want them to be in Manual.

Camera M mode with flash is not a scary thing at all, at least not indoors. Flash in a dim place means the ambient is way down, below usefulness.... so it cannot possibly overexpose. If no flash, it will be a very dark picture. Just set shutter to something not exceeding sync speed, and set aperture normally for the flash power.


Fantastic! Thanks for all the info (here and several other posts)!! Helps out a great deal. 👍
 

weebee

Senior Member
OK, maybe TTL mode then, but definitely not S1. :)

S1 is a simple manual flash (manual level set in the flash manual mode menu) and then triggered by an optical flash seen in the flash sensor.

S1 will fire remotely with my Yongnuo and TTL. Interesting. But it won't be TTL with the Yongnuo 603's I have.
 
Last edited:

WayneF

Senior Member
S1 will fire remotely with my Yongnuo and TTL. Interesting. But it won't be TTL with the Yongnuo 603's I have.

Right, it will "trigger" anytime the foot contact is shorted, but it has not done the TTL preflash and metering, so it will not be programmed for a proper TTL level. Like the test button in TTL mode, just some low fixed test button level. There is some small coincidental chance that this might rarely be near the correct level now and then, but it is far from TTL triggered from the radio trigger.
 

weebee

Senior Member
Got a little aggravated this morning with this flash. It would not switch to TTL. Come to find out it will not if it's mounted on a RF603N trigger. So I took the trigger off the hot shoe and let it hang by the cord. Put the flash back on the hot shoe and I'm back in TTL. So, I went and tried the same with my TTL ring flash. Same problem, same resolution., That would probably explain why when I was using the ring flash my pics were coming out over cooked. I should have looked at the indicator to see if it was TTL enabled. Live and learn.
 

Fortkentdad

Senior Member
Wow this sounds complicated.

I was hoping it was easy peasy and would give me a cheap kicker.

I have two flashes already and want a cheap one to serve as a kicker or 'hair halo' flash. But I'd want one that will work in Nikons CLS (Creative Lighting System). The two flashes I have work dandy from my D610. On my D5100 I must mount one or the other of these on the camera and make it the master which works OK but then I have two not three (the third is the on camera flash on my D610).

I'd be interested if it works in CLS. Rather not spend more cash on a radio system (but if I did almost certainly go for the Yongnuo ones).

Optical slave is an option I suppose, if it is taking the signal from the other flashes would the timing be synced? And I guess it would also need to be in manual mode as the TTL would only be on the camera.
 

WayneF

Senior Member
Wow this sounds complicated.

I was hoping it was easy peasy and would give me a cheap kicker.

I have two flashes already and want a cheap one to serve as a kicker or 'hair halo' flash. But I'd want one that will work in Nikons CLS (Creative Lighting System). The two flashes I have work dandy from my D610. On my D5100 I must mount one or the other of these on the camera and make it the master which works OK but then I have two not three (the third is the on camera flash on my D610).

I'd be interested if it works in CLS. Rather not spend more cash on a radio system (but if I did almost certainly go for the Yongnuo ones).

Optical slave is an option I suppose, if it is taking the signal from the other flashes would the timing be synced? And I guess it would also need to be in manual mode as the TTL would only be on the camera.


The $56 VK750 does not include Nikon Commander compatibility. The $100 Yongnuo YN-565EX does. Review: Review of the Yongnuo YN565EX Speedlight

Optical slave will work fine, and is in sync, but it is limited to manual flash mode. Normally optical slave MUST be triggered from another manual flash, but both VK750 and YN-565EX also have a S2 slave mode that will ignore the TTL preflash, and stay in sync.
 
Last edited:

cwgrizz

Senior Member
Challenge Team
Amazon now has the price at $53 for this flash. The kit I am looking at to start playing around with is Amazon.com: Neewer® PRO i-TTL Flash *Deluxe Kit* for NIKON DSLR D7100 D7000 D5300 D5200 D5100 D5000 D3200 D3100 D3300 D90 D800 D700 D300 D300S D610, D600, D4 D3S D3X D3 D200 N90S F5 F6 F100 F90 F90X D4S D SLR Camera- Includes: Neewer VK750 II Auto-Fo

For someone very new to the whole idea of shooting with a flash, @WayneF or anyone else with recommendations is this a good starter kit to learn with my D5300? Basically the only flash photography I have ever done was with an instamatic and flash cubes (remember those) and a little with the Minolta SLR, but my knowledge with it was to put the Vivitar flash on the hotshoe when I wanted to shoot indoors to no be underexposed using automatic flash settings (indoor snapshots and not often). I am looking to start playing with getting shots of flowers like [MENTION=25354]dh photography[/MENTION], David gets with the black background. (I'm assuming he is using flash for this).

The kit seems to have the basics, with the remote trigger, cables, filters, etc.

Feedback please and thanks
 

Fortkentdad

Senior Member
Have you looked into the Yongnuo flashes?
I do not have one but looked into them and am tempted by what I read.
They have quite the following.
Not quite as cheap as the Neewer but I'd be inclined to go with the Yongnuo over the Neewer based on the reviews I've read.
 

Blacktop

Senior Member
Amazon now has the price at $53 for this flash. The kit I am looking at to start playing around with is Amazon.com: Neewer® PRO i-TTL Flash *Deluxe Kit* for NIKON DSLR D7100 D7000 D5300 D5200 D5100 D5000 D3200 D3100 D3300 D90 D800 D700 D300 D300S D610, D600, D4 D3S D3X D3 D200 N90S F5 F6 F100 F90 F90X D4S D SLR Camera- Includes: Neewer VK750 II Auto-Fo

For someone very new to the whole idea of shooting with a flash, @WayneF or anyone else with recommendations is this a good starter kit to learn with my D5300? Basically the only flash photography I have ever done was with an instamatic and flash cubes (remember those) and a little with the Minolta SLR, but my knowledge with it was to put the Vivitar flash on the hotshoe when I wanted to shoot indoors to no be underexposed using automatic flash settings (indoor snapshots and not often). I am looking to start playing with getting shots of flowers like @dh photography, David gets with the black background. (I'm assuming he is using flash for this).

The kit seems to have the basics, with the remote trigger, cables, filters, etc.

Feedback please and thanks

I have this flash and it's fine for a beginner. I would not get anything more expensive, as this does a lot and if you decide that flash is not for you, then you're not out a whole bunch of money.
I got it because I got talked into doing this wedding and I haven't picked it up since. Not interested in flash at all, unless I get talked into doing something else again.
 

WayneF

Senior Member
For someone very new to the whole idea of shooting with a flash, @WayneF or anyone else with recommendations is this a good starter kit to learn with my D5300? Basically the only flash photography I have ever done was with an instamatic and flash cubes (remember those) and a little with the Minolta SLR, but my knowledge with it was to put the Vivitar flash on the hotshoe when I wanted to shoot indoors to no be underexposed using automatic flash settings (indoor snapshots and not often). I am looking to start playing with getting shots of flowers like @dh photography, David gets with the black background. (I'm assuming he is using flash for this).

I have not seen the kit, but the VK750-II flash seems an extreme bargain for anyone that is price-conscious. It works well, it's affordable, and certainly it is a good starter flash. Even if you want more later after you're really into it, it can always be a great second flash (like for two umbrellas, etc). It does not have features like HSS or Commander compatibility, but neither does the D5300, so it's a good match.

You are aware that the radio triggers are for manual flash mode only? Which is nothing like automatic flash. Then the only thing responsible for setting the correct flash power to obtain correct flash exposure is You. Probably different at every new situation. That is not a bad thing, but manual flash is something to be learned. It's easy, if you want a brighter picture, just turn the flash power up and try again. Some prefer to use manual flash, but others cannot be bothered to learn it. Manual flash can work well for fixed subjects, where nothing moves, and you have time to adjust it, like portraits or macro. TTL automation works too, anywhere, and is good for following motion, like chasing kids (which is about impossible for manual flash).

The flash itself (on the camera hot shoe) can do automatic TTL mode, and TTL automation is point&shoot flash, often about right, but we still need to learn a bit (called Flash Compensation) to sometimes tweak it in. TTL just starts very close to correct, where manual flash does not, if still without experience. Typically any necessary tweaks are judged by how the first image looks on the camera rear LCD, then we can adjust the flash up or down (power level on manual flash, Flash Compensation on TTL flash). With any flash, it's common to sometimes need another try or two to get best result. True of both Manual and TTL modes, and of any flash model or brand.

Flash is a lot of fun for its own sake, and can make dramatic improvements, but you said new to flash, and I'm just trying to help attitude about first try. :) Flash is pretty easy, but it does require our full attention. The only real concern is that not everyone is willing to give it Any attention. :)

The cables are used to trigger the camera shutter when used as a remote shutter. Nikon models uses about three different cables, and apparently two choices are provided in the kit. I have not seen these triggers, but typically this option is either camera shutter or remote flash, but not both at the same time. The remote flash function itself uses no cables.

The YN-560 flash is manual flash only, no TTL.
The VK750 II is both manual or TTL.
Manual is good, but any beginner will want to have TTL automation available. The camera can meter TTL, and we might as well get all the camera can do.
 
Last edited:

Blacktop

Senior Member
The only real concern is that not everyone is willing to give it Any attention. :)

Bull! I studied it for over a month before this wedding and all I got was a headache. Trust me, I gave it waay more attention than it deserved.
 

Fortkentdad

Senior Member

WayneF

Senior Member
Bull! I studied it for over a month before this wedding and all I got was a headache. Trust me, I gave it waay more attention than it deserved.

Some people just prefer available light photography. But of course, my flashes are always available too, to fix it right. :)
 
Last edited:

weebee

Senior Member
I own both of these flashes. The Yongnuo I use as a manual remote flash. The Newer I use on my camera because it is TTL. Really like them both and they both do a very nice job. Not to mention the price.
 
Top