No matter what photography gurus tell you about use of flash in photography, the fact of the matter is that there are situations where you really need to use a speedlite or a flashgun. Many professional photographers will discourage the use of flashguns for regular photography but fill light is an element that must become part and parcel of a photographer’s life. Photography is all about light. Even with the most sophisticated camera, minus proper lighting, your photos are surely doomed to fail. Many cameras are made with built in flashes but these are less powerful and don’t offer satisfying result in most situations. Photographers as a result need to carry additional flashguns that can be attached to their camera’s hot shoe when the need arrives.

Every camera manufacturing company has their own flash units which are compatible with their cameras. These flash units are often pricy and not compatible with other camera brands. There are a few companies that make third party camera accessories which are affordable and compatible with most cameras. One of the largest such company in the world is Sigma. Sigma has made a number of flashguns but the latest include Sigma Flash EF-610 DG Super and Sigma Flash EF-610 DG ST. Sigma Flash EF-610 DG Super is the more advanced of the two and has been ranked one of the best mid range flashgun in the world today. Here is what make this flashgun tick.

Very advanced features

Sigma Flash EF-610 DG Super comes with very advanced features in flashgun technology. One of the key features and also its main selling point is the wireless master mode which enables the flashgun to control other flashguns in the camera’s TTL systems. This means when the camera is in this mode, you can wirelessly connect many other flashguns which will play the mantle of ‘slave’ and use Sigma Flash EF-610 DG Super as the master. The latter will be used as a trigger to set off other flashguns. This is a professional feature and needs some time to learn but if an amateur can afford more than one flashguns, then it can really improve the quality of the photos without having to acquire large studio light setting.

Another great feature that sets this flashgun apart is the improved Guide Number (GN). Sigma Flash EF-610 DG Super boasts a GN of 61 which is clearly the best in the world among flashgun of this class. What this means is that the flashgun has an effective reach of 61 meters at 105mm.

Other key specifications

Sigma Flash EF-610 DG Super has an autozoom function which increases the effectiveness of the flashgun by automatically setting the optimum illumination angle to go with the lens’ focal length in the a range from 24mm to 105mm. This is further improved when the inbuilt wide panel of the flashgun is used. When that is the case, the flash can be effective in much wider angle of 17mm.

Another good thing about this flash gun is that it can tilt and swivel for a great photography experience. This feature is especially useful when doing a bounce flash. Here, you can tilt the flashgun up by 90 degree, 180 degree to the left and 90 degree to the right. It can also be tilted down by 7 degree to allow for effective fill when photographing low subject.

Other specifications worth mentioning include rear-curtain synchro flash and manual flash modes. This mode is a great improvement since with it photographers can easily set their power preferences by up to eight stops. The flashgun uses 4 AA batteries which can give up to 220 flashes when using alkaline batteries and 100 flashes when using NiCd, Ni-MH batteries. The flash has an auto Power-Off function that automatically shuts off the LCD panel when not in use to help same the battery power.

Final word

Sigma Flash EF-610 DG Super is a great flashgun with very advanced features, making it one of the best in its class. One of the greatest things about it is that it compatible with many major camera brands like Nikon, Pentax and to others. The flashgun is also backward compatible (analog and D-TTL). And though this flashgun is a top ranked accessory, it is very well priced in comparison to other flashgun in its league. In India, the flashgun goes for around Rs. 20,000 and can be ordered online or from electronic retails shops.