Sigma EF-530 DG Super i-TTL Shoe Mount Flash (Guide No. 174/53 m at 105mm) for Nikon with i-TTL

Comments about Sigma EF-530 DG Super i-TTL Shoe Mount Flash (Guide No. 174/53 m at 105mm) for Nikon with i-TTL:

Perfectly compatible with NikonD90

Comments about Sigma EF-530 DG Super i-TTL Shoe Mount Flash (Guide No. 174/53 m at 105mm) for Nikon with i-TTL:

An awesome product, a photographer must have. Nicest thing is it has all features i wanted, plus compare the price with other brands, this one is really cheap but extremely great product. The feature zooming ability, commander.. all the things ive looking for a speed light is here and it doesn't overheat in continous flashing.

Comments about Sigma EF-530 DG Super i-TTL Shoe Mount Flash (Guide No. 174/53 m at 105mm) for Nikon with i-TTL:

Mostly used for event photos, people. Good uniform bounce illumination. Photo recipients says, "That's a really good camera." No cons so far.

Comments about Sigma EF-530 DG Super i-TTL Shoe Mount Flash (Guide No. 174/53 m at 105mm) for Nikon with i-TTL:

it´s a great flash, i always get good exposures with the TTL...
works great as a slave too....
and it´s very powerfull...

Comments about Sigma EF-530 DG Super i-TTL Shoe Mount Flash (Guide No. 174/53 m at 105mm) for Nikon with i-TTL:

Flash yields great contrast when attached to my Nikon D90. Has fast recycle so many photos can be taken rapidly. I use the new Ansmann 2850 mAh batteries that last for many photos.
Do not like the soft case which is difficult to store flash. They could have made a bit longer to ease storage and removal.

Comments about Sigma EF-530 DG Super i-TTL Shoe Mount Flash (Guide No. 174/53 m at 105mm) for Nikon with i-TTL:

I use this unit as a backup
It works consistently
I would like to see a built in white card, and a sync terminal on it.

Comments about Sigma EF-530 DG Super i-TTL Shoe Mount Flash (Guide No. 174/53 m at 105mm) for Nikon with i-TTL:

We use all 3 the SB800 The SB900 and the Sigma EF-530 DG Super. The Sigma performs almost just like the SB800 and doesn't freeze up when it get hot like the SB900. We are Wedding Photographer and use these all the time. I think the SB900 has more problems with it. The Sigma I will buy a couple more to fill my needs...NO MORE SB900s for us!

Comments about Sigma EF-530 DG Super i-TTL Shoe Mount Flash (Guide No. 174/53 m at 105mm) for Nikon with i-TTL:

Do yourself a favor...Do not spend the extra $ for the Nikon SB-900. This flash is not Nikon build quality, but what's the alt. Power, batt. life and cycle times are just great. You could buy 4 for the price of a SB-900 - crazy! If your Pro, It's well worthy as backup. Commander mode as sigma slave fires well before shutter with on camera flash set to commander?

Comments about Sigma EF-530 DG Super i-TTL Shoe Mount Flash (Guide No. 174/53 m at 105mm) for Nikon with i-TTL:

I use this as a backup for my sb 800

Comments about Sigma EF-530 DG Super i-TTL Shoe Mount Flash (Guide No. 174/53 m at 105mm) for Nikon with i-TTL:

I have a Sigma 530Super and a SB900 Nikon and use them both for slaves with a D90 in commander mode. I find both of them perform essentially the same except the SB900 is easier to set up, and the Sigma requires 10 seconds more time to initialize when first configuring for CLS slave(off shoe) mode.
They both give the same exposure with the same camera settings in the same scene, and both act reliably as a commander. If I go out with only one flash, I use the Sigma because it is more compact and a set of charged batteries will last 400 or more shots in the club and event shooting I do. Due to the cost differences and performance similarities, I will be adding more Sigma's to the kit. I love the SB900, it is the best flash that can mount on a shoe, but it IS expensive. The Nikon unit will focus out to 200mm which is an advantage but for my work I see no difference in final images. The reviewer prior to me must have had a defective unit because I have not experienced an exposure accuracy problems with either the SB900 or Sigma 530Super. I've had the Sigma for 18 months and used it for about 20,000 and have very few mis-exposed shots, maybe one a night of 400++ shots in terrible lighting conditions. It has been banged around, dropped, sat on and rained on and it just keeps on ticking.

How I use it: Remote Slave CLS TTL mode or direct on shoe. When on the shoe, and daytime, the TTL BL fill mode is GREAT
Pros: Power, CLS compatibility, reliability, price, battery life and a great TTL BL fill mode.
Cons: No external power pack connector(I installed one easily however) and having to mount the flash on the shoe when first programming it for remote slave use in TTL mode.
I would recommend the Sigma 530Super to other Nikon users if they are unable to justify the higher cost of the Nikon SB900, they will get the same shots with the same exposure which in the end, all that matters.

Comments about Sigma EF-530 DG Super i-TTL Shoe Mount Flash (Guide No. 174/53 m at 105mm) for Nikon with i-TTL:

I use this primarily as a run around flash for my Nikon d300. I chose it because a) its relatively inexpensive in case it gets damaged and b) it has a host of good features. Having used it for about 2 weeks, I find that the lighting is really nice. Using it as a direct flash at ISO 160 it has excellent range and quality. At ISO 400, it has nearly the same range with a custom made bounce card (made by me with some trial and error).

My only beef is that it doesn't have wireless ability with the d300. I use a Nikon sb-900 with my D3x, and the 900 IS a better flash However, at more than twice the price, it doesn't offer THAT much of an improvement. I Highly recommend this flash for beginner/intermediate photographers, and experts that are afraid of ruining more expensive equipment during rugged shoots such as climbing/bouldering and extended hikes, among others.

Construction of the unit seems decent, although the body, in particular the battery door, seems to be a bit thin. Otherwise, it seems stable enough.

Comments about Sigma EF-530 DG Super i-TTL Shoe Mount Flash (Guide No. 174/53 m at 105mm) for Nikon with i-TTL:

Do yourself a favor...spend the extra $50 and get the Nikon SB-800 instead. I initially bought the Sigma EF-530 DG Super as a lower-cost alternative to the Nikon SB-800, and I regret it. I ended up buying the Nikon SB-800 after all.Any way I use this flash, either standalone on-camera, wireless master or wireless slave, I have to make manual adjustments to exposure because it always over exposes. In addition, as a wireless master, it often miscommunicated with the slaves, resulting in slaves firing at full power, not only over-exposing the subject, but also wasting battery life.To setup as a wireless slave, you must first attach the flash to camera, make your settings, then remove it from the camera. Then if you turn off the flash or accidentally press the mode button, you have to re-attach it to the camera and make all you settings all over again. Such a hassle. In comparison, the Nikon SB-800 or SB-600 can be setup as a wireless slave without having to attach the flash to the camera, and when you turn the Nikon flashes off and back on again, all the settings are the same a you left them, so they're always ready to go straight out of the bag.A few last notes, the menus on the Sigma are very cumbersome and not very intuitive, it's noisy, the plastic shoe and overall build seems a bit cheap.Bottom line, if you're only ever going to use this flash as a standalone, and having to play with exposure settings is worth saving $50 to you, then you might be okay with the Sigma EF-530 DG Super, otherwise go with the Nikon SB-800.

Expertise: Advanced amateur

Problems Encountered: It always over exposes. It's often miscommunicated as a wireless master.

Previous Equivalent Item Owned: Nikon SB-800