Quantum Instruments Qflash TRIO QF8C TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon E-TTL II

Comments about Quantum Instruments Qflash TRIO QF8C TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon E-TTL II:

OK I have had this flash for a little less than two years after a short time I had to return it because the mounting mechanism failed. Quantum did repair it at no cost ,however for what this unit costs its totally unacceptable for the poor design flaw to have made into production . I have no issues with its functionality lighting wise ,but I would not reccomend buying this for the poor quality of the construction of the mounting mechanism ,which in the end negates any of the benefits of good light quality & functionality. It needs to be redesigned

Comments about Quantum Instruments Qflash TRIO QF8C TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon E-TTL II:

As has been mentioned several times, the build quality is poor. I've taken both my Trio and Pilot in for repairs to the hotshoe. I've been very careful with how I handle the gear, but the same damage still occurs. Very frustrating.

Now, the upper casing will not rotate and is cracked at the tightening knob for the difusser. Grrr. The unit has never been dropped or mishandled.

The light is nice to work with, but given a quality alternative, I would definately consider using another brand.

Comments about Quantum Instruments Qflash TRIO QF8C TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon E-TTL II:

Great for people shots, diffuser softens skin tones. Technologically everything you could want in an on-camera flash.

Comments about Quantum Instruments Qflash TRIO QF8C TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon E-TTL II:

Useful for portraits .. plenty of light

Comments about Quantum Instruments Qflash TRIO QF8C TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon E-TTL II:

Replaced my Speed-light 440.

This flash is a dream, great flexibility for almost any situation you could come up against. This flash dose require skill and knowledge but if you know how to use it its worth every penny.

Comments about Quantum Instruments Qflash TRIO QF8C TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon E-TTL II:

i spent a lot of time deliberating about buying the trio because of the expense, but i'm glad that i finally spent the money. i like the light quality a lot and i also like the additional power of the trio. i use the auto fill mode on the trio for outdoor fill and it works very well. i can take the trio off-camera for some nice shadowing. i also like the fact that i can take a series of flashes without having the flash unit heat up as is the case with my canon 580.

Comments about Quantum Instruments Qflash TRIO QF8C TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon E-TTL II:

Love the power, functionality could be better, design has some flaws, the hot shoe connection that is frequently mentioned to mention the larges, the diffuser is somewhat Mickey Mouse, it fell of a couple of times.. Bought the Turbo 3 at the same time, fantastic. If you do event shooting get this flash and battery, you will not regret it, more power that the 580EX and cycling is not an issue. Bought with the rebate from BH, have yet to receive one and the other they didn't give because I forgot to buy the cord. Wasn't clear and the company Quantum are not what I'd call friendly.

Comments about Quantum Instruments Qflash TRIO QF8C TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon E-TTL II:

Use this flash on a Canon 5D and Canon 1D Mark III. Wonderful flash, beautiful light. QTTL works great, great exposures.

Comments about Quantum Instruments Qflash TRIO QF8C TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon E-TTL II:

The quality of this flash surpasses others I have used, so as far as quality and performance I'm very happy. But it is irritating that the flash does not fit very snugly onto the shoe. I've found that it will tighten better if I tighten it in several positions. I tighted it a little then tilt the flash head to the side sligthly and tighten again and then do this in one last position. This works better than simply tightening by holding the flash still.

Comments about Quantum Instruments Qflash TRIO QF8C TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon E-TTL II:

I was skeptical about the hot shoe connection based on previous reviews. Contacted quantum to see if they had addressed the issue and they said they had fixed it. My second shooter has shot two weddings with it and has worked flawlessly. It is still hard to tighten down, but it is secure once tightened. I do wish they would go to a tightening system like canon but it does not loose connection now and is secure after the fix. I still prefer the t5dr on a flash bracket for myself, but my second shooter does not like working with a bracket and prefers this set up. I have found this unit produces around a stop less light than the t5dr, but about a stop more light than a 580 ex2. I have found that for wedding photography the quantum systems work way better than the canon flashes. Buying both the t5dr and the trio has totally changed my workflow. Using these flash setups has drastically cut down my editing time. I now get consistent exposures and color temperature. My exposures was all over the place with my 580ex2's.They would not recycle fast enough for the fast pace of wedding photography. No more missed shots of the bouquet toss or bridesmaids walking down the aisle. I also found that quantums autofill mode works better than Ettl mode most of the time. Finally a flash that just does what its supposed to without slowing down.

Comments about Quantum Instruments Qflash TRIO QF8C TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon E-TTL II:

I am an industrial photographer. I frequently use the Canon 5D MarkII Camera, with a two flash, on camera and remote, lighting setup. I have had repeated fried circuitry and external battery socket problems with the Canon 580exII dedicated flashes. Enter the Quantum Qflash TRIO QF8C. After a week shooting at various industrial sites, this Quantum flash system has perfomed beautifully.
I have full dedication with the Canon 5D markII, no overheating, solid external battery connection, solid hot-shoe connection and finally, built-in radio wireless communication. This is what I need my flashes to do, and they just do it! The only con is that the hot shoe tightening wheel hurts my fingers. This could be more user friendly. To avoid overheating, no internal AA batteries are used. You are always plugged into an external quantum battery.
As my daughter says, Sweet!

Comments about Quantum Instruments Qflash TRIO QF8C TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon E-TTL II:

I acquired this to replace my speedlight when taking photos of horses. I'm extremely pleased with its light weight, power, response time, and ability to be customized. It came with a CD tutorial, which I've found helpful.

Comments about Quantum Instruments Qflash TRIO QF8C TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon E-TTL II:

The body of this flash could be a little less flimsy, however the elctronics and capabilities of this unit surpass any flash that I have used to date.

Comments about Quantum Instruments Qflash TRIO QF8C TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon E-TTL II:

I am an amateur photographer. The flash puts out plenty of light, and the controls are easy to understand and change on the fly.

The one concern I have, it does not sit as securely as I would like on the camera. There is a bit of wiggle when fully attached.

Comments about Quantum Instruments Qflash TRIO QF8C TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon E-TTL II:

I use trio flash for event and wedding shooting. This flash unit is not as powerful as X5DR.
If you are in the market for a Quantum flash to give you a powerful flash this is not the unit, try X5D-R or T5D-R. It is still a very good flash unit even though it's build flimsy with cheap plastic and a locking wheel that hurt your fingers when tightening the hot shoe on top of camera. It has rapid flash and will not over heat or stop working. I am using this unit with turbo 2x2 battery at full power will cover about 250 to 300 flashes.

Comments about Quantum Instruments Qflash TRIO QF8C TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon E-TTL II:

I bought this flash in lieu of the 580 ex ii passing out on me twice at the beginning of a wedding. The TRIO is consistent and reliable. A bit pricey but by far worth every penny.

Comments about Quantum Instruments Qflash TRIO QF8C TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon E-TTL II:

I am a professional photographer heavily invested in Quantum having 2 T5D-R and 1 X5D-R units with several batteries. This is the first substandard piece of gear that I have purchased from Quantum. I wish I had taken the advice of several user reviews regarding the Hot Shoe mechanism which is pure junk. Using this flash, the unit will not tighten sufficiently to enable the QTTL and Auto Fill features--the screen says that there is no camera attached. I used it twice successfully in my Canon 5D, but it literally fell out of the 5D II which has a little more clearance in the shoe. It rocks back and forth on both cameras and will only make enough contact to use it in the manual mode while not communicating with the other Q-flash units.

Luckily, I had my trusty Q-flash adapter and separate transmitter to get me through the gig with an assistant and pole mounted T5D-R. I am sending this unit back for a so-called fix that Quantum has come up with. Until Quantum engineers a proper attachment, stay away from this expensive piece of junk. If this was engineered in Japan like the 580 EX II, it would be a good product. I am holding off on buying the Command Pilot until I am assured that Quantum has a better contact shoe mount mechanism. Your equipment is only as good as it's weakest link, and this one is lame.

Comments about Quantum Instruments Qflash TRIO QF8C TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon E-TTL II:

I bought this flash for my Canon 5D MKII. This is definitely a powerful flash. It's like a portable studio strobe. A bit of a learning curve at first. Watch online videos and read manual to avoid disappointment. This flash drains the battery source much quicker than the standard Speedlite 580ExII.

Comments about Quantum Instruments Qflash TRIO QF8C TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon E-TTL II:

I bought this after literally melting down 2 Canon 580EX (not Mk2) flashes when using CP-E4 packs. I shot 800 frames inside 20 minutes during a fashion show with this one with no overheating at all. The Turbo SC battery just kept going. I am now convinced that this will not melt like the 2 Canons did - if you need to shoot rapid fire, this is the one to get.
The only downside is the terrible design of the hotshoe mount. I leave it mounted permanently to an extension cord on a flashframe, so its manageable. I would worry about it if I had to re-attach it frequently.
The quality of the light is superb compared to the 580EX - to do better you'd need a studio strobe and softbox. The best hotshoe flash I have ever used - by some distance. Expensive up front - but a lot cheaper than frequent meltdowns (or slowdowns/shutdowns with the Mk2 580's)

Comments about Quantum Instruments Qflash TRIO QF8C TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Canon E-TTL II:

Tried using this for outdoor portrait work off camera. It is light, easily transportable and puts out enough light to get the job done when it works. I found that it is completely unreliable. Too many adjustments. Takes too much time to try and figure out the correct settings. I found that it often simply won't fire. Set it on manual. Works for a few frames. Stopped working. Couldn't get it to work. Tried switching modes. That helped.
I found the settings not to be accurate. Often overexposed even when dialed down. Simply too glitchy and too inaccurate.
Hate the hotshoe. I agree with the other reviewers, it is not rocket science anymore to create a decent hot shoe. On camera it comes off too easily and is difficult to tighten adequately.