Phottix Mitros Flash for Nikon (80345)

I am one of the lucky customers who could order this new flash before it was sold out everywhere. Hopefully they will soon be back in stock again.- Look & Feel -The Phottix Mitros is pretty solid for a 3rd party flash. I once had one of these cheap Bower flashes, this one is much better crafted.The head rotates smoothly without feeling loose. It even feels more solid than my Nikon flashes. I like that it does not lock, meaning you don't need to press a button to rotate it.The battery door is a mix of metal and plastic with the hinges made of metal.The hotshoe locking mechanism is quite different from the Nikon one (I think it is like Canon's flashes) but it's easy to operate and it locks in tight. There is even a rubber frame around the shoe to protect it from water.The display looks rather simple, but it works and is easy to read. The backside only has a few buttons and is somewhat intuitive. I never studied the manual but then I don't use the IR wireless triggering at all (hopefully someone who uses that can update with another review later). There is a simple "hold button 3 sec, then left-right, up+down, press 'set' to change" menu with 15 options and self explaining items. I would even go that far to say that some of the main functions are much easier to access on the Mitros than on the Nikon SB-700 (not even talking about the ridiculous menu of the SB-600).I definitely love that it has a battery index (remaining power) which is just a rough 4-bar index, but better than Nikon which doesn't have that at all (to my knowledge on none of their flashes).The on-off switch is a simple slider button, fast and easy to operate. It needs about 3 seconds to get ready to operate though.The audible sound when the flash is recharged might be helpful - I did turn it off.The diffuser works pretty well and is somewhat easy to attach. I hope it won't break, I guess it will be hard to find a genuine replacement part at this point.Also I don't think there is an option for colored filters yet (none coming with it), so check for that if that's what you want to do (the SB-700 comes with a green and an orange one).It comes with a surprisingly decent pouch (saying that as someone who is used to ThinkTank pouches). It has a belt clip with Velcro opener and room for the flash, the little flash stand (included) plus cable pockets on the outer side.The 3.5mm sync cable and a USB cable are also included.- The flash in action -So far it works flawlessly in TTL and Manual mode, tested on Nikon D700 and D600. I never owned a SB-900/SB-910, so I cannot compare to them (owning SB-400, SB-600, SB-700). The TTL metering works well and the results are not different from any of my Nikon flashes.The recycle time of the Phottix Mitros is not something to write home about: Continuous shooting at 1/4 power will only allow for 2 flashes and then it needs about 2 seconds to recover. With 1/1 power 2.5 or even 3 seconds waiting time it is. From 1/16 and lower it will continuously flash. The SB-700 is much better in this regard. But then to be fair, the SB-700 has less power (and I think it will fire a shorter burst when not fully recycled unlike the Mitros which will wait until fully recycled).One other thing that I don't like is the squeeking sound it makes when you turn it on. It sounds like the internal zoom is making that noise. Not a deal breaker but definitely a consideration when working silently is a top priority. I'm shooting weddings but then I don't think I will have to turn it on in the middle of the ceremony.The output power is definitely impressing when coming from owning a SB-700. Great for outpowering the sun for outdoor portraits. Hypersynch works well too. Tested up to 1/8000s on D700 without any problems.- Using it with Phottix Odin triggers -Being a fan of the relatively new (at this point, at least for Nikon) Phottix Odin triggers, this flash's compatibility with the Odin system was my main consideration for buying it. And yes, it works great together. Both hypersynch and TTL work off camera. The flash unit is "waking up" remotely even after longer pauses.- Conclusion: Buying or not? -If you're like me, looking for a flash with more power than the SB-700 has, then the Mitros is your flash. If you can afford almost twice the price for the SB-910, you may want to do some more research if you get better recycle times with that one (I don't know). However, if you don't need all the power the Mitros has, you might want to consider the Nikon SB-700 for faster recycle times. Also the SB-700 turns on a bit faster (1 second vs. 3 seconds).4.5 Stars for build quality, performance and value; minus 0.5 for squeeking sound, being somewhat slow and poor accessory situation at the moment (replacement diffuser, color filters).

Looking to replace my 3 SB 800's, I purchased the PLUS version of this flash which was a disaster. The built in radio trigger is weak, drains the battery and woefully slows the recycle time. But I did like the plain flash, just not the built in radiosI tried out one of these on my D3s's and have shot a few jobs with it. The color temp is a bit cooler than the SB 800 and this flash is quite a bit bigger, on par with the SB 900.I do miss not having the 5th battery chamber and getting used to the Phottix menus took a little while. But over all the performance has been great!

This is the most impressive NON-OEM piece of photo equipment I've ever run across. I own or have owned SB-900s, SB-800s, SB-600s, along with a couple of LumoPro 160s (used as slaves mostly). None of them impressed me out of the box as this Phottix. Recycle on Full Power is quick (less than 2 seconds - note: I typically use Sanyo Eneloop AAs). Feature set is impressive and compares more than favorably with Nikon's Flagship SB-910. And that is a great thing, because while I like my SB-900s (the 910 is the same except they changed the behavior of the flashgun when it overheats), dammit they are expensive. Money wise, the 910 always gives you pause because for the money, you can run out and get some quality strobes instead. So, I'm hopeful a little competition (to be sure, this Phottix is SERIOUS Competition) will cause Nikon to rethink the monopoly like pricing. So hats off to a company willing to do more than make an adequate slave, placing in the market place a flash that outshines (sorry for the pun... ok, not really... ;-) the flagship Nikon SB-910 for almost half the price. Money Well Spent and I will be buying another one. Best of luck and regardless, just keep shooting.

Really was excited to try out this flash, it has worked properly as long as not trying to bounce the flash. Now it is misfiring constantly.

I recently started my own photography business and was using two LumoPro LP-180s for portrait shoots and renting SB-910s for weddings and events until I finally was able to afford a new flash. After reading a lot, and seeing David Hobby's recommendation, I purchased the Phottix Mitros.What can I say about it that others have not? It's great! If you've used SB-910s, 900s or 800s, you'll love this flash! I've shot 2 events with it and haven't had a single problem. The only problem I have is now I want 2 more!These work flawlessly with the Yongnuo YN-622N transceivers. I like to use a 2 light setup for my portrait work, and it's so nice to be able to control the settings of the flash from the camera. This is the main reason I want more of these flashes. I'll be buying more, soon!

This flash is well worth the $300 price tag. It may not be as good as the $600 canon 600ex-rt, but its very close, for half the money. Build quality is very good, and you also get a padded case (way better than canon's) and diffuser. Couple thoughts ....- Really like the audible noise when the flash is recharged and ready to fire, very handy- I like the look and feel- Fast recycle times- More powerful than the canon 580exii, almost as powerful as the 600ex-rt- Phottix should have integrated the odin system, bummer- Seems to eat batteries, more testing to get a better idea thoughI also have the Nissin i866 mark II and this flash blows that one away. I will be picking up a couple more of these.

This flash has great reviews, but don't believe them. I bought two of them and they are pretty much worthless in terms of reliability and battery life. They work intermittently. The packaging and the look and feel of the product is great, but if you're a pro shooter, stick with Canon or Nikon flash units.

Ottimo prodotto, molto preciso di qualità. Finiture eccellenti e full ttl ! Non ha nulla da invidiare ai marchi e modelli top di casa. Af assist pazzesco molto potente e veloce non solo sul punto centrale. Erogazione costante di potenza in manuale. Testato in discoteca circa 6 serate ,nessun tipo di problema! Ottimo venditore e ottimo servizio Amazon

Sono rimasto sorpreso per la qualità di questo flash, costruzione solida dall'aspetto professionale sincronismo perfetto funzione TTL degna dell'originale completo di accessori perfino la custodia elegante e di ottima fattura sono strasodisfatto del prodotto straconsigliato, una vera sorpresa da preferire all'originale Canon!!!+++++++++

Dopo varie ricerche di u lampeggiatore alla fine ho deciso di acquistare questo flash della phottix.un ottimo prodotto molto semplice da utilizzare e di facile regolazione. dotato dell'hss della possibilità di lavorare sia come master sia come slaveAssolutamente consigliato

Dopo un anno di uso intenso il flash ha avuto dei problemi e grazie a Camera Centre UK, dai quali ho ricevuto massima assistenza, ho avuto la riparazione e la piena funzionalità del flash.