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I must admit I wasn't sure about this flash. Shooting both Nikon and Canon, I have tested and played with many flashes over my photography career. I have used all the major Nikon flashes at some point and most of the Canon flashes. I've also used to LumoPro LP160 Manual flash with much enjoyment. After playing with this flash for a few days I thought I should share my opinion simply because there are not enough reviews of this product yet.
I should mention that I use radio triggers for these flashes so there is no real commentary on optical triggering or shooting with on camera flash because I do all off camera work.
Build Quality (8/10)
The BQ is not as good as the flashes from Nikon and Canon. Its lighter in weight (not always bad) and the plastics used on the housing feel less rigid when handling the flash. The hotshoe attachment locking mechanism is the old school twist lock rather than a simple lever that Nikon and Canon have now employed in their new flashguns. Those are the only complaints, and they indeed are minor complaints. The build quality is still better than all 3rd party flashes I have used with the exception of the LumoPro LP160 which I believe is built as well as the Nikon and Canon models.
Menu/Navigation (+10/10)
This really is the strong point of the flash and should not be overlooked. It has 'Auto', 'TTL', 'Manual', 'Strobe' , and 'Master/Slave' operational modes and they are all very simple to get too and use. I would compare the interface to that of Apple's iOS. What I mean by that is you turn the flash on and you instantly know how to use it which is a often a far cry from the first time you pick up a Nikon or Canon flash if your new to flashguns.
Performance (8-9/10)
I have really high standards when it comes to performance and I would say this flash nearly meets them all. The only real complaint is that the recycle time could be faster (its a touch slower than the Nikon and Canon top models) although this could be alleviated with an external battery pack. The HSS works very well, although it can only be used in TTL mode (no different than Nikon or Canon flashes). Manual mode is a breeze with tons of control, both of power and zoom.
The flash compensation has a wide range and great control with 1/3 of a stop increments to 3 +/stops. This flash compensation is in addition to any you have added on your camera body. So if you have -2 EV dialed in on you camera body and -3 EV dialed in on the flash itself that gives you a total of -5 EV total. Thats pretty outstanding control for TTL flash although of course you could always go manual. But whats lost in this is that if you need to use HSS you can only use TTL mode, total bummer for someone like me who likes fine control over my light output. But because of the additive way they employ the exposure compensation from the camera and flash, you can get manual like control while in TTL mode while using HSS. Not bad, not bad at all.
I haven't tested the max power output compared to the Nikon and Canons but most reports say the di866 is equal to or just slightly trailing the top of the line Canon and Nikon.
Overall (9/10)
If the build quality was a little more robust and the recycle was a touch quicker this would be a no brainer. You could always get the external battery pack which would push the recycle time on full power to just over 1 second if you need it. With all that said, I have already ordered a second Nissin di866 Mark II (Canon Mount) and am very pleased with the product.
If my opinion changes after additional usage I will be sure to update my review.
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