Customer Reviews

Zeikos ZE-680EX Electronic Flash for Canon Cameras

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Pros: Flash is powerful, has a good recharge, AF assist beam, Bounce/Swivel, Manual controls

Cons: Cheap plastic-feels tight when bouncings/swiveling. Bulky in size. Noisy zoom motor.

Overall: Good for price, and for my strobist use. Compatible with Yongnuo Triggers (which I use and recommend)

This flash is very powerful, big, and easy to handle. The only problem I found with it is the cheap plastic feel, but for the price and performance I would recommend this flash.

This flash is a bit bulky and large, but performs well. The zoom motor is louder than the canon flashes, however at the price, I can't argue.

If you're a pro, nothing will compare to the 580EXii with a good battery pack.

That said. I always keep this flash in my bag. At a fifth of the cost of a 580, this flash is surprisingly capable.

It does not have the same recycle time of the 580, but is pretty close with fresh batteries.
It isn't the most ruggedly built flash;
I sometimes have issues with the battery door popping open, (solved with some well placed electrical tape, no one can tell)

The range is strong, and exceeds it's guide number.
The slave is excellent and has never failed to fire from as far as 150 feet away.
With full range angling and rotating, the head is easier to adjust than the 580 or 430.

I have worked this flash hard for the last 15 months. It has not failed once.
I would say this flash far exceeds the Enthusiast's needs, and is a an amazing, cost-effective back-up for a Pro.

After one week of toying with my new Zeikos 680EX on my Canon 450D (XSI), I have mixed opinion about this flash. From reading other reviews, I had set my expectations pretty low on the fit and finish, bit it turns out this flash is not bad after all. Make no mistake, it is no 580EX II, but I don't think it is a poroblem for regular use. The flash is very bright, and recharge times are pretty fast with eneloop rechargeable cells. However, I find the TTL metering accuracy questionable. With E-TTL on evaluative, and Average, the flash was too bright for direct application. For shooting inside my house( focal lengths of 24mm - 105mm, distances of 6 ft - 15 ft), I had to apply -ve flash exposure compensation (between -1 & -2) to get correct exposure. The on-camera flash however did meter the exposure correctly. Bounce flash, with +2 exposure compensation gave excellent results. If you do not plan to rely on the E-TTL, and you can afford couple of test shots to nail the exposure , this flash could be very rewarding. One problem however I noticed with the flash is that the AF assist red light pattern is misaligned - This red pattern is offset & at an angle from teh center of the lens, that in most cases the pattern is projected even outside of the frame, and hence does not provide any assistance to focussing. I tried this on two other Canon bodies to make sure this is not a misaligned hotshoe on my camera, and plan to return to Amazon & get a replacement - hoping this is a quality control issue with the specific flash I received. Overall, this flash is worth the money, and once you figure out how to compensate the flash intensity & exposure, especially with bounce, can provide amazing results.

Pros:
Power ( Guide number 185)
Tilt / Swivel head, allowing to bounce flash from ceiling or wall.
Short recharge time.
Camera recognize this flash as E-TTL compatible, and can sync with 1st or 2nd curtain.
Manual controls, and user settable flash power ( 7 steps)


Cons:
TTL accuracy not very good, tend to over expose, need to provide manual compensation.
AF Assist beam misaligned, and hence ineffective
Could not find a compatible Stofen diffuser. ( Amazon lists Xeikos 680EX flash bundled with Stofen omnibounce MZ6 sold by Cameta Camera, so I bought the Stofen OM-MZ6 separately, only to find that it does not fit the Zeikos flash head)

It's definitively not the best flash out there, but it does a pretty good job. If your are not a professional photographer and you just want a cheap flash to take pictures for your own enjoyment, this is the flash for you!

I've had 3 of these things. 1 of them broke and I sent it back and they sent me back a refurbished one, which was still broken. I loved the performance of the flash, I just don't like the build quality. It's very heavy, but it just has this cheap plastic quality about it that I don't like. If you just use it in a studio setting it would be nice as long as you don't move it around to much or you don't drop it.

It seems like a good deal but it is not my flash was delivered broken out of the box.The product feels cheap made but hey you get what you pay for rigth.Amazon refund my money back in to credit card in a reasonable time i am happy with Amazon just not with this particular product it is best to do a little bit bigger investment on beter qualiy flash.

I bought this flash back in March and it stopped working right away. The zoom mechanism insided got stuck and amazon had no problem replacing it. After I received replacement it seemed to work fine. But after a few months of using the flash it won't fire 95% of the time. Even when I hit the test button on the back of the unit. The idea of saving this much money would be awesome if I didn't have to buy a new flash. Also the idea that this has just become a paper weight is realy awesome!

I received the flash very quickly and it does everything as advertised. It is a very good match for the Canon DSLR camera. Tilt, rotate and adjustable power settings is a big plus. You can't go wrong with this flash unit.