Customer Reviews

Zeikos ZE-DS12 Digital Slave Flash with bracket for digital SLR and point and shoot camaras, no camera connection required, automatically synchronizes and fires with your built-in flash

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

 

 

This flash appears to be nicely built and well finished. For its price, it doesn't appear to be cheap. It has two switches. One of the switch works as a power on/off switch as well as to select "Normal Mode" i.e., mounted on camera hot shoe triggered by the camera circuitry, or "Slave On Mode", where the flash can be used as an optical slave triggered by the camera's on-board flash. The second switch is a programed slave mode selector, where you can set the preflash occurances between One preflash up to 4 preflashes. If your camera made 3 pre-flash bursts before the actul photo illumination flash, you can set the slave selector to S3 and it will sync properly with your camera.

I tried using the flash in slave mode with a Sony Alpha DSLR, a Sony H10 point and shoot and a Panasonic point and shoot. The flash worked perfectly at S3 setting with both the Sony H10 and the Panasonic point and shoot. However it did not work with the Sony Alpha preflash anywhere between its S1 to S4 preflash range. Although I kept the Red Eye mode off on the Sony Alpha, the flash appears to fire along with the Alpha's preflash and before the exposure is made. This was a disappointment, since I have primarily purchased this flash to be used as a slave with my Sony Alpha system. This is a the only reason why I am giving it a 3 Stars. Otherwise, for any point and shoot camera, this could surely get a 5 star rating for what it does and at which price it does it.

Definitely a good handy lighting tool to have with a point and shoot set up. Not recommended for DSLR, at least for the Sony Alpha system. I have not checked it with any other DSLR brands (Canon, Nikon, Olumpus, Pentax etc), as such I cannot make a comment vis-a-vis compatibility of this flash in slave mode with other DSLRs.

However, if you are using this flash as part of a wired or chanel based wireless flash trigger under a studio set up, then it should work since the on-board preflahes are no longer there.

I desperately needed a small, off camera, slaved flash for a photo session.
I ordered this Zeikos ZE-DS12 Digital Pro Slave Flasheven after reading the mixed reviews and figured
1.) it's CHEAP.
2.) It MIGHT work.
When I got it, I noted that it was very cheaply built. I didn't even test it
(I was afraid it would only work once).
So I set it up in the studio as a "kicker" light and I tell ya...
This little thing ROCKS! It worked PERFECT! EVERY time!
OK, well, It only "misfired" ONCE ...in 67 shots!
I expected it to work only ONCE!
I am thrilled with this in-expensive little kicker light.
Here is a photo of the flash in use in the studio:
http://i51.tinypic.com/wb6p9f.jpg
I put the flash in a jar with a amber gel in front of it to cast
a pretty "glow" on the subjects. This little flash worked PERFECTLY!
Dan
[...]

This was the second time I bought this rebranded flash, the first time under a different name. they are hit and miss, sometimes you get lucky and they work great, sometimes they don't work at all. this time I was unlucky. when I asked underground deals (the seller) to correct the situation, they treated me like I was asking too much, since I didn't pay that much for them. buy it directly from Amazon, and cross your fingers and you might get a good flash. I finaly got a refund, but it was like pulling teeth.

Yes its cheap in every sense - about $11 and made of plastic, but if you get a good copy, its surprisingly useful. I actually bought this ZE-DS12 flash package just for the metal bracket so I could mount an external mic on a small camcorder - it was cheaper than buying a bracket alone. Didn't use the flash for months.

One day I just thought I would try mounting the ZE-DS12 on my DSLR (old Canon 350D/XT) - the light it gives is bright and harsh for most uses, but it certainly lights up a small room and reaches subjects who are even 8-10 feet away quite effectively even at ISO 200, 1/200. The only real problem I had is that the ball contact at the center of the shoe mount got pressed in and did not contact the plate well afterwards - I had to take out the battery and push the pin back out a bit. Like I said, its cheap. Since then though, I have not mounted it on my camera - that's really not its forte, in my opinion.

The best use for this light though is as a cheap optical slave for remote fill or rear kicker. I had to try all the S-settings to find the right one that triggered correctly with my DSLR settings (S2 for me since I have my Canon set to red-eye reduction flashing). The light sensor is quite good, though its prone to a few misfires if you are moving it around near other lights. I've done some long exposure still shots and used the manual trigger button to walk around my subject and fire the flash at different angles to get 3-point lighting that almost looks professional. I find it only takes about 4-5 seconds to recharge and be ready for another shot.

The flash is crude but bright enough to put off to the side on a table aimed at the ceiling or angled off a side or rear wall to fill in an indoor shot in a small/medium sized room. I took some casual shots at a casual dinner party, and it really made the shots much better than the built-in flash alone - it fills the room with light so you see more faces, background colors and contours much better. I could be on one end of a room, put it on the floor angled up toward the rear wall and ceiling on a crumpled napkin, and it would fire every time, giving a nice back light and soft diffused bounce. The light it gives is very blue-white in color, but it did not take too much away from the warmer tones of the room either.

It gave enough light and triggered reliably enough that I could use even the basic stock 18-55mm lens the DSLR came with - these are typically cheap, soft and slow, and useless in an indoor room situation even with the built-in flash firing. I was able to shoot with the lens at wide angle but stopped down a couple of notches so the image was crisper, more so when I upped the ISO to 400. I've also used it in combination with my Canon 550EX as a rear-kicker and it was fine, though I did have to do a flash exposure adjustment downward to stop my pics from blowing out too much. I've seen this item at a couple of computer liquidator type stores too so I will probably get another one just to try multiple angles and make a crude reflector/beauty dish with a steel mixing bowl from a dollar store.

Bottom line: for $10-15, this is a worthwhile get. Not a huge investment, mine was reliable enough - I've used it for 3 months now - and gives you a chance to experiment with off camera fill/accent lighting. I realize some people got dud units - that's always going to happen with cheap stuff like this - if its cheap enough, buy 2 just in case, maybe - its that cheap. All I can say is if you get one that works, its an easy and non-painful way to try something new. Its no Canon Speedlite, but then its also a fraction of the price. And the bracket is pretty handy too.

Dec.2011 in Ottawa, Canada

Bought 2 of these at once because they were so cheap, but we know cost is directionally proportional to performance. Both seemed to function ok as a slave on the 1st 5 or so fires from a master flash. Then the first one went dead for optical triggering, then the other ones press to test fire function went inoperative. Considering the return/replacement policy; customer having to pay shipping and the low cost of this item, its not worth my time and effort to even bother with returning these. As I ended up with 2 of 2 defective units, chances are I would end up with 2 more defective units, then get stuck with shipping charges again to return those. Not bitter, suspected there would be a performance, construction or quality issue when I purchased at such a low price.
Hoped to get at least one good one but that didn't pan out.

Tried this out on my Nikon D-100. It doesn't work in any facet. However, the red light on the back works great! So well it blinds you from a foot away! Buyer beware!

I bughtthis flash and looking at the ad it looked ok then it arrived omg what a piece of junk it looked pretty but that is all i took it out of the package and it rattled put batteries in and hit the test button and nada nothing zip. any way dont waste money on this it is one that the dollar store wouldn't sell
l.williams
texas

I'm so exticted that i found this slave flash. I feel like a professional photographer when using my Canon Powershot SD400. I used it for my cousin's indoor birthday party and the flash brightend up all the pictures. I recommend this Flash for indoor photography, my pictures came out beautiful.

Arrived quickly, but discovered slave flash mode was nonfunctional. After three test flashes I couldn't even get it to go off manually, even after replacing batteries. Returned for a refund and bought Digital Concepts "Digital Slave BOUNCE Flash w/ZOOM." This is a cheap flash with many more features that actually does seem to work. Several sold on Amazon are titled "for use with XYZ brand" but it will work with any brand.

Works very well. Good light output for price. You my have to try different setting to get it to synchronize with your camera. I have used it stationary and hand held with good results. Play with it at home before you use it for serious photos.