Best flash for Sony A7Rii (weddings) - Budget $600

T

The Irish TRex

Well-known member
I know this is a site for filmmaking, not necessarily photography, and that "Best" is probably not a fair way to ask this as I'm sure much depends on how I like to shoot, but in general, I'm looking for getting a flash for Wedding Photography for my A7Rii. I've looked at Sony's F60M, F43M, Nissin i40, Godox V860II-S but in the end they're all within budget and have similar features so I'm at a loss. They'd be used on camera of course, at least at first. I'm okay with spending more than $600 but all these fall under that range and I'm more of a fan of spending more now if it'll save me trouble/time later.

Thanks!
 
all on camera flashes will give you pretty much the same look, higher GN means more power, bigger flashes usually have faster recycle,...
the sony flashes "talk" to the camera through the smart shoe, high speed sync is a great feature to have (shallow depth of field) but some models require the head to be facing forward (can't bounce is HSS).....
there are are tons of attachments out there now (soft boxes, ring light,...) which really help getting more flattering light from on camera flash, even in TTL...
broncolor and profoto also make small, battery powered heads now which can be used off camera (in TTL and HSS i believe) and obviously take all modifiers but are more expensive....and might have limited functions with sony bodies...
i think the best set up would be some kind of trigger on the body which wirelessly sets off an off camera flash with a modifier...ideally communicating with the camera incl TTL metering and HSS....i am pretty sure there is a sony solution.....

http://briansmith.com/ttl-hss-flash-triggers-sony-multi-interface-shoe/
 
8.5 years as a wedding videographer and it's amazing how little I know about flash. Thank you for that. My wife will actually be doing the photography side of things. Got here the A7Rii with the 24-70 2.8 GM lens. So far so good. This flash talk is a bit foreign to me but I'll pass your suggestions on. If anyone else has any suggestions, especially if you have specific recommendations I'm all ears. Again, she'll be doing mostly on camera flash stuff to start although I can see her eventually going off-camera as many photographers do. Budget isn't really an issue if that helps.
 
honestly, the best way to deal with on camera flash (even if it is off camera) is Through The Lens metering, meaning the camera adjusts the flash output and the exposure to get a good result....you don't have to do anything....the smart shoe of the A7rII helps because you can actually make most adjustments right in camera as well as taking lens, focal length, aperture,....into consideration when firing the flash.....
so ideally set to TTL and shoot away.....
the shutter limits flash sync speed to 1/250 which means no shooting wide open outdoors during the day.....HSS takes care of that...syncs the flash with pretty much any shutter speed.....but there are limitations (like the one i mentioned and nobody will tell you about..)
the upcoming wireless system lets you take the flash(es) off camera and still shoot in full TTL/auto....this is huge.....you can set up groups of flashes (for example) around a dance floor and still hold one flash above or off camera and the camera constantly adjusts output of all flashes while your bride and groom are all over the place.....want to mix in available light, no problem, dial it all in in camera or on the wireless transmitter.....
the less you know about the actual manual settings or adjustments that used to be necessary (and still made certain things just impossible) the better....just like auto metering really works and AF really works, TTL really works (for the most part:)....).....
 
Awesome response. Thanks Paul. So...if you had to choose...which specific flash would you go with? I listed a few in the OP that I've read were good, or is there another that you recommend?
Sony f60M
Sony f43M
Nissin i40
Godox V860II-S
other???
 
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i can really speak from experience since i don't really use on camera flash much (but i am excited about the wireless trigger, receiver from sony), i own the M43, it does what it does, the 60m will give you more power and faster recycle, so if i would use it for work i would go with that one...
i don't think the other brands will necessarily give you better options but probably a lower price....i would stay with sony since it is the system and there might be some issue later on? just my personal opinion....i am sure the other flashes are great....like i said when it comes to on camera flash i really don't want to have to think or deal with it, the more automation, the better, the more integrated, the better...good luck!
 
Good idea. Just out of curiosity...what wireless trigger/receiver from Sony are you talking about? Is it supposed to work with the current lineup of flashes from Sony (43m, 60m)? Thx!
 
Ended up going with the Godox V860ii-S with the wireless X1T-s wireless transmitter. Yes, Sony is coming out with their wireless systems but it's not out now and who knows how long it'll really take. The v860ii-s seemed every bit as good spec wise as the Sony F60M and even better recycle speed due to the type of batteries it uses. High capacity, fast, powerful, wireless all led to my decision. I'm a bit nervous because there's not much out there about these flashes BUT what is out there seems to be positive. I didn't get it because it 60% less expensive, BUT, that's kind of a nice bonus. Can get two flashes plus the wireless setup for $100 less than the Sony flash alone. And mixed reports of the Sony flash overheating also made me pause. Even though it's "supposed to be" fixed with the latest firmware I've read conflicting reports of that on various forums from random users. We'll see how this all goes.
 
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