Review on 📷 Xit XTDF260N Auto Focus Digital Display by Dean Wildfang

I bought this Xit XTDF260N flash for my Nikon d5300 based on other reviews and the price. I think I should give feedback to others and the retailer as this is a very good deal. It is a pity that the description is somewhat missing and the instructions are almost useless. The Xit 260N has: - AF assist light (big red cover on the front) - trigger light sensor (IR?) for slave mode (any other flash can be commander) but not what I call a "wireless" trigger sensor would. - PC sync port (which my d5300 doesn't have) - External power connector (not listed in the description) - Good LCD which mostly shows most settings - Nice controls with obvious functions - Built in wide angle diffuser and reflector panel (use alone or together. Works good too) - Separate dome diffuser that works great - Five modes: TTL, Manual, S1, S2 and Strobe - Head with 270 degree rotation and 90 degree tilt. An amazingly well made, durable and handy bag that holds the flash, dome diffuser, extra batteries, instructions (HA!), with an extra strap on the back. Use auto-zoom Xit 260N flash: TTL mode can only work "well enough". TTL may not control the output when changing ISO, aperture, direction, spread, etc. as is the case with more expensive devices. This is my first TTL flash. However, the +/- 1/3eV step from -3eV to +3eV in TTL, adjustable with the flash buttons or with my camera's exposure compensation (no flash) makes the correction so easy and quick. - S1 and S2 modes work (S2 mode ignores the red-eye pre-flash). I set my d5300 to manual flash at the lowest setting (1/32?) and the Xit worked as a slave. A NOTICE. This function depends on either line of sight or flash intensity. Manual mode has the following levels: 1/1 (FULL), 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16. , 1/32, 1/64 and 1/128 in steps of +/- 1/3 eV, between 1/1 and 1/128. This flash has a lot of fine tuning in manual mode! There is a distance scale on the LCD but I find it useless. The distance scale does NOT change dynamically when I adjust the ISO, although it does change when I change the aperture, so how can I trust it? Take a picture, see the result and quickly adjust accordingly. A NOTICE. TTL with +3eV seems to correspond to 1/1 in manual mode, the highest possible flash. This is a good thing about manual controls; You know exactly when you use the maximum flash output. Strobe mode is a means of beating some cameras' X-sync speeds by providing a very fast strobe with reduced power. Unfortunately, my d5300 doesn't have the auto FP mode that the camera needs to break the 1/200th limit with flash. As such, I cannot comment on the effectiveness of this mode. - Focal length autozoom seems to work well to a point. That's right, auto adjusts from 18mm to around 110mm for my 18-140mm lens, but not 140mm. However, I can manually set the flash zoom to 180mm easily and quickly. A NOTICE. When using the built-in wide-angle lens, the auto zoom and the manual zoom setting are deactivated! I thought my unit was already out of service until I realized the panel was there. After I removed the wide angle diffuser plate, the auto and manual zoom controls worked great! It made me think for a moment! Manual mode is a real pleasure. Being able to fine tune the fill flash is great! ISO, aperture, focal length (zoom), distance and correction values are dynamically displayed on the flash LCD in both TTL and manual modes, except that the aperture value is not displayed in manual mode. mode and changing the ISO value does not affect the distance measurement. Don't trust the distance value! The description says front curtain sync, but this is the default setting for cameras and flashes. However, it is also useful for second-curtain sync. I used it. In short. I bought an entry-level Sunpak flash for $60, which was a joke compared to this Xit device. Xit is light years (pun intended) ahead of Sunpak and costs a few bucks more! (Thanks to Best Buy for the 15-day no-questions-asked return policy. I've even used it on lenses. Unfortunately, Best Buy doesn't sell anything quite like this xit for the price) - Dynamically displayed flash and compensation values, with great range and granular control, makes the difference this in itself is a real benefit. - The flash setting in TTL mode with camera exposure compensation is really nice, especially now that I have off-camera flash transceivers! - I emailed the retailer with a question and received a very quick response. Follow up emails were answered so quickly it was almost like chatter. CONS: - The distance scale doesn't reflect changes in ISO values, so the distance scale is almost useless. (The only metrics I really need for a real-time display are the current flash level, flash compensation, and zoom, and that's what it has.) It would be great if there were easy-to-read and reliable distances for proper exposure based on ISO and Aperture, but I know this feature can be bought for $300 if I really need it. At this point I may need to do some testing to get the shot at the right distance, but I think I'll get faster with more flash experience. Camera, since all flashes are much faster than x (1/200) sync speed (depending only on aperture and ISO), I can manipulate the shutter speed (up to x sync speed of course) to affect the world around me. Lighting without affecting flash exposure for effects. The combination of independent shutter speed control with rear-curtain synchronization offers even more flexibility. Funny times! Do I have to say more? ((By the way I believe E-TTL is Canon's terminology while Nikon uses i-TTL. This flash is for Nikon cameras!)))