Being brand new, I took a chance on this and was surprised at the quality level and how well it works. It's basically a 1970s manual/auto flash with low power, but very light and compact. It has no communication with the camera, though it does have optical trigger modes. The guide number is in meters, so multiply by 3.28 for feet. I recently used it to provide some fill on people in a back-lit room and it helped tremendously. It should also shine (pun intended) for close-ups with my macro lens. About the only negative I found is the exposure calculator dial is a bit confusing, but the manual covers it fine. With a modern camera I set by results on the LCD screen. In manual mode you can select power and anything below full power will give you very short duration ... MoreBeing brand new, I took a chance on this and was surprised at the quality level and how well it works. It's basically a 1970s manual/auto flash with low power, but very light and compact. It has no communication with the camera, though it does have optical trigger modes. The guide number is in meters, so multiply by 3.28 for feet. I recently used it to provide some fill on people in a back-lit room and it helped tremendously. It should also shine (pun intended) for close-ups with my macro lens. About the only negative I found is the exposure calculator dial is a bit confusing, but the manual covers it fine. With a modern camera I set by results on the LCD screen. In manual mode you can select power and anything below full power will give you very short duration action-freezing flashes.

For manual exposure, the flash calculator dial requires you to align the distance and ISO, then set the power level for the selected aperture. This requires you to move the dial every time you change distance, then change either power level or aperture to get the correct exposure. This is backward and cumbersome: You have to change two settings to calculate and achieve correct exposure as you change distance: first change the calculator dial so distance aligns with ISO, then change aperture or power level for proper exposure. MUCH more efficient would be to align your ISO and aperture on the dial, then read out the power level for each distance, and only change power level on the flash for proper exposure. Thus you only have to change one setting (power level) with ... MoreFor manual exposure, the flash calculator dial requires you to align the distance and ISO, then set the power level for the selected aperture. This requires you to move the dial every time you change distance, then change either power level or aperture to get the correct exposure. This is backward and cumbersome: You have to change two settings to calculate and achieve correct exposure as you change distance: first change the calculator dial so distance aligns with ISO, then change aperture or power level for proper exposure. MUCH more efficient would be to align your ISO and aperture on the dial, then read out the power level for each distance, and only change power level on the flash for proper exposure. Thus you only have to change one setting (power level) with distance, and not two. This also mirrors the way auto exposure works. So this device requires twice as much work as it should for manual exposure.The dial is also backward for automatic exposure. For auto exposure what you need to know is the maximum distance at which you can achieve full exposure, knowing that at shorter distances the auto eye will cut off the flash so proper exposure is achieved. The backward dial does NOT give that info when you align the recommended ISO and aperture for auto flash; but it would if it were reversed as suggested above, so it reads out power level for each distance when ISO and aperture are aligned.So the dial is twice backward, for both manual and automatic exposures. Not good; not properly thought out.At least, auto exposures are accurate, after you compute in your head the maximum distance for which auto exposure is possible, because you can't read it off the dial.

Bought for a travel flash to try out and it works pretty well. No TTL but this is meant to be more manual or retro as they say. Overall, pleased with the color for the price. Compact and fun to keep in your kit if you need a small yet powerful flash.