Nicole Davis
Reviewed in Canada on September 20, 2024
Then packaging is very good quality looks as if it would be on something 3 times the price the flash fit perfectly to my mirrorless fujifilm xt30II and it is the perfect size, it worked right away without having to configure anything. I love these adjustable flashes added in some examples of some of the brighter flash, and some pics I took with a more soft/diffused flash! It’s a 5.0 for me it works great and exceeded my expectations for the price range!
Mark from Victoria
Reviewed in Canada on September 2, 2024
This flash was used and tested with Fujifilm X100VI and X100T.First the good news: TTL mode works fine with this flash and the X100 series cameras. Not perfect, but most things work. TTL Lock (pre-fire flash) works fine if you set that in the camera. Flash under and over exposure adjustments work fine in the camera, but the flash doesn't reflect those changes on its display. Which is weird, because the flash can read and display your current f-stop. Anyway, you can use the camera's setting to adjust flash exposure on TTL, and it will flash with those adjustments, just not show it on the flash's LCD panel. Or you could adjust flash exposure on the flash, up or down for TTL, and while the camera won't show that you made those flash adjustments, when the flash fires, it will adhere to the flash's adjustment settings too (both of these things tested).Same too with Manual Mode: while the X100Vi recognizes when you switch the flash over to M, it won't let you set the power via the camera; you have to set it on the flash. And if you do set it on the flash, the camera has no clue what M power you've set.Slave modes are meh. S1 is meant to be used with camera flashes that don't prefire a TTL lock; S2 is supposed to recognize a TTL Flash lock pre exposure, but it's hit and miss. Of course, it's an optical slave, so you have to set exposure manually on the flash when using them this way: no wireless TTL here.There is a weak (but still sort of usable "LED mode" for this flash, where it will put out continuous light for video use. I'll probably never use it. Bounce and rotate is okay, but only to 90 degrees to right (65 to left); no bouncing over your shoulder behind you with this flash. Too much to ask for, I guess.Bounce is nice, the flash puts out a good 5400K that covers a fair amount of space, and it even has a "macro photo" tilt option when pointing straight ahead (I never use flashes pointing straight ahead - I always bounce or diffuse them).On the bad side, the LCD panel in my copy of this flash is not centered; it is tilted a bit, lower on the left side. Part of it gets obscured by the camera body (see the photo - the TTL is lower than the battery indicator, and the flash icon on the left is partially obscured).Second, it chews through batteries QUICK. Like really quick. On the upside, cycling between flashes is relatively fast for the small size, but yeah, it'll chew through your double AAs quick. I have 2800mAhs in there and they last maybe 50-75 flashes.Third, and potentially very dangerous: DO NOT CHARGE YOUR RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES IN THIS DEVICE. It has that ability (and they market it as such), but my sole attempt almost caused permanent damage to the flash. Because charging via USB-micro never seems to end: the flash shows the charging meter, always going from 0 to 3 bars, and just keeps charging the batteries. I checked it out an hour later, and the flash, the body everything was hot; unplugged it, tried to take the batteries out, and they were blazing hot, to the point where the outer skin on them is bubbled up. See second photo.Because of this, I am debating as to whether I will send this flash back as defective.
Marcus Kimbrew
Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2024
Was excited to get my flash early, but I came to the realization that the flash doesn’t work with my Fujifilm X-E2. Maybe I’m missing something but it hasn’t been firing. Help!?
Jacob
Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2024
I like this flash, it's much smaller and lighter, and it balances way better.
Raymond P.
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2023
I used this flash with my Fuji X-E4 and 35mm f/2 lens and immediately noticed some glitches. The zoom setting changes back to auto after a power cycle, the aperture readout on the LCD doesn't match the lens setting, and the ISO readout doesn't show at all. I also notice the flash exposure was too high, probably caused by the glitches. The battery gauge always shows one bar when used with (freshly charged) rechargeable batteries (freshly charged), but seems fine with alkalines. It's a shame this flash has all these issues, because I really like to compact size, light weight, and price.
Lets.Be.Reasonable.
Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2020
If you’re looking for a compact walk-around flash esp. for macrophotography then buy this. So far, I have used it for around 500 shots & not one misfire. It’s very powerful for its size. I use a diffuser & even at 1/128 power, a shot can still be overexposed @ f2.8. I also used with 2 diffusers of different opacities & I haven’t felt the need to go above 1/2 power. With all that, I’ve only my used up 1/3 of the Duracell batteries I put in. It also does TTL on my X-T1 pretty accurately. But it also shines in Manual mode. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
R.A.S.
Reviewed in Canada on February 7, 2020
The Meike Mk 320 works very well as a compact swivel-head flash on my Fuji XT20, replacing the pop-up flash, and as an optical slave flash with both my XT20 and my Fuji XF10, which has no hot shoe. It’s small, easily portable and pocketable, and effective at short distances, and is ready ready to flash again reasonably quickly. As well, it is simple and intuitive to use. At this price it is a bargain, and I highly recommend it.
Jan Wieck
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2020
Update:Had to downgrade my review to 1 star. Shortly after I created the review below the inability to update firmware reared its ugly head. The unit malfunctioned and the flash bulb stayed on after taking a shot, quickly overheating. This apparently damaged the bulb as it is no longer flashing at all. This confirms how important it is to be able to fix firmware problems. Returning this and back to shopping.Original Review:This is a pretty good, yet small flash. I am the kind of user who picks the X-T30 over the X-T3 for its size and portability. So size (or rather the opposite of it) matters to me. The camera you left at home isn't going to take pictures. So will the flash, you left at home, not illuminate anything.I don't have much to compare this flash to, but the results I have seen so far from this combination (MK320 + X-T30) are absolutely satisfying. Illumination is nice and indirect lighting with TTL works very well.For using only two AA batteries, and NiMH at that, the battery life is good enough. I always carry spares, but so far I didn't need them. However, and this costs a star, the battery charge level display seems to be calibrated for Alkaline batteries and that apparently cannot be changed anywhere. So when using NiMH batteries it will always show half or empty although there is plenty of juice left in them. A little more on using NiMH batteries at the end of this review.The second star gets deducted for apparently no way to upgrade the firmware by the end user. Despite having a USB port, forum posts out there indicate that one will have to ship the unit to some service center in order to update the firmware, which seems to have been necessary for some users after updating the firmware of their camera. This isn't the procedure one expects from consumer electronics these days.Pros:- Good flash performance- TTL function works very well with my X-T30- Swivels far enough (for my needs)- Small size (which means portable)- Decent battery life- Can charge batteries inside (but see below)Cons:- Useless battery charge level display (fixed on Alkaline calibration)- End user cannot update the firmwareAbout the built in charger. Don't depend on it and don't use it as the only charger for the batteries. If you do, at least don't blame the battery manufacturer for less than expected life of your NiMH batteries. The built in charger starts at 100mA and switches to 50mA current around 80% of 2000mAh batteries. That means it starts at the recommended trickle charge current and switches to half that. While safe against overheating the cells, this isn't good for the batteries either. No matter what marketing had you believe, NiMH still has a memory effect and this is the way to prove it. The recommended charge method for NiMH is at 0.2C, which for a 2000mAh battery would be 400mA. Also, a 2000mAh battery completely depleted would take over 12 hours to charge inside the flash.Conclusion: The built in charger is a useful feature to top off the batteries over night after mild use. It is not a replacement for a real NiMH battery charger.
Robert J. Armijo
Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2019
I bought this flash for it's size, and tilt/swivel head to carry in my travel bag with my Fujifilm GFX50R. After a couple weeks I have to say I'm very impressed with it's ease of use, reliability, and proper interaction with the camera for TTL. Plus it seems very solidly built and you can't beat the price.
Gilles Vallee
Reviewed in Canada on December 8, 2019
Dépasse mes attentes ,entièrement satisfait de mon achat.Je recommande.
Charlie & Danna Harag Jr
Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2018
For the cost and small size, I am very impressed with the performance of this flash on my Fuji S1 camera.Everything just works. I am very impressed by the coverage and quality of light the flash provides.I wanted a small lightweight flash for travel and other situations where the on camera flash was not enough but I did not want to haul my full size flash with me. The MK-320 far exceeded my expectations.I've noticed some reviews that are critical of the recycle time and battery life. In my experience, the MK-320F performs better than other flash units I have owned that use just two AA batteries. If you need fast recycle times or longer battery life, you need a full size flash.You should note that some of the newest Fuji mirror-less cameras have added flash functions that require matching new design flashes to access. It will take time for the third party flash manufactures to update or add new products that support the extra functions.Overall, the Meike MK-320 is well designed and constructed. It performs well and provides enough light for most personal photography situations.
HT
Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2018
Flash works really well with my X-E2s, good light output, pairs well with the camera and metering seems accurate. Like being able to charge the batteries in the flash unit, using Eneloops rechargeables. Did notice a minor glitch that other online forums have mentioned. I put in a freshly charged set of batteries and the battery gauge (first I’ve ever see on a flash) only showed one bar out of three. I plugged the flash to a cell phone charger and after 15 minutes or so, the battery gauge showed full. Used the flash at a Halloween party and after a few shots, the gauge was back to one bar! I assumed correctly that the gauge is inaccurate and not to be trusted, and the flash worked fine on one bar for the rest of the night. Nice compact size which matches well with the smaller X-bodies. Flashlight/video light feature could be handy. The diffuser pops on fairly loosely, it was fine since I had it upright for bounce but might have to use gaffer tape for other situations.