Pixel X900 FlashPowerful Radio & Optical SlaveTop Intro Specifications Accessories Performance User's Guide Recommendations Pixel X900 Flash (20.4 oz./577 g with included Li-Ion battery, rated GN 60m/197' at 200mm, measured GN 46m/151' at 200mm, measured GN 24m/80' at 35mm, measured 2.2s recycle time, optical & 2.4GHz RF slave, red LED AF illuminator, integral bounce card & wide panel, sold as model X900C for Canon: $120 and model X900N for Nikon: $120). bigger. It comes with a load of accessories and you can get more at Amazon. This 100% all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to my personally-approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Thanks for helping me help you! Ken.
March 2019 Better Pictures Nikon Canon Sony Fuji LEICA All Reviews Pixel X900 flash. bigger.
IntroductionTop Intro Specifications Accessories Performance User's Guide Recommendations
The Pixel X900 is a fast, high-powered, full-featured flash that comes for Canon and for Nikon. It has the same power output and features as Nikon and Canon's top flashes, recycles immediately, and here's the best part: instead of running on 4-AA cells you have to supply it comes with its own dedicated Li-Ion rechargeable battery pack and charger, which belts out more flashes with more power faster than flashes using 4-AAs can. The big, lightweight battery is rated for an amazing 700 full-power shots per charge, compared to only 100~200 shots per set of 4-AA alkalines or Ni-MH in the top Canon and Nikon flashes with similar power. It's much less expensive and built that way, too. It comes with a full load of accessories: case, Sto-Fen style diffuser, stand, battery and charger. Its head has a huge zoom range from 20~200mm (with "focused" and "diffuse" modifications), and has a built-in wide panel and bounce card, too. It does what a flash is supposed to do: belt out loads of power without stalling or overheating. Bravo!
GoodEssentially the same features performance as Nikons and Canon's $600 flashes — for $120. Optical slave compatible with Nikon or Canon's systems. 2.4 GHz radio slave (works only with the Pixel King Pro Radio Trigger, not with Nikon or Canon's radio control systems). State-of-the-art weather-sealed locking foot. High power. Fast recycle time: measured at 2.2 seconds from full-power! Huge zoom range from 20mm to 200mm and beyond Wide panel. Integrated bounce card. Easy to use and program. Potent battery included. Included charger has a great red and green LED display showing charging progress. Diffuser, case & foot included. 4 watt white LED lamp.
BadFirst sample overheated. Chinese domestic product — support & etc. comes direct from China.
MissingSeems like it includes everything for its low price except maybe light-balancing filters. Radio control only works with the matching Pixel King Pro Radio Trigger. It isn't compatible with Nikon's or Canon's own proprietary radio control systems. As the Pixel King Pro Radio Trigger costs much less than the Nikon or Canon solutions I don't know if you'd consider this bad or good.
SpecificationsTop Intro Specifications Accessories Performance User's Guide Recommendations
Rated PowerGuide Number (GN) 60m/197' at 100~200mm setting. See also Measured Power.
Recycle timeRated 1.5 seconds at full power. See also Measured Recycle Times.
AF Assist Beam29 red laser points.
Manual FlashFull to 1/128 in third stops.
Stroboscopic Flash1 ~ 500 Hz. 1 ~ 100 flashes at 1/8 ~ 1/128 power per instance.
Radio Slave2.4 GHz FSK
Zoom Head20mm to 200mm. Zooms a little beyond each to accommodate "Focused" and "Diffused" settings for all. Flip-down ultrawide panel. Clip-on diffuser included. Pull-out catchlight bounce card.
Bounce Head-7º to +90º ±180º left or right.
QualityMade in China.
BatteryIncluded H23 battery. bigger. Included. Rated 700 full-power shots per charge.
ChargerIncluded charger and adapters. bigger. Included charger includes adapters for worldwide use. Great red and green LED display shows if it's charging or not and the current charge percentage.
Flash Size2.9 × 2.4 × 7.6 inches. 73.5 × 61 × 192 millimeters.
Flash WeightMeasured 20.365 oz. (577.4 g) with included Li-Ion battery. Rated 14.8 oz. (420g) empty.
IncludedFlash Velcro Nylon case. Clip-on Sto-Fen style diffuser (not shown here) Stand. Battery Charger and charger power adapter. USA and foreign power plug adapters. Included case. bigger.
Price, USA$120 for Canon and $120 for Nikon, March 2019. Box, Pixel X900 flash. bigger.
Optional AccessoriesTop Intro Specifications Accessories Performance User's Guide Recommendations
Pixel King Pro Radio Trigger
PerformanceTop Intro Specifications Accessories Performance User's Guide Recommendations
OverallAt any price this flash is excellent at belting out more power faster and longer than any 4-AA-powered pro flash. It also has the same boatload of remote and other features as top Nikon and Canon flashes, just that the overall build quality and quality control isn't as tight. For one-fifth the price, do you care?
Measured Power
Measured Recycle Time2.2 seconds after a full-power flash with a room-temperature battery with at least a half a charge. 2.37 seconds after a full-power flash with a battery with at least a half a charge warm from heavy use. 2.6 seconds after a full-power flash with a battery charged at 25%.
Rear LCDThe rear LCD is well lit by green LEDs when you want it to be lit. The text is small and light, but will be legible to people with good eyesight (or glasses).
White LED LightThe white LED is mostly for looking around your camera bag or looking for lens caps under chairs. It's only 1-1/2 stops brighter than the flashlight of my iPhone Xs Max, so it's not going to help anything for still or video photography except if you're shooting in pitch dark and just need to see something. It's easy to use: just press the button on the side of the flash while the flash is on. The white light covers 180º with a lot of diffusion.
User's GuideTop Intro Specifications Accessories Performance User's Guide Recommendations
See also Pixel's X900 Users Manual.
TTL vs TTL BL ModesFor some odd reason it's much easier to find the archaic traditional TTL mode in the usual rotation of modes when pressing the MODE button. Don't use the TTL mode; always use the TTLB BL, balanced TTL mode. Nikon and Canon tend to hide the old TTL mode in the menus, requiring you to disable ambient-balanced lighting, so it only gets activated if you really want it. The old TTL mode isn't balanced with ambient light. It was the first mode to come out in the 1980s, but was quickly replaced in most camera systems with today's default TTL modes that balance the flash with ambient light. If you accidently use the regular TTL mode the flash exposes the picture for 100% flash expecting no ambient light, meaning that most of the time you get overexposure from the combination of the flash exposure with extra ambient light.
OverheatingWhile it seems reasonably resistant to the flash tube overheating during shooting, my first sample had a manufacturing defect which caused the case (right in the center around which the head pivots) to get dangerously hot. Luckily I was paying attention and shut it off, but its own temperature sensors should have shut it off. Just be sure yours doesn't do anything funny if left on for more than 10 minutes at a time. Even my defective sample was safe if left with the SLEEP DELAY set to five or ten minutes. I suggest you set yours to sleep after five minutes of non use, or at least be sure to turn it off when you put it away in your bag or leave it unattended until you're sure that yours has no problem. The case should not get warm or hot if it's on and you're not taking pictures.
RecommendationsTop Intro Specifications Accessories Performance User's Guide Recommendations This cheap flash works surprisingly well, with all the features of the top radio-controlled flashes from Canon and Nikon, and its big included battery lets it shoot more shots faster than either Nikon or Canon's flashes can. The big Li-Ion battery doesn't get as hot as AA Ni-MH do during heavy shooting, and recycles at least as fast. If you only use your flash on-camera or don't need radio control and want a low price, it's better to buy a used Canon 580EX II or a used Nikon SB-700 to get higher quality at about the same price (580EX II review and SB-700 review.) Both this flash and camera-brand flash respond to the camera-makers' optical control systems. However, if you need the latest radio-control features for off-camera flash and your only other option are the $600 flash and triggers, consider these. The radio-control features on this flash don't work with Nikon's or Canon's radio triggers, they work with the less expensive Pixel King Pro Radio Trigger instead. This 100% all-content website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Buy only from the approved sources I use myself for the best prices, service, return policies and selection. Thanks for helping me help you! Ken, Mrs. Rockwell, Ryan and Katie.
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Help Me Help YouI support my growing family through this website, as crazy as it might seem. The biggest help is when you use any of these links when you get anything. It costs you nothing, and is this site's, and thus my family's, biggest source of support. These places always have the best prices and service, which is why I've used them since before this website existed. I recommend them all personally. If you find this page as helpful as a book you might have had to buy or a workshop you may have had to take, feel free to help me continue helping everyone. If you've gotten your gear through one of my links or helped otherwise, you're family. It's great people like you who allow me to keep adding to this site full-time. Thanks! If you haven't helped yet, please do, and consider helping me with a gift of $5.00. As this page is copyrighted and formally registered, it is unlawful to make copies, especially in the form of printouts for personal use. If you wish to make a printout for personal use, you are granted one-time permission only if you PayPal me $5.00 per printout or part thereof. Thank you! Thanks for reading!
Mr. & Mrs. Ken Rockwell, Ryan and Katie.
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04 March 2019