Lumopro LP160 – Hands on

The LumoPro LP160 is a very well put together manual flash unit in both build and design.



Right out of the box this flash unit is just about flawless. The build is fantastic and the connectivity is amazing. It has just about every option needed to slip into your kit with out any issues. It has five ways to trigger: First there is the conventional hot shoe, and then there are two built in slave options: S ( optical slave fires immediately ), and Si ( this setting ignores TTL pre-flash and fires with the metered flash ) Then there is one mini phone and one PC sync port to connect into.



It uses four 1.5v AA batteries for power, and has a cycle time of 0.3 to 10 seconds. The flash head rotates from 0 to 180 degrees to the right and 0 to 150 degrees to the left, and also pivots from -7 to 90 degrees.

On the back of the unit you have all of the controls. Both the zoom function and the power selection both use a light up display that is controlled by a single button underneath. Once you turn the flash on all you need to do is push the button and you will scroll through the power and zoom settings. Under the zoom and power buttons you will find from left to right the on / off switch, test / reset and slave selection switch.

On the left side of the LumoPro LP160 you will have your mini phone and PC sync ports. Then over on the right is the battery compartment.



The LumoPro LP160 also has front and back ready lights and auto power off after thirty minutes.

In the box is the flash unit itself, a small cold shoe stand, detachable wide angle diffuser, and a mini phone to PC sync cord.

There are seven power settings in the LP1690: 1/1 – ½ – ¼ – 1/8 – 1/16 – 1/32 – 1/64. At 1/1 power with the head zoomed all the way out to 105mm you will get 138 feet, and with the head at it's widest setting, with the dome diffuser, at 17mm you will get 46 feet. It is a nice and powerful flash.



The motorized zoom head also has seven positions: 24mm – 28mm – 35mm – 50mm – 70mm – 80mm – 105mm.

I am hard pressed to find any real fault in this flash unit. There are only two things that I would not mind being changed. The lock wheel could be a bit bigger. Not really a gripe, but if I had to change something it would be that. Also it would be great to be able to add an external battery pack to the unit. Like I said not really anything to complain about.



I have had this flash for a few weeks now, and I have been using it just about every time I have taken my camera out.

The first thing that I noticed about this flash is how easy it is to use. Now that might seem a bit obvious, but I also think that it is something that we all tend to forget. When you are out on location with a client and you need to make some adjustments you want to be able to make them quickly and efficiently. In fact there were many times that I left my Nikon SB-900 in my bag and brought out the LumoPro LP160.

With the multiple triggering options this flash unit has seamless integration into just about any flash set up.

If you are looking for another flash unit for your kit, and you do not need TTL then I recommend that you take some time and check out the LumoPro LP160.

A note on TTL verses manual flash.



When I first started to work with photography lighting I was working with large studio strobes. They were not very portable or flexible for the type of work I was doing. So I went to speed lights and entered the world of TTL control via Nikons Creative Lighting System.

The infrared control system was not always as consistent as I wanted it to be, and outside in the sun it was even worse. Now I am not dogging Nikons CLS. I love it, and I have learned so many thing with the Creative Lighting System from NIkon. Having the ability to change from TTL to manual, and even make adjustments to either mode wirelessly is fantastic, and in my work today it has its place just like any other tool.

Working with the LumoPro LP160 has rekindled my love for manual flash. There is a consistency when working with manual flash that you just do not get with wireless TTL. I know what the flash is going to do when I hit my shutter release, and once I have it dialed in, it stays dialed in. It is everything that I love about my studio lights, but in a very small body.

Like I said before the LumoPro LP160 is a fantastic manual flash that I cannot recommend enough. If you are ready to dive into manual flash then you should start with this flash unit.


Samples

Here are a couple of shots that I took when I was testing the LumoPro LP160


Camera - Nikon D300

Lens - Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8
Exposure - 1/60 @ f/4

Focal Length - 70mm

Lighting - LumoPro LP160
Light
Modifier(s) - Rogue Flash Bender
Trigger - Cactus V5 Duo


Camera - Nikon D300
Lens - Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8
Exposure - 1/100 @ f/5.6
Focal Length - 46mm

Lighting - LumoPro LP160, and Nikon SB900
Light Modifier(s) - Rogue Flash Bender
Trigger - Cactus V5 Duo