Nissin Di600 User manual

for Canon EOS / Nikon digital SLR cameras
for Sony digital SLR cameras
INSTRUCTION MANUAL

Thank you for purchasing a Nissin product
Before using this flash unit, please read this instruction manual and
refer your camera owner’s manual carefully to get a better
understanding of the proper operation to enjoy flash photography.
Nissin Di600 is designed for digital SLRs cameras with hotshoe and the latest
TTL flash control technology.
Note: No film camera can be used with Di600.
Attach Di600 to your camera, and then almost all jobs are controlled by the
camera for the most proper exposure.
Read this instruction manual and refer your camera owner’s manual to enjoy
flash photography.
Please refer Nissin’s compatibility chart shown at its home page for details and
recent updates: http://www.nissin-japan.com or http://www.nissindigital.com
Compatible cameras
1
Nissin Di600 type Canon, Nikon and Sony are designed for Canon, Nikon and
Sony digital SLRs, with the latest TTL flash control system. Please note that
Di600 Canon, Nikon and Sony are not usable with other branded cameras for
TTL operation.

These safety instructions refer to important information on how to use this
product safely and properly. Please read the following instructions before
using the product.
SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
WARNING
The flash unit contains high voltage electric parts. Do not try to open or repair the flash
unit. Return it back to the repair service station or the store where you bought it from.
Do not touch the inside parts from the opening when the unit was dropped or broken.
Do not shoot the flash directly to the eyes at short distance. It may damage the eyes.
When taking a flash picture, especially toward a baby, it is recommended to keep the
flash unit at least 1 meter (3.3feet) away from the subject. Or use diffuser or bounce
the light to the ceiling or wall to soften its intensity.
Do not place the flash unit near any flammable gas, chemicals or such liquids. It may
cause fire or electric shock.
Do not touch the flash unit with wet hands or use in the water. The flash unit carries
high voltage inside and it may cause an electric shock.
Do not shoot the flash unit directly at the driver of automobiles or such vehicles.
Do not set the flash window close to the human body and shoot, which may get
scalded.
Place the batteries correctly in position. Placing the batteries in wrong polarity may
cause leakage, exothermic heat or explosion.
CAUTIONS
Do not leave or store the flash unit in the temperature over 40ºC/ 140ºF, such as in the
automobile.
The flash unit is not water resistance. Keep the unit away from rain, snow and humidity.
Do not use benzene, thinner or other alcoholic agents to clean the unit.
Do not use this flash unit with the cameras which are not recommended in compatibility
list at official website, otherwise it may damage the camera’s circuitry.
Remove the batteries when not in use for a longer period of time.
Do not have a heavy impact to the flash unit, nor throw it onto a hard surface floor.
This sign refers to the danger or serious damage.
This sign refers to conditions which may cause damage or defect.
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Names of the Components
Flash stand
Light diffusing panel / Fill-in reflector
Flash head
AF-assist light / wireless flash sensor
Lock ring
Mounting foot
Hotshoe contacts
X - Terminal
Pilot button (Test flash button)
Battery compartment door
Power switch (Press button)
Mode select button / indicator
(TTL →Manual →SD →SF →Wireless TTL slave)
Flash power level indication lamp (6 LEDs)
Flash power level select button
Accessories: Flash stand
S
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*Sony type hotshoe / Flash stand
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Pilot
DF
Ch 1 Group A

Basic Operation
Inserting batteries
Open the battery compartment door
and insert 4 x size AA batteries as
shown by the picture.
Make sure the + and - battery contacts
are correctly inserted at the battery
compartment.
Close the battery compartment door
and slide it back in place.
NOTE
It is recommended to use all 4 batteries of the same brand and
type, and replace them all the same time.
Wrong insertion of each battery would not make electric contact.
4
F
/
P
ilot
On
/
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C
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1
G
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p
A
F/
Ch
1
Group
A
P
il
o
t
On/Off
F/
Ch
1
Group
A
P
ilot
On
/
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ff

NOTE
Mounting Di600 on the camera
Slide the mounting foot of Di600
into the hotshoe of camera.
Twist the lock ring clockwise to
tighten it.
Twist the lock ring anti-clockwise to
loosen it as shown in the picture.
Removing Di600 from the camera
Loosen the lock ring and slide the mounting foot of Di600 off the
hotshoe of camera.
Before mounting or removing Di600 into or from the camera,
make sure to turn off the power switch of both Di600 and the
camera.
*For Nikon and Canon type digital SLR cameras
5

Push the lever of the locking ring (in
the direction of the arrow) of Di600
to loosen it as shown in the picture.
Slide the mounting foot of Di600 into
the hotshoe of the camera while
holding down the lock ring.
Release the lock ring of Di600 when
the mounting foot is fully slide into
the hotshoe of the camera.
Lock pin comes out to hook the foot
at the hotshoe for sure contact.
Mounting Di600 on the camera
*For Sony type digital SLR cameras
Removing Di600 from the camera
Push down the lock ring and slide the mounting foot of Di600 off
the hotshoe of the camera. Make sure to slide off the mounting
foot and completely clear the lock pin off the hooking slot on the
hotshoe.
Before mounting or removing Di600 into or from the camera,
make sure to turn off the power switch of both Di600 and the
camera.
NOTE
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Turn on the flash unit
For a test flash, press the Pilot button. When
using the test flash as an open flash, please
note that the reference guide number in this
case is G.No.10 (ISO 100).
To turn off the flash unit manually, press the
On/Off switch for 2 seconds.
Press the On/Off switch and the
Pilot button turns red showing the
unit is turned on.
In a few seconds, the Pilot button
turns green. The Di600 is ready
to shoot.
Di600 has an energy saving power off function
To save battery energy, the power is automatically turned off (switch to
stand-by mode), both in TTL mode & Manual Power mode, in about 2
minutes of idle use.
While Di600 is in the stand-by mode a Pilot lamp blinks every 2
seconds showing the flash unit is in stand-by mode.
To turn on Di600 again, press the camera’s shutter button halfway or
press any button of the flash unit.
In case Di600 is not in use over 60 minutes, the unit is completely
turned off and shut out the current leakage from the batteries.
In case of using Di600 in slave or remote mode, Di600 will not go into
the stand-by mode. It will however automatically turn off when not used
over 60 minutes.
To turn on Di600 again, take the first step of turning the flash unit on.
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On/O

Shooting Di600 automatically
Canon cameras
Nikon cameras
(Program), (Full Auto), (Aperture priority),
(Shutter priority) or (Manual);
(Program), (Full Auto), (Aperture priority),
(Shutter priority) or (Manual);
Set Di600 to the camera’s hotshoe and turn on the power switch.
Di600 is automatically set for the camera’s TTL mode when ready
lamp lights up.
Press the shutter button of your camera halfway to focus the subject.
Take the picture. Di600 is fired and the result is immediately shown on
the camera’s LCD display.
When you change the focal length, the power zoom flash head of
Di600 responds without delay and immediately sets its position to
match the lens focal length you selected.
The flash illumination coverage of Di600 responds to the lens focal
length of 24mm to 105mm (35mm film camera standard).
In all camera's shooting modes listed above, Di600 will fully work in
TTL (ETTL, ETTL-II for Canon, i-TTL for Nikon and ADI, P-TTL for
Sony ) automatic-flash system.
Shutter speed, aperture and flash mark ( ) are indicated in camera’s
view finder.
Sony cameras
(Program), (Full Auto), (Aperture priority),
(Shutter priority) or (Manual);
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Set the camera’s shooting mode, select focal length and take pictures
with Di600 on your camera.
Di600 is a supplement to help you in taking a creative and live picture.
Almost all tasks are automatically done by the camera and you just
control the camera only.
Mode
Canon Nikon Sony
Shutter
Speed
Aperture
Setting
Control on
the camera
Automatic Automatic Automatic
Automatic Automatic Automatic
Manual Automatic
Automatic Manual
Manual Manual
Any available shutter
speed can be set
Any available f-stop
can be set
Any available shutter
speed / f-stop can be set
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Joy of Flash Photography
TTL flash power compensation is provided in 7 steps by half Ev
increments for -1.5, -1.0, -0.5, 0, +0.5, +1.0, and +1.5 Ev.
To set the Flash power level select button to the power level you
desire.
When Di600 shows no level indication LED is turned on, the
flash power compensation level is at even (0 Ev) level as de-
fault value.
Take a picture and the aimed subject is shown with required
lighting effect by keeping the background exposure level as
originally expected.
Press the flash power select button, by each press of + marked
knob, it sets the power of +0.5 →+1.0 →+1.5 Ev. and the -
marked knob sets it to -0.5 →-1.0 →-1.5 Ev. The power level
indication lamp shows the power level you set.
On some cameras, the TTL flash power compensation setting is
provided in its menu mode. When setting the TTL flash power
compensation on your camera, any compensation which is also
set on the Di700 will be counted in addition to the compensation
you selected in the camera’s menu mode.
With the latest TTL flash control system, the
flash power level is always automatically
controlled by the camera for the most
appropriate exposure. If you wish, you can
soften or weaken the flash light, or give more
light to the subject without changing the
environmental or background exposure
effect. The Di600 can make it possible to
quickly adjust the exposure for each
partucular flash picture as needed.
TTL flash power compensation
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On/O

Fill-in flash and Light diffusing panel
For short distance or portrait flash photography, if the light is not too
sharp or too strong to the subject. Use fill-in reflector flash or diffuse
the light.
If the subject is close (within 2 meters), turn the
flash head 90° upward and pull out the fill-in
reflector as shown in the picture.
Take a picture as usual. A blink of fill-in flash
freshens up the subject in natural image.
This technology is also useful to elimi-
nate the shadow on the subject under
the tree.
For portrait photography, pull out the light diffusing panel and place
it over the flash window as shown in the picture. The diffusing
panel makes the flash light soften and creates a lively color effect
on the subject.
Since the light diffusing panel expands the lighting area, it
covers the range of 16mm focal length lens.
This small blink of flash is also useful
when taking a picture of a baby without
scaring him.
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Bounce lighting
When lighting a subject in front of
the wall, an unnecessary sharp
shadow may appear on the wall
behind the subject resulting in a
disappointing picture. Bounce the
light off the ceiling or wall to soften
the light on the subject, and the
shadow will fade.
Turn the flash head up. It turns upward to 45° >60° >75° >90°.
Or tilt the flash head sideway to left 30° >60° >90° or to right
30° >60° >90° >120° >150° >180°.
Or mixing it upward/ sidways, you can set it in multiple direc-
tions as shown.
When the flash head stays at turning or tilting position, the zoom
setting position of Di600 is automatically set at the position for
a50mm focal length lens.
The wall or ceiling in this case should be a flat surface and white
color is preferable. Colored ceiling or wall may reflect its color on
the subject.
AF assist light emitter
Under a low light condition, or in a dark place, the AF assist light
will automatically emit the beam and illuminate the subject, so that
the camera can easily focus on the subject in darkness. The beam
is however not shown in the picture.
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Focus the subject.
Pre-flash is fired to pre-set the correct light
amount for the main subject.
Remarks: FEL only works on P, TV, AV, M & A-Dep mode.
Set the picture frame as you desire and release the shutter.
Remarks: AE-L only works on P, S, A & M mode.
When the back ground of the main subject is too bright, the camera’s
exposure reading system adjusts the flash light intensity for such back
ground condition and it results in the main subject being
under-exposed. Or in case the main subject is not placed in the center
of the viewfinder, the flash picture may result the aimed targeted
subject being under or over exposed.
You can lock the correct flash exposure for the targeted subject in
such a condition. This flash exposure pre-set remains locked in, even
if you change the aperture or zoom the lens in and out. This mode can
only be set on the camera.
Flash Power Lock
With Canon cameras: FE lock
Aim the viewfinder center over the main
subject and press [ ] button on the
camera (or [ FEL ] button on some cam-
eras).
Focus the subject.
Set the Fv lock mode at the menu on your
camera.
With Nikon cameras: Fv lock
Aim the viewfinder center over the main
subject and press [ AE-L ] button on the
camera (or [ AF-L ] button on some
cameras).
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(It depends on different type of camera, please check your camera
instruction manual.)
(It depends on different type of camera, please check your camera
instruction manual.)

Following functions are available on Nikon cameras.
Refer to camera owner's manual for details.
The flash is controlled at a slow shutter speed to the
correct exposure for both the main subject and back
ground in low light conditions or at night.
For Nikon Version only
Slow shutter synchronization
To prevent the subject's eyes from appearing red,
Di600 fires three controlled flashes just before the
picture is taken. Red-eye reduction can be
combined with slow sync.
Red-eye reduction
In rear-curtain sync., the flash fires just before the
rear curtain closes. By using this function at slow
shutter speeds, a moving subject will appear with
such moving marks behind.
Rear curtain synchronization
For Sony Version only
Following functions are available on Sony cameras.
Refer to camera owner's manual for details.
The flash is controlled at a slow shutter speed to the
correct exposure for both the main subject and back
ground in low light conditions or at night.
Slow shutter synchronization
In rear-curtain sync., the flash fires just before the
rear curtain close. By using this function at slow
shutter speeds, a moving subject will appear with
such moving marks behind.
Rear curtain synchronization
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When the flash unit is turned on, it is automatically set for TTL
(E-TTL II / E-TTL for Canon, or i-TTL for Nikon, or ADI / P-TTL for
Sony) automatic flash mode. In this mode, the mode select
indicator does not light.
You can select the power by pressing the -- / + button, from the
left to right, 1/32 – 1/16 – 1/8 – 1/4 – 1/2 – 1/1(Full) power.
Select your desired F--stop and / or shutter speed. Point the
subject and press the shutter.
Set the camera shooting mode to either [ AV ](Canon),
[ A](Nikon), [ A](Sony), or [ M].
The color of mode select indicator turns to Red as shown in the
picture.
Press the mode select button.
In some occasions, or for special expression, you may need your
own flash exposure instead of the automatic controlled exposure.
You can set Di600 for non-automatic flash mode, and select the
desired flash power from 6 different levels
Manual Exposure Flash
Red
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Synchro Terminal
Di600 is equipped with a Synchro terminal (X terminal) to connect an
off-camera cable. This allows photography with flash units separate
from the camera. This feature can be applied in Manual mode only.
On/O

Wireless slave Flash
Di600 has a wireless remote flash system as a slave unit.
You can enjoy creative flash photography with multiple lightings
from the various directions. 3 slave modes are provided, Slave
Digital (SD: green color) for digital pre-flash system; Slave Film (SF:
blue color) for analogue flash system and Wireless ( :purple color)
for wireless remote channel 1 group A digital flash.
SD: In this mode, Di600 synchronizes to the pre-flash system. The
master flash is to be set at TTL (E-TTL for Canon, i-TTL for Nikon
amd ADI / P-TTL for Sony) mode.
SF: In this mode, Di600 synchronizes to the traditional single flash
system. The master flash is to be set at manual mode. Studio
lighting system synchronizes to this mode. This mode is also
available for open flash, and for a standard flash in the market.
Wireless TTL slave:
For Canon and Nikon systems: In this mode, Di600 synchronize to
the wireless TTL slave flash system. The master flash is to be set
at Channel 1 group A in wireless TTL slave mode.
For Sony system: In this mode, Di600 synchronize to the wireless
TTL slave flash system. The master flash is to be set at Channel 1
Remote (RMT) in wireless TTL slave mode.
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Switch Di600 on and while the ready lamp
is on, press the mode select button to
select desired mode. The mode select
button turns to TTL (no light)— Manual
(red)—SD (green)—SF (blue)-----
Wireless TTL slave(Purple) and back to
TTL.
Setting slave flash Di600:
When flash is set to SD or SF mode,
the first lamp of flash power level is
lighten. This lamp shows the 1/32
manual power level. Press the flash
power level select button at marked + to
select different power of 1/16→1/8→1/4
→1/2 and Full.
Press the button at marked — to power
downward. The power you selected is
memorized and remains unchanged
untill the unit is switched off.
When the flash is set to Wireless mode,
the power level will be controlled by the
Master flash. Therefore, no setting is
required on Di600.
Set slave flash at any place and direct the flash head as you
desire. Slave sensor may not respond to the master flash in the
extremely bright condition or under the poor sensing situation.
Use the flash stand included. Place Di600 on to the flash stand
which can be placed either on a flat surface, or on the tripod by
the screw.
NOTE
Metal type accessory shoe is not recommended since it may
give electric damage on the electrical contact of the flash
hotshoe.
Green
Blue
Purple
17

To reset the flash unit to another mode, press the mode select
button for TTL and or Manual mode.
Energy saving system for stand-by mode will not work when it's in
slave mode.
Automatic shut off function is however in effect. It automatically
turns-off when not in use over 60 minutes.
The zoom setting position is automatically set for the focal length
of 35mm while using Di600 as a slave unit.
Set the camera for flash shooting mode. Point at the subject and
shoot. The slave flash will synchronize to the master flash and
gives additional lighting from the different direction you desired.
Shooting the subject:
18

TTL exposure level is accurately calibrated for standard balance in
accordance with Nissin’s standard. If any adjustment is however
required, or if you like to set your preferable level, it can be adjusted for
about ±0.75 (3/4) Ev. This adjustment can only be set when the flash is
off. Insert 4 AA batteries in the battery compartment.
Press the pilot button and On/Off switch
both together and hold for 3 sec. The
mode select lamp turns light blue color
showing the unit is ready for TTL
exposure level adjustment.
TTL Exposure level custom setting
Light Blue Press together
Press the power level select button
either + or - to adjust it to the required
exposure level. Each LED shows 0.25
(1/4) Ev. increments and it can be
adjusted up to +0.75 (3/4)Ev. (over
exposure efficiency), or down to -0.75
(3/4)Ev. (under exposure efficiency).
Press the On/Off switch for 3 sec. to
turn the unit off. The adjusted level is memorized and kept as
customized default TTL exposure level. This setting is
permanently kept until you alter the setting to the other required
level.
Start to use flash unit from “Turn on the flash unit” at “BASIC
OPERATION” explained as above.
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On/O
On/O