Simpex 522 flash review
I was out shopping for a flash other day that i could use as an optical slave for my canon 600D and bumped into the super affordable and cheap smpex 522 speedlite. I checked for a review all over the internet and just didn’t find anything useful so i thought why make a in depth review of the simpex 522 speedlite.
Pros: Simpex 522 is a pretty affordable flash unit that can trigger as a slave or a master and the biggest selling point of it is its pretty amazing price point. You just can’t buy any flash cheaper than this because there isn’t any out there in the market. it cost me 2000 Indian Rupees (approx 34 dollars) and that is a great bargain for a off camera flash. I could easily wreck this one and buy another one because it is so damn cheap. It takes 4 AA batteries and can rotate 180 degree on axis and can tilt 90 degrees.
it has 3 modes Master , Slave 1 , Slave 2 ( i din’t find much of a difference between slave 1 and 2 . typically slave 2 is designed not to trigger when camera uses it’s on board flash to track focus). It comes with a infrared optical sensor enabling it to function as a slave to on camera flashes of supported cameras like the 600D . You have a bouncer card as well as a glass plate which can drop in front of your flash to hold any gels if you need.
It also comes with a cold shoe all you need is buy a clamber for your light stand which cost 150 rupees ( 3 $ approx) and you are good to go as far a off camera flash unit.
i tested the flash unit interiors and it works perfectly well when it on camera and delivered almost 90 % when used it off camera which i don’t expect it to do better because of its low price point
Cons: I won’t be complaining a lot for such a cheap flash but since it is a review i will just go over the cons. Number one pretty cheap built quality . You just can’t think of dropping it . The battery compartment are all made very poorly and can rip if you don’t handle it carefully. .It only has a manual mode and don’t have an ETTL mode which i won’t complain because i never shoot in ETTL still for those who do this flash is not for you. The light quality is average and color temperature varies from shot to shot . So if you are using this flash you should shoot RAW to fix your white balance. Outdoors on a bright sunny day don’t expect it act as an optical slave, you will need a radio transmitter if you are going to use this one outdoors. And for the sake of argument i can finish off by saying it doesn’t have a zoom control and lcd screen on the back side which again i won’t bother complaining in this price range.
In summary this flash is a go to flash for any one who is starting off photography . it performs incredible well for its price point and you can get two off this flash in place of one yongnuo yn 560 ii speedlite. It is no go for professionals who ill be better off with higher end flashes like yongnuo yn 560 ii or canon or Nikon flashes. And before you buy simpex 522 make sure it is fully functional as there might be faulty pieces and company won’t give you any warranty.
Test shot taken using off camera triggering
Final edited shot