In this post, we will be going over our full Neewer NW670 review as we feel that this is a solid little external flash that is not only very budget friendly but also packs enough performance and functionality to let it compete with higher price point flash units in the market.
Over the last year or so, we have seen a number of people reaching out for reviews and opinions on the NW670 so we hope that this article will be able to help any of our readers who find themselves in this same boat. As you may know, the reputation of the NW670 within the photography community is great and its core customer base continues to grow month by month as the word gets out about how much of a great deal this little flash actually is. Due to the great quality, Neewer is providing in the NW670 we doubt that this will change any time soon and fully expect more and more people to pick the flash up and for its reputation to keep growing amongst the community at a solid pace.
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User Interface And Control System
No Neewer NW670 review would be complete without going over its control system as well as its user interface. Thankfully, The NW670 comes with a navigation menu that is similar to many other Neewer flash units meaning you will see many similarities if you usually use a Neewer flash unit. On top of this, it is very similar to most modern flash units by other brands allowing you to move from one brand over to Neewer with ease. If the NW670 will be your first external flash unit then there is no need to worry as the navigation menu has been designed to be as easy to use as possible so we are sure the vast majority of people will be able to pick it up without issue quickly.
As you can see in the image above, it is based around the standard directional pad and button combo to allows you to quickly and easily navigate the menu to get to the core settings to tweak them during your photography session without having to waste time. On top of this, Neewer has taken the time to ensure that the settings that most photographers are likely to have to tweak are at the start of the navigation menu to speed up the whole process.
One thing that we would like to say about the actual control buttons on the NW670 is that they do feel a little cheap but with an entry level flash unit this is to be expected. That said, work fine and get the job done even in wet or cold conditions where some competing flash units at this price point may start to give you trouble.
The NW670 can be powered by both AA batteries (Click here to check for product prices and availability) or an external power pack if you wish. The image above shows the battery housing on the flash unit and as you can see, it is a line of Four batteries rather than the 2 by 2 housing some flash units use. This helps to prevent the Neewer NW670 from overheating during use as the heat from the batteries can dissipate easier when housed in a line.
Giving battery life predictions for a flash unit is a total nightmare as there are many factors ranging from the quality of batteries you use to your flash settings that come into play. That said, the average flash activations per set of fully charged batteries does seem to be around the Two Hundred mark. This should be plenty for most people and even if you do run out of juice you can quickly and easily swap a fresh set of batteries into the flash unit.
The image above shows the charging socket for an external power pack on the Neewer NW670 but as you can see, it is a simple, straight forward plug and play solution. Although we would imagine most people would go with the AA batteries to power their Neewer NW670, the vast majority of external power supplies (Click here to check for product prices and availability) will work with the flash unit.
For its price point in the market, we really can’t fault the control system or user interface on the NW670 and feel that Neewer really has done a great job when designing the flash. While reading reports from third-party photographers who use the NW670 as their go-to flash unit of choice, we were unable to see any complaints from them either.
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Performance And Functionality
The performance and functionality of the Neewer NW670 is without a doubt our favorite feature set of the flash unit. It blows the majority of the competing flash units at the entry level price point out the water while letting you pick up a decent quality flash without having outbreak the bank. At the time of writing, the flash unit is compatible with the following Canon flash units:-
- 7D Mark II
- 5D Mark II III
- IV,1300D
- 1200D
- 1100D
- 750D
- 700D
- 650D
- 600D
- 550D
- 500D
- 100D
- 80D
- 70D
- 60D
- Many other Canon camera bodies.
As you would expect from any modern flash unit on the market these days, the Neewer NW670 fully supports TTL flash, guide number, and manual flash modes to ensure that it is able to meet your needs. In addition to this and unlike some other budget-friendly flash units, you can also use the NW670 as a wireless trigger for your photography set up with a wireless distance of 15-25 meters.
Depending on the photography niche that you work in, the fixed recycle time of Three seconds can be a bit of a pain. For example, if you are in the wedding photography niche then you may want a sub-one second to recycle time to help keep you snappy and lt you roam through the venue capturing a ton of photographs. On the flip side of this though, we would imagine that the majority of people picking the Neewer NW670 are entry-level or amateur photographers who do this as a hobby. If you fit into this category or are fine with the set recycle time of Three seconds then this is definatley the flash unit for you.
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On the flip side of this though, we have seen some guides online on how you are able to hack the Neewer NW670 to change its recycle time but we have not tried this ourselves. It also looks like a time-consuming process where you are unable to do it on the fly mid-session too.
As you would expect from and flash worth it’s salt, the NW670 is fully rotatable both vertically and horizontally. The verticle title is 0-90 degrees and the horizontal rotation is 0-270 degrees. We feel that this should be enough to meet the vast majority of the needs of our readers and let you tilt or bounce your flash as required during your photography sessions.
Although we already touched on some of the overheating protection the Neewer NW670 has in its battery bay above, there is also some digital technology to help further protect your flash unit from over hating. First, you have the automatic temperature detection and the second method is the power saving mode that both work together to ensure that your flash unit is going to last for many years to come.
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Build Quality
Although the majority of the body of the Neewer NW670 is made from plastic that does have a cheap feel to it, the plastic definatley gets the job done and its very robust and pretty lightweight in all fairness to it. The rotary head is smooth and easy to rotate without the clunky feel that some other entry-level flash units have on the ratchets and turning mechanism helps prevent you from accidentally overturning the flash head and damaging it.
The flash unit is also relatively small when comparing it to some other camera flashes out there helping to make it very easy to store in your photography kit bag for transit. This coupled with its lightweight ensures that you can easily take the Neewer NW670 anywhere with you without having to worry about going over your baggage allowance or it taking up too much space in your bag.
The built-in flash diffusing filter would probably easily tear if uses regularly as it is made from a pretty flimsy material but we doubt that many of our readers will be using it much anyway. Even if your photography niche does use flash filters then chances are, you will be purchasing a cheap stand-alone filter to mount on your flash when required.
The hot shoe mount on the NW670 is made from metal as shown in the image above ensuring that it won’t warp in shape over time and potentially risk damaging the hot shoe mount on your camera body. Although pretty rare in this day and age, there are still come brands that will use a plastic hot shoe on their entry-level flashes and it can lead to no end of problems after the first few months when its shape starts to warp.
Although some older generations of Neewer flashes did have problems with the battery housing door randomly opening during use, it does seem that they have managed to correct the issue on the NW670. The door locks firmly in place once you have sat your batteries and we were unable to find a single report from anyone saying that their door had opened when in use scattering their batteries on the floor.
Considering the price point in the market, the build quality of the Neewer NW670 is great in our opinion and is one of the main reasons it is proving to be such a popular flash unit with the community. Although the build in flash diffuser is probably the only weak point when it comes to build quality, the majority of people who need to use a diffuser will probably be using an attachable one that they purchase separately anyway.
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FAQs
Question – Will the Neewer NW670 work with my camera?
Answer – We have included a full list of the official supporter Canon camera bodies earlier in the article. That said, the NW670 has been known to mount directly to a large number of other Canon cameras that are not on the list.
Question – Is the Neewer NW670 fully controlled by the Canon camera like the official Canon Speedlite range?
Answer – Yes, the NW670 supports two-way communication just like the official Canon camera flash units on the market.
Question – Does the Neewer NW670 support sideways tilt?
Answer – No, unfortunately, it does not but this is the norm for entry-level flash units as it is a quick and easy way for the manufacturer to keep the costs of the flash as low as possible to help keep the price tag low.
Third Party Reports
The video is pretty short but packed with information about the NW670 and we feel it is well worth the watch if you have a few minutes spare. That said, a bunch of what is covered in the video is covered in our article anyway if you don’t have the time available to watch it.
Our Verdict
That concludes our Neewer NW670 review and as you have probably guessed, this really is a great little camera flash that won’t need you to break the bank to add it to your camera accessories. It has so many positives going for it with very few negatives and outright blows most of the competition out the water helping it stand ahead of the crowd.
We feel that over the coming months its reputation is only going to increase within the photography community as more and more people pick the NW670 up and help spread the word. All in all, it is a great bit of kit that is worth every cent and will be able to cover many of your flash photography needs.
Click Here To Read Independent Third Party Reviews Of This Product!
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Image Licensing
Shared under Creative Commons – https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
Kah Wai Sin – Bella Again – https://flic.kr/p/8Yhdzj
