Today we are going to be going over our ultimate Neewer TT560 review that we have decided to publish due to seeing a steady number of people reaching out about the flash each month. In our opinion, the TT560 is without a doubt the best entry level flash unit under $50 currently on the market and we doubt that this is going to change any time soon.
The TT560 opened to a very warm reception to the photography community quickly growing in popularity and earning itself an excellent reputation that it has managed to maintain all the way through till today. Although the TT560 is a massively popular flash unit, we feel that it is only going to keep increasing in popularity as the coming months and years pass due to so many attempts to take its top spot fall short and are disregarded by the community.
We always try to be as balanced as possible in our reviews and show the negatives of any product we feature as well as its positives. With the TT560 this is a little different as provided you have realistic expectations for a flash unit that is so cheap, there are very few negatives for the flash and nothing we can think of that would cause someone not to purchase it and to go with one of its competitors. We just wanted to point this out early in the review and you can click here to read some independent reviews of the flash unit from third-party photographers to get a better understanding of just how good this flash units reputation is.
Click Here To Check For Prices On The Neewer TT560!
User Interface And Control System
The TT560 Speedlite flash from Neewer has a pretty basic interface as shown in the image shown above but in reality, it is a very common control system for the flash units that are in the sub $50 bracket. Not only does it get the job done of letting you control the flash unit but it also keeps everything as simple as possible making it the ideal first flash unit as it is very easy to set up and use.
In addition to this, if you have to tweak the performance of the flash unit during the course of your photography session then you can quickly and easily adapt its settings to what you need. Although it has a lack of customization when compared to the higher price point flash units on the market, this can actually work to your advantage as a lack of customization removes a ton of settings that an entry level photography probably doesn’t actually need anyway.
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A common problem with these super cheap flash units is that the manufacturer will base the control system around an LCD screen but won’t backlight it in an attempt to keep costs as low as possible. Then this ends up being a nightmare in some low light based photography niches as you can’t read the data on your LCD screen to adjust your flash settings.
Thankfully, with the Neewer TT560 this is not an issue as it does not rely on an LCD screen. After you have used the flash unit for a while your muscle memory will be able to get the flash to do whatever you need it to do even in low light. This allows you to save time and crack on with your session while getting the most out of your flash unit.
The flash connects to your camera body via a standard hot shoe mount and as you can see in the image above, the TT560 uses a metal hot shoe mount rather than a cheap low quality plastic based one. We have lost count of the number of camera flashes in the sub $50 bracket that use a low quality plastic hot shoe mount that just ends up warping in shape and causing you problems or getting stuck on your camera. Thankfully, Neewer kept with the metal mount ensuring that you should be able to mount and unmount your flash unit as required without issue.
There really isn’t much else to say about the control system for the Neewer TT560 as it is such a cheap flash unit that has been designed to have no frills to keep costs as low as possible while offering the user the best possible performance. For its price point, we feel Neewer have nailed it and we personally wouldn’t change a thing.
Click Here To Check For Prices On The Neewer TT560!
Performance And Functionality
There is no doubt in our mind that the best thing that the Neewer TT560 has going for it is its excellent performance. In our opinion, its excellent performance is the reason the TT560 is so popular and has such an excellent reputation within the community. Not only does the flash provide a very cost-efficient way to add a solid bit of equipment to your photography gear but the TT560 also outperforms some higher price point camera flash units when it comes to performance.
One great feature that the Neewer TT560 boasts is its color temperature of 5600K that allow it’s flash activations to be as close to natural light as possible. Although some competing camera flashes at this price point in the market do claim to be 5600K they rarely are and it can have a direct negative effect on your image quality.
The TT560 also offers some decent pivoting for bouncing your flash when needed too. You can vertically tilt the head of the flash unit from zero to 90 degrees while also horizontally panning the head from zero to 270 degrees. This allows you to bounce your flash off walls or roofs to manipulate the light on your subject as required to help improve your image quality.
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In addition to the above, the Neewer TT560 also supports a number of commonly seen features on higher price point flash units such as a Guide Number of 38 ( ISO 100), 1/300s~1/20000s flash duration, manual flash mode, and slave mode. This allows you to use the flash in a large number of situations while getting some solid performance out of it and the low price tag means that there is no need to break the bank either.
We would always recommend that our readers use a set of high-quality rechargeable batteries (Click here to check for product prices and availability) in the TT560 for the best possible battery life or use an external power supply when possible. When it comes to actual battery life, a number of factors do come into play such as the quality of the batteries you use in the flash and the settings you have selected. That said, the average number of flash activations per set of fully charged batteries seems to range from a low of around 150 up to a high of around 200.
The image above shows the battery housing on the TT560 and as you can see, it uses a 2 by 2 holding configuration rather than a 1 by 4 set up. Although this should not be an issue for the flash during normal use, the 2 by 2 battery set up is notorious for heat generation as it is harder for heat to dissipate due to the batteries being closer together when compared to the 1 by 4 config.
During periods of extended use, this can lead to some issues in the flash with heating and may result in the unit overheating. Thankfully, we have two workarounds to share with our readers that are easy to deploy to counter this. The first is to use an external power supply to power the flash unit but in reality, when you factor in the cost of the power supply, you are probably going to be better off just going with the Neewer NW620 (Click here to check for product prices and availability) instead of the Neewer TT560 as it will probably work out better overall.
The second way to counter this and the easier and cheaper option is to simply carry multiple sets of batteries for the TT560 with you during your sessions that you will probably be carrying anyway. Then during slow periods when you don’t need your flash unit, you simply swap out the battery sets to allow each set a chance to cool down.
Although the 2 by 2 battery configuration on the TT560 may lead to problems with overheating, it can easily be countered as we have explained and in addition to this, the risk is only present during periods of extended use with constant flash activations. Other than this one thing, the flash unit is excellent and close to perfect, especially when you factor in how cheap it is. Other than changing the battery housing to a 1 by 4 configuration, there is nothing that we would change about the flash.
Click Here To Check For Prices On The Neewer TT560!
Build Quality And Design
As you would expect from a sub $50 flash unit, the Neewer have had to take steps to keep the costs of the TT560 as low as possible while also ensuring it offers the excellent performance that it does. They have done this by using a different type of plastic for the casing of the flash unit and although it is lower quality than some of the higher price point flash units, the plastic is still pretty robust and lightweight too.
As we already mentioned earlier in the article, the hot shoe mount on the flash unit is made from metal rather than plastic. Our regular readers will know that we always recommend that you use a flash unit with a metal hot shoe when possible as plastic mounts can warp in shape and end up getting stuck on your camera body.
Another solid thing that the Neewer TT560 has over some competing flash units in the sub $50 bracket is the joining unit between the body and head of the flash is solid. As shown in the image above, you are able to easily tilt or pan the head of the flash unit as you need without it feeling flimsy and as if it is just going to come off in your hand.
Considering the priced point of the flash unit, the seals on the flash actually do a decent job of preventing dust from getting through the cracks and onto your electronics. Although most modern electronics do have protections against dust being able to short the circuits, it is still nice to know that the time and effort has been taken to keep the standard strong.
Click Here To Check For Prices On The Neewer TT560!
FAQs
Question – Will the Neewer TT560 mount to my specific camera?
Answer – As the TT560 uses the standard hot shoe mount it should mount directly to any camera body that uses a standard hot shoe. That said, mounts like the Sony Mi Shoe come with attachments to convert the Mi Shoe to a standard hot shoe anyway to let you mount the TT560 on those mounts too.
Question – Is the Neewer TT560 TTL compatible?
Answer – No, just like the majority of sub $50 flash units on the market, the TT560 does not work with TTL technology.
Third Party Reports
In addition to the video above, you can also click here to read some reviews of the Neewer TT560 from independent photographers who either currently are or recently have used it as their go to flash unit of choice.
Our Verdict
That brings our Neewer TT560 review to a close and we feel that the TT560 is definatley the best flash unit on the market in the sub $50 bracket at the time of writing. It has the largest user base and the best reputation for a reason and we don’t think that this is going to change any time soon.
In addition to this, we don’t see the TT560 losing the top spot to a competitor any time soon either as it has seen of plenty of challengers from other brands and came out on top holding the top spot. We have no doubt in our mind that if you are an entry level photography or someone on a tight budget that the TT560 will help improve your flash photography image quality and will make a great addition to your camera accessories.
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/
dallashangerphoto – Bekah Timm – https://flic.kr/p/8rXMCh
Igor Menezes Fotógrafo – 15 Anos – Daniele Dias – https://flic.kr/p/jCG2E8
