# In Depth Comparison/Review: Neewer VK750II vs. Nikon SB700



## Braineack

Since getting the YN622TX controller and YN622 TTL triggers I decided I wanted a second TTL flash so I could control both when shooting with my flashes.  Since I've had good luck with my YN560II I was going to go with a YN565EX.

I heard about this Neewer VK750II for $53 on amazon and figured, "what the hey!"

It gets good reviews, can do TTL and HSS, and has a PC sync port and  a power port, something the SB700 nor the YN565EX have.

Out of the box it seems well built, VERY easy to use, and seems to work well with my D600.

I can get into more specifics later, but I decided to put it up against my SB700 in various situations to see how it could handle TTL tasks.  So let's dive in:
































One thing I noticed right away is that the VK750 seems slight brighter.  It also it fills the frame more evenly--it you look, the center of the SB700 is high in the frame, the VK750 hits much closer to the center.  Lastly it relies on the D600 to do the WB, so when using the SB700 it was pulling the tint +4-5 to the green side--I do not like that--you can see the tint is off, that's a gray BG.

Now to try TTL against the gray wall:






Nikon brighter this time, but again, the green tint.

Now i wanted to see how it could handle TTL white three different colored subjects on my gray background:
















I think the Neewer won here, it overexposed the black cat, but that's how TTL is supposed to work.


Now bounced:






Pretty much a wash here.  Nikon seems more even throughout, I'll have to test bounce more.


And off camera, still using TTL:






Again, hard to say between these, I prefer the Neewer, but only because it's a little darker on the shadows.


Finally, testing TTL just shooting in my basement-On camera, pointed straight ahead:











The Nikon seemed to consistently underexpose these shots and the coverage is uneven in the frame, the edges were always vignetted.



One neat positive with the Neewer VK750 when using the YN622: the Neewer actually displays the camera/flash settings. If I change the shutter speed and aperture on the camera I can instantly see the change on the flash.  The Nikon only displays the distance to subject.  this makes it nice to quickly double check your camera settings with a large display, especially for those with cameras without an LCD.

One low: the zoom motor is loud.

I'll test more later, like HSS.  If there are any other types of comparisons you'd like to see just let me know.

I bought that SB-700 refurbished from B&H in 2011 for $300.  Compared to a $53 flash with more features, it's getting a good run for its money.

For relativity of that statement, I purchased a Bower SFD926N Digital Autofocus Power Zoom TTL / i-TTL Flash trying to cheap out before I got the SB700 for $150.  I had to return it--it hardly even worked.


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## fotomonkey

Hurry up and finish your tests. I was about to buy some Yongnuos.


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## tirediron

How does build-quality stack up?


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## Braineack

Besides the loud zoom motor it seems nice.  My sb700 feels cheap and flimsy comparitively.  The swivel and tilt is very tight and solid. 

I'm sure the body is a mold from some nikon, maybe the sb900

It has a pilot button but you can also just push the status light, I found that funny.

using tapatalk.


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## Ted Evans

Braineack said:


> Since getting the YN622TX controller and YN622 TTL triggers I decided I wanted a second TTL flash so I could control both when shooting with my flashes.  Since I've had good luck with my YN560II I was going to go with a YN565EX.
> 
> I heard about this Neewer VK750II for $53 on amazon and figured, "what the hey!"
> 
> It gets good reviews, can do TTL and HSS, and has a PC sync port, a power port as well as beam assist, something the SB700 nor the YN565EX have.
> 
> Out of the box it seems well built, VERY easy to use, and seems to work well with my D600.
> 
> I can get into more specifics later, but I decided to put it up against my SB700 in various situations to see how it could handle TTL tasks.  So let's dive in:.



A lot of work and very informative, very much appreciated.


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## qleak

Can you do a color test to see how well it matches the sb700? Maybe grid or snoot them up to make it possible to tell apart?

Does it have an optical slave?


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## Braineack

Yes, optical slave.  Says wireless trigger too, but unsure what triggers it.  The manual is so funny.  I'm lolling reading it.  Edit: the wireless trigger is the optical slave.

Bad: I can't get hss to work, can't shoot it faster than 1/250, which is fine.

Has a strobe feature that can flash rapidly so you can capture a series of movement.


using tapatalk.


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## JustJazzie

Wow! Thanks for the review!! This looks like something to keep high on the list. I've been wanting a ttl flash but haven't committed. Great examples, thanks for taking the time to post this!!!


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## Braineack

Fwiw, I'd still probably reach for the sb700 as the go to.  But this does what I need it to, and will work in conjuction with the nikon flash whenever I need to use speed lights for a shoot.  I  wouldn't mind having like 4 of these plus ttl triggers for the same price as 1 nikon flash.

I love having control from the TX unit.

using tapatalk.


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## Braineack

More findings: assist beam is way off center.  Makes it difficult for it to focus in low light on 3d objects.  I'm going to see if I can't adjust it somehow.  Sb700 blows it away find focus in low light.

using tapatalk.


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## Mach0

Won't be bad for an off camera flash


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## Braineack

Mach0 said:


> Won't be bad for an off camera flash



No, and if that's all you're looking for, I don't think I would hesitate to get one--It seems to communicate very well through the YN622. If I was shooting weddings and needed an on-camera workhorse, iI just don't quite think this is what I'd run to.

Fwiw, I tried taking it apart to adjust the beam assist laser, but i couldn't figure out how to get all the way to that circuit.  I don't think there's much room for adjustment, it would probably require me having to desolder it from the board and resolder it on a better angle; I first popped off the red cover and there's no "give" when it comes to positioning it.


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## SquarePeg

Maybe return it and try another copy.  It could just be that one.


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## Alexr25

The reason your are seeing dark images from the SB700 is that the flash is defaulting to TTL-BL mode and trying to match the flash power to the ambient background illumination. To force the SB700 into basic TTL mode you have to have the camera metering mode set to spot metering.
The lack of a simple method to select between TTL and TTL-BL is a real PITA with the SB700


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## Braineack

Interesting, I forgot about BL mode.

The shiny objects reflecting the flash is probably why the SB-700 shots are darker if that's the case, since it was in Matrix mode, and ultimately BL.

I can test both outdoors and see how they compare since the flash was pretty much the entire light source in all the shots I did above.


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## Braineack

SquarePeg said:


> Maybe return it and try another copy.  It could just be that one.



Others have complained about it.


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## MOREGONE

Braineack said:


> It gets good reviews, can do TTL and HSS, and has a PC sync port, a power port as well as beam assist, something the SB700 nor the YN565EX have.



I do not see anything on the Amazon description about it being HSS compatible.  More info from another source about this?

Which type of external battery pack will it take? Seems to vary with mfg. The Yongnuo's go with the Canon style.

What is the beam assist feature that the SB700 and YN565 do not have?

Thanks


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## curly

Thanks for the review. I bought this flash not too long ago as my first speedlight


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## Braineack

MOREGONE said:


> Braineack said:
> 
> 
> 
> It gets good reviews, can do TTL and HSS, and has a PC sync port, a power port as well as beam assist, something the SB700 nor the YN565EX have.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I do not see anything on the Amazon description about it being HSS compatible.  More info from another source about this?
> 
> Which type of external battery pack will it take? Seems to vary with mfg. The Yongnuo's go with the Canon style.
> 
> What is the beam assist feature that the SB700 and YN565 do not have?
> 
> Thanks
Click to expand...



For some reason I thought VK750ii had HSS.

The SB700 _does _have beam assist, mistaken there as well.  dunno what I was thinking there.


all-in-all the flash works, it's a nice 3rd remote flash for me.  For primary users I found TTL mode it needs -2/3 otherwise it seems to overexpose a bit.


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## Heather Koch

Thanks for the review!  I had boughten this same exact model (maybe you remember my post?) a few months back.  Did a ton of research (this would have helped me tremendously back then) and found it was worth a shot, at only being around $50.  Glad I went with it and love it!

*Side note - (may seem silly as I haven't looked into the question) but since I'm here how do you shut off the sound?


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## qleak

I agree thanks for the reviews. I think I may pick one of these up as well. 

I'm still curious about the light color vs the sb700. I've heard that the color of the light can be a common problem with the cheaper speedlights. It's not really an issue if you're only using 1 flash, but I'd want to combine with my sb700


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## Graham Smith 51

Thanks for your review. I'm considering buying one of these but I have a couple of questions. Firstly, the photos of the unit show what looks like a socket for an external power supply, but it's obviously non-standard. Have you any idea how it can be used? Secondly, I want to use this as off-camera flash, and will either use a ttl sync cabe or wireless sync. I have seen a Viltrox SC-29 cable and the Yongnuo YN 622N wireless set. What do you think of these for use with this flash? Anyone got any answers?


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## Braineack

like i said in my post I was using the YN622N so...


pretty sure the charging port is the same as the SB-900.


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## astroNikon

Graham Smith 51 said:


> Thanks for your review. I'm considering buying one of these but I have a couple of questions. Firstly, the photos of the unit show what looks like a socket for an external power supply, but it's obviously non-standard. Have you any idea how it can be used? Secondly, I want to use this as off-camera flash, and will either use a ttl sync cabe or wireless sync. I have seen a Viltrox SC-29 cable and the Yongnuo YN 622N wireless set. What do you think of these for use with this flash? Anyone got any answers?


We've read of many people having issues with 3rd party cables.  This may be one instance where an OEM (Nikon) brand, even used (which I've bought my Nikon SC-17 TTL cord for $20 shipped used) may prevent a lot of troubleshooting.

But I use the SC-17 cable for use on a Stroboframe flip flash bracket for event type portability.

All other uses I use the Youngnuo 622 TX and 622N triggers with Nikon SB700/800 speedlights for "studio" type setups.

To answer your question it all depends upon how you plan on using the system Off-Camera.


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## Graham Smith 51

Cheers for the info regarding wireless flash. Since the sync cable I was looking at was only £12 ($8?) I've got one on order anyway so I'll let you all know how it performs. I've ordered a 750N from Amazon UK so I'm looking forward to its arrival! I'll just use it on a flash bracket at first, then later on I'll get a wireless trigger set. I have seen these on sale and it's a bit confusing as there seems to be a commander unit and receivers, but then there are kits that have two identical units that apparently can act as either transmitter or receiver. Does it matter which I get? I.e. do I have to get a commander unit and receiver(s) separately or will the kit do the job just as well? I take it that these units give full TTL functions with this flash unit, do they? Sorry if I'm being dense, but when you wade through some of the explanations it can be a bit confusing.


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## astroNikon

I'd recommend getting a commander unit with the wireless setting.
here's a thread where I help someone understand the Yongnuo 622 TX / 622 N triggers on Nikon
==> Yongnuo YN 568 EX N Flash issue


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## Graham Smith 51

Astronikon - cheers. Another good source of info. I'll be perusing it all!


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## Graham Smith 51

Update: In the end, I changed my Amazon order to the NEEWER NW985N - the specs are similar to the 750N but I think it has a few upgrades. Not much difference, though. I will give it a good test and post results.


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## smedz28

Braineack said:


> Yes, optical slave.  Says wireless trigger too, but unsure what triggers it.  The manual is so funny.  I'm lolling reading it.  Edit: the wireless trigger is the optical slave.
> 
> Bad: I can't get hss to work, can't shoot it faster than 1/250, which is fine.
> 
> Has a strobe feature that can flash rapidly so you can capture a series of movement.
> 
> 
> using tapatalk.




I bought this flash around 6 months ago and found the manual to be completely useless and incomprehensible, any chance of a translation


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## Braineack

What do you need to know how to do?


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## smedz28

At this point i've used it twice and i'm unsure of if I am actually changing the power setting correctly, so I guess a description of how to correctly adjust the power in manual mode as I would be looking to use this off camera. Unless I am looking at it wrong the power seems to change regardless of which directional buttons I press  and I don't really understand the scale, if I remember correctly once you go through all the stops of power there seems to be a kind of -1 and 2 thing going on once you cycle through the range of power setting?


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## dannylightning

nice review.    i have 2 of the VK750II flashes and i think they are really nice..  build quality seems good to me,  they work very well IMO  i think its a great flash for not allot of money..

i dropped one of them and it hit the ground hard.  it would not come on after that.. i found that the prongs that make contact with the battery's bent down on impact and were not making contact with the battery any more..    i was able to bend them back so they do make contact with the battery's again and the flash has been working great ever since....    

that was a pretty minor thing to happen for as hard as it hit,  it was up pretty high on a light stand and i forgot to lock it in the tripod mount when i put it up there.    i would say there pretty tough..


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## WayneF

Alexr25 said:


> The reason your are seeing dark images from the SB700 is that the flash is defaulting to TTL-BL mode and trying to match the flash power to the ambient background illumination. To force the SB700 into basic TTL mode you have to have the camera metering mode set to spot metering.
> The lack of a simple method to select between TTL and TTL-BL is a real PITA with the SB700




It is a nice review, thanks Braineack.  I'm late to the party, but I had missed it before.   I have a VK750 too, and I like it a lot. It works well, and it is an amazing flash for the price. Extreme bargain.

But the SB-700  dark direct flash is not TTL BL.  The camera metering system does the TTL BL, so the VK750 is doing TTL BL too.  TTL BL is the default for any TTL flash, unless TTL is directly specified (spot metering for example).

The dark direct flash is a problem of Nikon cameras. They brag that they use the D-lens distance, which I think only means with flash. Meaning, if the metering thinks the metered flash is going to be brighter than the distance indicates it should, TTL BL direct flash reduces the flash level to match what the D-lens is reporting. This only happens for TTL BL direct flash. It does NOT happen for bounce or TTL flash mode.

We can argue direct flash does often have a dark background when the flash won't reach that far back, which metering of the dark background can cause overexposure of direct flash trying to brighten the scene, so it is a good idea.  Just implemented very poorly.

It works better for prime lenses, but the big problem is that Nikon zoom lenses, esp the less expensive DX lenses, report miserably inaccurate and variable distance.  Distance is just lens rotation, and due to the internal focusing, they report something different at each zoom setting. You can check yours, Exif reports focus distance,  but it may be unbelievable at wide zoom values.  (Blessed exception, the widest lenses, 12 and 14mm, report very little distance info, and call most distances "infinity").  Distance only causes a flash exposure problem when the lens distance is LESS than the actual distance. It is ignored if greater (Infinity is a good thing).  Examples at the links below.  It can cause very dark TTL BL direct flash pictures.

Yet, Nikon simply ignores this  problem with zoom D lenses,  and uses this distance number anyway, to override the metered flash exposure (only TTL BL direct flash). The meter may meter it right, but then the dumb D-lens screws it up, big time sometimes.

The Chinese difference is that the Nikon flashes have a tilt switch in the head, so the camera knows if direct flash or bounce. The Chinese flashes do not have that tilt switch, so the same procedure cannot be followed. Camera does not know if it Chinese flash is bouncing or not, so D-lens is ignored (thankfully).

Which means the Chinese flashes are immune from this bad zoom lens distance, (D-lens distance is thankfully ignored), but Nikon flashes cause it to be complied with, even when distance is grossly wrong.  It can cause very dark direct flash TTL BL pictures.  Again, only speaking of TTL BL direct flash.

My notion is the camera seriously needs two new menus:

1. Allow opt out of D-lens distance being used in any way.  It is so bad.
2. Camera menu to directly choose TTL or TTL BL flash mode.  Why not?

I seem to be the only one interested, but I have a couple of pages about this Nikon problem

Non-Nikon brand flashes bypass the TTL BL Zoom Problems
Nikon TTL BL flash - D-lens distance data accuracy

The metering is often pretty good, and to instead use what is actually metered, there are work-arounds (again, speaking default TTL BL with direct flash).

To disable the D-lens distance check (because it often interferes with TTL BL direct flash by Nikon flashes), then:

Selecting* TTL mode* (as opposed to TTL BL mode) will disable the D-lens distance check. Some flashes had this menu (but only SB-910 now).
Choosing* Spot Metering* will switch the TTL BL flash metering to be TTL mode. The flash system does not use Spot metering, and if the ambient is too dim to register much, Spot won't matter to it either (works well for indoor flash), but Spot metering does switch flash modes (Just don't forget to reset it when you go back into bright ambient.)
If your camera model has the *FV Lock* function, it ignores the D-lens distance data, so its use will ignore this problem too.
*Tilting *the Nikon flash head (for bounce) switches out D-lens distance support. The bounce path is assumed to be a different distance.
*Chinese flashes* seem to be the exception, not suffering from the D-lens problem. They don't report head tilt, which seems able to suppress D-lens effects. That's a big plus.


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