It’s been about a year since we last checked out a Viltrox pocket flash and there have been some big changes since. For one, the Viltrox Vintage Z1 Pro adds TTL and High-Speed Sync for most camera systems. Secondly, Viltrox decided to add a little “futuristic” touch to the retro-inspired flash with the addition of a small, touchscreen LCD at the rear. But is TTL and a touchscreen worth the upgrade?
The Big Picture: Viltrox Vintage Z1 Pro Review Conclusions
A pocket flash is a pocket flash, and adding TTL capabilities to a good pocket flash is honestly enough to make this a worthy update/upgrade. And that’s the gist of what the Viltrox Vintage Z1 Pro is – a pocket flash with TTL capability for your camera. Adding to what we already loved about its predecessor, the Vintage Z1, the Z1 Pro also has High-Speed Sync capabilities allowing you to shoot up to 1/8000s. To be totally transparent, this is absolutely overkill for a flash like this, but it is nice to know you can use it if you need it.
One of the more baffling choices with the Z1 Pro’s design is the inclusion of the touchscreen LCD panel at the rear of the unit. The touchscreen displays your current mode, as well as the power output of the flash. It’s bright enough for most indoor and low-light conditions but is pretty tiny and this could pose a problem if you have any vision issues. During my testing, I also found it to be finicky when trying to cycle back and forth. Worse still, when walking at a recent event I found that the touch screen settings would change easily while bumping against my clothes as I walked through the crowds. Viltrox, if you’re listening, you could greatly improve the experience by allowing the user to lock the touchscreen.
We’re giving the Viltrox Vintage Z1 Pro four out of five stars. Want to try one for yourself, be sure to check it out on Amazon ($60 USD).
- Ultra lightweight (weighs less than five ounces)
- LCD is finicky, can be changed on accident
- Long battery life. Fast charge time – about 70 minutes to full
- High-speed sync and TTL capabilities for Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Olympus/Panasonic Cameras
- Super affordable TTL flash
Experience
The Viltrox Vintage Z1 Pro brings back many of the features that made me truly enjoy using the original Z1. As I worked through my review period with this flash, I often noted that if you’re not paying attention, there’s almost no difference in the pocket flash’s design. The retro-inspired black leatherette on silver paint (unfortunately, this is a plastic flash) still looks very clean and slick on my Nikon Z7 II. It’s still extremely pocketable even easily fitting in the back pocket of my pants.
Beyond the aesthetics of the flash, the Vintage Z1 Pro brings all of the ease of use that the original Vintage Z1 provided along with two standout features: TTL compatibility and High-Speed Sync. These two features alone add a ton of flexibility and versatility to the flash and can be used for direct-flash street photography, even in mid-day sun. Like the original Z1, this flash has a synchronous trigger mode that allows you to operate as an off-camera flash if you’re using another strobe within range of the Z1 Pro’s sensor. Because of its sleek design, I’ve even thrown this in my gear bag for jobs where I’d use either larger on-camera flash or my Flashpoint XPLOR 100 and rigged the flash as hair/separation light, just in case.
There are some aspects of the new Z1 Pro that I could live without, the LCD touchscreen is one of them. For starters, you’re only able to control two things with it: you can toggle between TTL and Manual mode by swiping left and right and turn on/off High-Speed Sync with an awkward swipe up and down. The screen is bright but the numbers when in Manual mode become a bit small which could be an issue if you have vision issues. Recently, I attended Pepcom in New York, and while walking around and taking photos of the event, the touchscreen would inadvertently trigger as the camera bounced from my sling. It can be a bit of a pain having to make sure that your settings are properly set, but yes, this is a first world problem. Honestly, these probably could’ve been a couple of switches and still have been as, if not more, useful.
Image Quality
Direct flash is direct flash. There’s not much to add here beyond the fact that now, we can get direct flash at up to 1/8000s. That’s handy if you want to do some aggressive street photography – that direct flash look is definitely making the rounds again. And while it’s not necessarily my preferred style of shooting, the Viltrox Vintage Z1 Pro has challenged me to experiment with that direct flash look. Ultimately, that’s a great thing, especially for a $60 photography accessory.
Below are some sample images that were taken during my testing period:
Viltrox Vintage Z1 Pro Tech Specs
The following tech specs were taken from the Viltrox Store’s Z1 Pro product page.
- Flash Mode: M Manual / TTL Auto Mode
- Flash Power Levels: 1/1-1/64, Adjustable in + 1/3 Range
- Battery Capacity: 3.7V/800mAh
- Power (1/1 level): 24Ws
- Number of Flashes: 350 to 10,000
- Flashes Recycle Time: (1/1 level) 1s
- Charging Duration: Type-C 5V/0.8A (approx. 70 minutes)
- Trigger Mode: S1 Synchronous Trigger Mode; S2 Pre-Flash Suppression Trigger Mode
- Dimensions: S: 68.5×72.8×49.9mm; C/NJF: 68.5×72.8×50.2mm
- Sync Mode: High-Speed Sync (up to 1/8000s); Front-Curtain Sync, Rear-Curtain Sync
- Weight: Approximately 136g
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