[Yos]

Not sure if this is posted yet.

Taken from their homepage:
Product Description

The first macro twin light equipped with GN-190 (feet in ISO100). Rapid Recycle Time, Flexible arms & Light Weight make it perfect for macro photography.
The new Macro Twin Flash KX-800 is specially designed for the use of macro photography. It features a combined guide number of 190 (in feet) with 8 levels of power adjustment.

Powers can be adjusted independently in the left and right flash. The high output makes it extremly handy for macro photographers who shoots under small aperture and high magnification ratio.

Quick recycle time (2 sec) also helps in shooting in a volatile environment.

On top of that, the Macro Twin Flash is built with two 48cm long flexible arms. This gives photographers complete flexibility to position the flash for the best performance.

A LED focusing light is equipped for focus assistance.

The whole system weigh only 1 pound, making it a very portable gear for bringing around.


Flexible Macro Twin Flash KX800 | Venus Optics - Specialist in Macro Photography

Might give this a go.

Cheers
Josef

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Last edited by Yos; 04-08-2015 at 01:44 PM.

[stevebrot]

Good to see they include Pentax

It is a fully manual system meaning that you must calculate or guestimate the mix of output and aperture. As a result, it is fully compatible with every camera on my shelf (20+)


Steve

[narual]

hah. That looks like ikelite made it.
Ikelite | AF35 Second Strobe Kit with Optical TTL

[Ishpuini]

Interesting stuff. They're making some interesting macro products, and the upcoming 15/4 macro sound intriguing as well. I'm still waiting to be conviced by their 60mm 2:1 macro though. I have it and it's nice, but I'm still waiting for the right moment to go and test it in my garden. I've been working in my little green haven the last few week-ends to get it ready after winter, so given good (not too windy) weather a testing opportunity should be near... Depending on my conclusions, I'll certainly look at the other Venus products.

Wim

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Last edited by Ishpuini; 04-09-2015 at 06:20 AM.

[Nass]

It's a good thing that there's a bit of disruption going on in the macro sector. I'm still hoping for a MPE type and quality lens in a Pentax mount, but there are all sorts of other ways in which I think an agile company could disrupt macro with some great products.

A couple of people I know have tested the 60mm and the impression has been favourable, but I'm served well enough in the 1:2 to 10:1 range that any new optics would be largely superfluous... hope it works for you though! Let us know This thing looks ok but again, I already have 'good enough' alternatives, so personally not convinced of the need.

[starjedi]

Interesting stuff. They're making some interesting macro products, and the upcoming 15/4 macro sound intriguing as well. I'm still waiting to be conviced by their 60mm 2:1 macro though. I have it and it's nice, but I'm still waiting for the right moment to go and test it in my garden. I've been working in my little green haven the last few week-ends to get it ready after winter, so given good (not too windy) weather a testing opportunity should be near... Depending on my conclusions, I'll certainly look at the other Venus products.

Wim

I am also waiting for their 15mm f4/5.6 tilt-shift macro. Very interesting lens with wide angle + macro + tilt-shift...

[klnk]

Hi all. I received the KX-800 a few days ago and so far I've really, really enjoyed it. Before I've used a Metz 24 attached to the Pentax 100mm macro's lens hood with a DIY concave diffuser (see OrionMystery's site for more about that ). Now, I'm not big on technicalities such as guide numbers etcetera - I tend to use what I have and try and make the best of it.

For me, portability is key. Lugging an insane bracket robot around the woods is a no go, and that's what made me get the Metz 24. I still love it! The KX-800 is an entirely different beast. With the 100mm the flash arms/tentacles are maybe even a bit too long for my liking, although they do make for some really cool backlight/rimlight stuff. One flash facing forward at the subject, one higher up and behind the subject. Sweet..

The flash arms are STIFF. Holy crap. The joint pieces are soft rubbery plastic so I'm guessing the friction will stay as it is for quite long. The're also very lightweight so it doesn't throw the rig off balance. Adding some DIY diffusers on the flashes isn't a problem. They'll stay put just fine. Needless to say they wiggle a tiny bit if you shake the camera, which is a given. I love how I can adjust the lighting on-spot and quickly. The LED focusing light could be 1/5 the size and It sort of looks like a reading light. The focus light arm is also a bit less flexible and a bit cumbersome. However, it's a nice thing to have and definitely better than the velcro attached led torch I've used before . Even better; you can adjust it so that it faces the same way as your main (front) flash to get an idea of the lighting.

I read someone complain about the battery door.. Come on. It's just fine. Just don't abuse it. Replacing the batteries is nice and quick .

Cons: the KX-800 doesn't fold into a compact, nice package you can fit into any camera bag, and I'd avoid bending the arms too much. It needs some protection around it while traveling. Also the hotshoe piece is a bit too loose and you need to tighten it up quite a lot to make sure it stays connected. At first I thought my K-3 II and/or the KX-800 didn't communicate properly but then realized the hotshoe part is a tiny bit smaller than the Metz 24's, for example. The Metz 24 needs some force to even slide in whereas the KX-800 has barely any friction. This is still a very minor issue .

I'll post some pictures when I get back home from the cabin I'm in now! So far I'm loving this weird octopus/alien flash. And their customer service is very good too!