One of the biggest improvements we can make with our portrait photography is adding light, and more importantly, knowing exactly how to control and direct that light! Out of all the portrait and wedding photographers we have met (and we’ve met innumerable thousands, indeed!) …lighting remains one of the most important cornerstones of a good photography education.
In the past, unfortunately, this meant investing a ton of money, and dragging around a lot of heavy gear. Even when all I wanted to do was add a little bit of light to my candid, everyday photography, I loathed the thought of having to add a giant on-camera hotshoe flash to my kit. Many times, it just wasn’t practical at all, and I’d leave all my lighting gear at home, opting to “just shoot natural light” simply because I had no other choice.
Those days are over! In fact, with this Zeniko RF12 M flash review, I am more excited than ever to describe how our portrait photography will change with such a “miniature” light. Indeed, this thing is downright tiny, and yet, it offers the two key features that I crave for any flash/strobe: I can bounce it off the ceiling, and it has a circular strobe head!
Finally, studio-quality lighting (with a bit of skill and understanding of how to bounce light, that is) …can go literally everywhere I bring my camera.
The Zeniko RF12 M is a simple, affordable, and indeed ultralight, highly compact hotshoe flash. It features manual control, wireless (optical) triggering, and a round head plus a diffusion dome. Its internal battery charges via USB, and can last up to 500 full-power flash pops!
Truly, whether you’re a serious hobbyist photographer or a professional who is on vacation or just enjoying everyday life, in this mini camera flash review we are going to (spoiler alert!) highly recommend the Zeniko RF12 M. So, let’s dive in!
Zeniko RF12 M | Specifications & Features
Compatibility: Universal 1-pin hotshoe mount (Works with almost any camera that has a hotshoe)
Guide Number / Lumens: GN 12 @ ISO 100
Power Levels: 1/1 power to 1/32 power (6 EVs)
Power Increments: Whole (1) EV stop increments
Recycle Time @ Full Power: ~2.5 sec
TTL & HSS: No
Modeling Light: No
Bounce Rotation: Yes, 270-degree swivel, 90-degree vertical
User Interface: On/Off power button, brightness up/down buttons, (1 EV increments) LED brightness & status indicator lights, S1 / S2 control button
Battery Type: Built-in Lithium battery, 350 mAh, USB-C charging
Battery Life: ~500 flash pops (at full power)
Weight: 3.17 oz (90g)
Size: 1.88×1.88×3.5 in. (48x48x89mm)
Wireless Control: optical S/1S2 triggering
Included Accessories: USB (A to C) charging cable, circular diffusion dome
Price: $49.00
Zeniko RF12 M Review | Ultra-Compact camera flash, Professional Results
An intuitive portrait photographer naturally seeks out “good light”. This can be different for everyone, and creativity is a key player in this artistic pursuit, but in our decades of experience, it’s safe to say that “good light” is very often SOFT light. For almost everything from candid snapshots to posed, editorial / fashion oriented content and imagery, soft light is an excellent go-to strategy.
The problem is, how do you reliably CREATE soft light, any time, anywhere? For years, especially in our careers as wedding photojournalists, we consistently turned to on-camera flash with a bounce capability. Instead of directly aiming our flash at our subjects, which results in a harsh, high-contrast look to every single image, bouncing a flash off the ceiling or a nearby wall allows us to make our images appear as if we’re simply capturing natural, soft ambient light.
Such on-camera flashes, especially for professional work, unfortunately weigh up to 1.5 lbs, (~600+ g) …and cause our wrists to get very tired for long days where we are doing photojournalism for 8-10+ hrs.
Now that we have set the stage and given you a little history regarding how we like to work, let’s talk about the Zeniko RF12 M. As I mentioned, it’s tiny. In fact, it’s so small that I’m not going to pretend like you should replace your “workhorse” hotshoe flash for professional wedding photography. I’ll be honest with you: This is more like a “toy” version of your big, heavy, expensive pro flash.
With that being said, again, to be totally honest? The results are entirely professional. The quality of light that you can get is truly impressive. Both when bouncing the flash, or when using the circular strobe head (with 2 fresnel & 1 diffusion lens) aimed directly at your subject, (and especially with the circular diffusion dome) …the results speak for themselves…
Zeniko RF12 M Review | Performance & Limitations
So, let’s get deeper into this Zeniko RF12 M review. What makes it so great, and what makes me hesitate to recommend it for certain types of serious work? On the one hand, the results speak for themselves, as I mentioned. The quality of light is beautiful, the portraits look very polished.
On the other hand, we do have some performance limitations. The flash itself, as you can imagine, is not as powerful as the on-camera strobes which weigh 4-6x more. We are not provided a specific guide number (brightness) for the RF12 M, however, we can tell you that it is more than bright enough to work in normal conditions such as indoors with a common ceiling height, and at common camera settings such as ISO 100-400, f/2.8-4.0.
Furthermore, this is an all-manual flash. That gives the major advantage of working on virtually any camera with a hotshoe, but it also means no TTL or HSS compatibility. So, who is it for? It’s certainly perfect for some kinds of professional work, namely, content creators who find themselves in low-pressure creative environments. Whether you’re doing official, planned-out photo shoots, or you’re just documenting your everyday life, this is the one piece of lighting equipment that can go everywhere with you.
Lastly, considering how universally useful good lighting is for all types of photographers, I would say that the performance (and limitations) of the Zeniko RF12M also make it a perfect accessory that even a full-time professional portrait & wedding photographer should carry with them, for more casual situations.
Zeniko RF12 M Review | Design, Durability, & Features
Physically, the Zeniko RF12 M is well made. It’s plastic; however, the operation feels smooth, and the durability seems robust. For its weight and price tag, I would call it a very rugged, reliable lighting tool.
In terms of its design and features, we arrive at the very center of the pros and cons, the advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, it is very simple, and that gives the distinct advantage of nearly zero learning curve. In fact, I am very jealous of you if this is the first hotshoe flash you’re buying; I wish my first flash was this straightforward and easy to master!
On the other hand, of course, the simplicity means you’ll have to consider something else if you want to do advanced things like TTL or HSS. For us, this is a compromise we don’t even think twice about. In fact, I would argue that if you’re learning about light power for the first time, it’s actually best to learn by manually controlling the light power! It will only take a few minutes and a handful of test photos; then suddenly you’ll know, “in this room, with my camera settings at f/2.8 and ISO 400, I get perfect lighting if I aim the flash head to bounce off the ceiling at 1/2 power.”
All in all, you’re setting yourself up for success with the Zeniko RF12 M. Do keep in mind, of course, that in the long run a high-end portrait photography career will lure you to invest in other lighting equipment. That is totally normal; the important thing is that no matter what, we’ll keep this little guy in our pockets for many types of photography.
One final feature that we want to cover is the S1/S2 triggering ability. For those who don’t know, wireless flashes are usually radio-controlled, which allows you to do things such as change your flash power remotely, or even in some cases you can switch a flash between manual and TTL control, all from your camera position. This is extremely useful for things like wedding receptions, or complex portrait scenes where you’re placing a light way off in the distance.
With the Zeniko RF12 M’s S1 or S2 wireless control, you’re keeping things extremely simple. It’s an optical triggering system, which means two things: The RF12 M must have a line-of-sight between its optical sensor (on the front of the flash) and your on-camera flash, and also, you are of course limited to manual power control. That is, to change the power of your RF12 M when it is off-camera, you’ll have to walk over to it and change that flash power manually.
In close quarters and in most common photography conditions where you’ll likely turn to this compact flash, that’s not a problem. Just know that the reliability is not as high as a radio-controlled flash.
Zeniko RF12 M Review | Pros & Cons
We have successfully laid all the groundwork for you to understand why you should consider this flash, and how you’ll probably use it. Now, let’s summarize by itemizing each advantage and disadvantage:
Pros
- Unprecedented lightweight & compact form factor
- Excellent value at under $50
- Full-power flash actually bright enough to bounce off a ceiling/wall
- Impressive battery life (even at full power!)
- Convenient USB-C battery charging
- Essential strobe head bounce articulation
- Circular light pattern & diffusion dome enhance professional results
- Simple yet useful wireless (Off-camera) capability
Cons
- Less bright than full-size hotshoe flashes
- No TTL capability or HSS
- No radio wireless control
Overall, the pros far outweigh the cons. You know what you’re getting if you purchase the Zeniko RF12 M; we are merely here to affirm that you’re getting a fantastic product which serves its purpose well.
Zeniko RF12 M Review | Competitors & Alternatives
The bottom line is that there is no other flash we know of which is this small, and yet offers such versatile capabilities. If you like the idea of what the Zeniko RF12 M offers, then not only is it your only choice, it is actually a GOOD choice! Let’s break down why…
Your other choices in terms of ultra-compact, “tiny” flashes are almost all the same: direct, bare flashes which can only give you that head-on, deer-in-the-headlights look. For some, that’s an acceptable creative choice. However, in our experience, being able to bounce our light off a wall or ceiling is absolutely essential for general candid photography in low light.
Alternatively, if you want the full capability of being able to bounce your light, your next-best choices are far bigger and heavier, and a bit more pricey, of course. One example is the Godox V480 which we have reviewed; at more than triple the price and triple the weight of this Zeniko flash, it is automatically in a different category. And yet, alternatives such as that are among the most compact and affordable options!
Clearly, as we discussed, if you want what the Zeniko RF12 M offers, then it is by far your best choice. One of the only reasons to hesitate that we can think of would be, those who prefer to have more than just manual flash control. If you’re hoping for a TTL flash, you’ll have to wait and see what else comes out. Personally? When I’m bouncing my flash, I prefer to set the flash power manually anyway. And yes, bouncing the light is a key reason to choose this Zeniko compact flash; that is to say, if you don’t care about bouncing and you really do care about TTL, then maybe the Godox iT30 Pro is the right ultra-compact flash of choice for you.
Zeniko RF12 M Review | Final Verdict
Personally and professionally, this is my new favorite “toy”. Actually, I should indeed call it my new favorite tool, because it’s absolutely capable of professional results. Admittedly, when I’m on the job at a wedding or portrait session, I won’t reach for the Zeniko RF12 M first. I’ll leave it in my bag 99% of the time, however, the fact that I even consider having it in my bag as a “nifty little thing” makes it worth the investment.
More importantly, what about when I’m not only the clock, or when I am doing professional work in a low-pressure environment? This little thing is coming EVERYWHERE with me from now on. Any time I might be taking a portrait, or even doing fun little things like food photography, product or macro photography, the RF12 M is going to be on my camera or in my pocket.
At $49.90, we think it’s a must-have accessory for everyone who feels similarly to any of the scenarios and subjects that have been described in this review! For more information, visit the Zeniko website, or click here to purchase a Zeniko RF12 M.
