Asus believes their Zenfone 2 range of mobiles are equipped with good camera setup and has made available accessories to compliment it. While the Asus Lolliflash is a basic accessory, essentially a LED torch that can lit up the area especially when you take selfie and is compatible with all Smartphones, the Asus Zenflash is a serious lighting accessory for mobile photography but works only on the Asus Zenfone 2 range of Smartphones.
If you own one of the ZenFone 2 models or intent to buy one and love photography, this Asus ZenFlash review is for you. Priced at Rs 1,599, the flash is aimed at the serious mobile photographers who would like a better low light capture and a professional flash for illumination.
The ZenFlash comes with a soft, silicone casing. It not only protects the flash when not in use but also is easy to carry around.
The accessory in itself is a small matchbox in size and sports a professional Xenon flash. It produces an extremely intense full-spectrum white light for a very short duration. The flash is also 100X brighter than traditional LED camera flashlights. The Flash setup also includes an light sensor and a photodiode.
The ZenFlash syncs with the phone’s camera app and hence needs to be connected to the ZenFone via the USB port. It comes with a tangle free cable which is attached to the unit and can be pulled out when required. It also means you won’t misplace the cable.
The ZenFlash attaches to the body of the Smartphone with an adhesive tape. The tape is washable and it can be reused. The box also comes with an extra adhesive tape.
Before you start using the ZenFlash, you need to download the ZenFlash app from the Play Store.
The ZenFlash is mounted on the back of the Smartphone below the camera as show in the picture below.
When it syncs with the Smartphone, the camera app has few notable changes with the ZenFlash on. Now the camera app shows a green icon indicating the ZenFlash mounted.
There is also a toggle for switching on/off the Zenflash.
Then there is a light meter. You can control the light exposure for the right illumination.
Now let’s see how the ZenFlash performs.
We have shot the series of pictures below with a 1 meter gap from the subject. The following picture is shot with no flash at extremely low light at night.
With ZenFlash on but I had kept the target at 2.5m, so there is over-exposure.
At 0.5m target setting, I got the right click. The lighting is not harsh but still captured it with good natural color balance on the subject and minimal noise.
Pros
Xenon Flash
Good range of lighting
Aids in good low-light shots
Good build
built-in cable
Cons
Limited to Asus ZenFone 2 range
While the adhesive tape is reusable, still sceptical of the number of times it can be used, thought there is an extra tape out of the box.
Asus ZenFlash is a great add-on accessory if you love photography and want to capture some great low-light shots. Only drawback though is it works only with ZenFone 2 range of Smartphones.]]>
