Nikon R1C1 Flash Kit, my thoughts

[ALwin]

I've owned the Nikon R1C1* macro, close-up flash kit for nearly two years now and it has been one of my favorite systems ever. Better than it's Canon** counterpart even. Personally it seems to me that Nikon's CLS is better than Canon (more likely it's only because I'm use to Nikon).

*I am not good at writing reviews, what I write are my thoughts on equipment that I own and use. Please take what I say with a little grain of salt. Feel free to correct any mistakes made or counter any point.

Nikon makes two wireless macro/close-up flash kits.
R1 and the R1C1, their difference is that the R1C1 kit comes with the SU-800 wireless commander, other than that & price, everything else is the same.

R1 is designed for those who own Nikon bodies with built-in flash that can support 'commander mode' but I personally feel that spending a bit extra to get the R1C1 kit with the SU-800 wireless flash trigger is worth the price regardless of Nikon body you own (as long as you need this flash system of course and has the budget for it.) Buying the R1 kit then later the SU-800 on it's own is not worth it. Having the SU-800 can be handy as it can be used to control other Nikon speedlights such as the SB-600 - 900 range when the situation arises.

Inside the box:
2x SB-200 speedlights + small pouches for each + 2x set of gel filters + 2x gel filter holder/difuser mount + 2x difuser
1x SU-800 wireless commander (R1C1 only) + pouch
set of adapter rings for lens, primarily to fit 52mm, 62mm, 67mm, 72mm and 77mm filter threads
1x SB-200 holder which attaches onto the front of the lens via the adapter rings
1x flexible arm clip
and other accessories...

Both the R1 and R1C1 kit comes inside a box which includes a case to hold the entire kit with room for 3x SB-200 speedlights (the kits already includes 2, I recommend buying an extra SB-200). R1 and R1C1 boxes are the same size and everything inside is the same except the SU-800 which is not included with the R1.

Pros
- you can attach up to 8x SB-200 flash units
- you can position/rotate the SB-200 units around the lens mount holder anyway you want
- wireless, no cable clutter
- can work as a make-shift Ring-flash or fill light, back light, etc all because it's wireless, though it has sync cord connection ports.
- SB-200s need not be attached to the lens mount adapter, each unit comes with a stand for tabletop placement or attaching to tripod mount
- having a wireless commander like the SU-800 can be very useful

Cons
- uses lots of batteries, and not the more common AA or AAA or even C, D. 9v batteries, it uses CR123A which can be bought easily but I wish it used the more common types instead so I can easily buy rechargeable ones.
- cannot attach external power source or battery packs (wish I could attach my Quantum Turbo 3 to it and help the environment by using less batteries).
- can be bulky to carry around


**Canon has a similar kit, the Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX, I have never used or owned this system ever but from the looks of it everything is wired and it can only support two flashes while the R1/R1C1 system you can attach up to 8x SB-200 units to the lens mount holder. Perhaps someone who owns the Canon system could write a review on it and make some comparisons.