PiXAPRO CITI600 Range Comparison

The PiXAPRO CITI600 Range is one of the most popular lighting selections available, offering 600Ws Flash output and battery power, suitable for a wide range of different types of Photography. This particular range has three different models, the CITI600 Manual, CITI600 TTL and the CITI600 PRO.

The differences between the CITI600 Manual and the CITI600 TTL

Firstly, let us start with looking at the differences between the two older models from the CITI600 Range. When it comes to what is different between the CITI600 Manual and the CITI600 TTL, there is actually only one difference, and it is mentioned in the title. The CITI600 Manual is only able to have the settings adjusted manually, whereas the CITI600 TTL is able to be adjusted both manually and using the camera’s metering function or better known as TTL.  TTL stands for 'Through the Lens' and it is a term used to describe exposure metering based on what your camera sees. In relation to TTL flash photography your camera will take a reading by firing a 'test' flash when you press the shutter, it will then decode that data received by that initial flash and then fire a second flash to capture your image at the correct power and exposure immediately afterwards. All this happens in a split second, and you may not even notice the initial flash going off.

The Differences between the CITI600 Manual/CITI600 TTL and the CITI600 PRO

Whilst there is only a single difference between the CITI600 Manual and the CITI600 TTL, there are many more than that when it comes to the CITI600 PRO.

Recycle Time

The recycle time for the CITI600 PRO has been drastically reduced due to the upgraded battery, with the recycle time when set to maximum power now only being 0.9 seconds compared to 2.5 seconds of the CITI600 Manual & TTL. This helps to move your shoot along quicker as you are not required to wait as long between each shot, reducing the chance of missing the perfect shot.

Colour Consistency

The CITI600 PRO features a new ‘Stable Colour Mode’, which offers an improved colour temperature accuracy of 5600ÀöK ±75ÀöK compared to the CITI600 Manual & TTL that only offer 5600ÀöK ±200ÀöK. This means that the colours in your subject are more truly captured when using the CITI600 PRO, leading to a more vibrant end result that is perfect for fields such as Commercial & Beauty Photography.

Modelling Bulb

The modelling bulb has received major changes in the CITI600 PRO to improve this compared to the CITI600 Manual & TTL Version. Whereas the CITI600 Manual & TTL come with a 10W LED modelling lamp as standard, the CITI600 PRO’s version is nearly four times as bright with a 38W LED modelling lamp. In regard to controlling the modelling lamp, the CITI600 PRO now offers stepless power output adjustments from 100% to 5% for better light control compared to the three power levels for the CITI600 Manual & TTL versions. The CITI600 PRO modelling bulb also offers a ‘proportional’ mode, which means that when you change the flash power output, the modelling lamp will automatically adjust to get brighter or darker to match.

Flash Tube

The CITI600 PRO features a re-designed flash tube that comes with a frosted front rather than a clear design, offering a more diffused lighting to be softer on the subject and to prevent unwanted hotspots. The flash tube for the CITI600 PRO also protrudes further out from the main body of the flash to allow for better light efficiency and offers a wider light spread.

Remote Head

Whereas the CITI600 Manual and the CITI600 TTL can use the exact same remote head attachment, due to the upgraded design and specifications of the CITI600 PRO, this requires its own unique remote head attachment to allow you to separate the flash tube from the main body for a large selection of light placement options.

Battery Power

With the improvements for the CITI600 Pro specifications, such as the faster recycle times and the brighter modelling lamp, this has had an effect on the number of flashes available from a single charge of the battery. When set to full power, the CITI600 Manual and TTL versions will offer approximately 500 flashes per charge whereas the CITI600 PRO would only offer approximately 360 flashes per charge.

Dimensions & Weight

Due to the improvements with the CITI600 PRO unit, there has been a slight increase in the overall dimensions and weight. With the flash tube and reflector removed, the CITI600 PRO has a slightly larger size of 250mm x 245mm x 125mm and weight of approximately 3KG compared to 220mm x 245mm x125mm and 2.9KG of the CITI600 Manual and TTL versions. So, whilst there is a slight difference between the models, it would not actually be very noticeable during use.

Similarities between the CITI600 PRO & the CITI600 Manual/CITI600 TTL

Even though there have been many changes between the different CITI600 units, they do all share a few features. Each of the CITI600 units come with a built-in 2.4GHz receiver to allow these to be used in conjunction with any of the PiXAPRO 2.4GHz Triggers for quick and easy control from your camera. Another similarity between these units is that whilst they are all battery powered flash units as standard, it is possible to purchase AC adapters designed for each if you wish to use this as a mains powered flash, suitable for studio photography.

Conclusion

Whilst each of these lighting units are similar in the sense that they are 600Ws battery powered flash units, the CITI600 PRO units offers an updated selection of features and specifications to allow you more freedom and choice when it comes to your photography.