Viltrox’s Retro-Inspired $50 Z1 Flash Promises Big Light in a Pocket Size

Apr 25, 2025

Kate Garibaldi

A digital camera with a large external microphone mounted on top sits on a wooden surface, with a softly blurred background featuring various colorful objects.

Chinese camera equipment manufacturer Viltrox has just released its new Vintage Z1 on-camera flash.

Debuting the Z1 retro styled flash, Viltrox promises studio-grade lighting in a portable four-ounce (116-gram) pocketable form factor. The Z1’s design is intended for creators who desire vintage aesthetics yet prefer modern functionality bridging the gap of vintage and new. The features a retro style mechanical dial design with a matte silver metal finish and classic pebbled leather accents.

A compact, silver camera flash labeled "Vintage" with a textured black grip, mounted on a hot shoe base, set against a plain white background.

A retro-style camera flash unit with a rectangular front, textured black body, and silver accents, shown against a white background.

A close-up of a modern camera accessory with a textured black grip, silver dial labeled "FULL/1/2," gold on/off switch, green button, and ports, mounted on a camera body against a black background.

Not just for looks, Viltrox’s Vintage Z1 features a seven level adjustable brightness from 1/1 through to 1/64 with 0.2 to 3.5 seconds recycle time and 1/5000s ~ 1/50000s flash duration. With its 23W/s 1/1 light output and 6,500±200K color temperature range, the Z1 flash is suitable for photographers from enthusiasts to professionals. It also boasts a 28 mm wide-angle coverage for even lighting in a variety of situations from indoor portraits to expansive street documentary scenes.

Viltrox says the Z1 provides ample light even for common tricky low light scenarios such as night photography.

“Vintage Z1 packs the powerful flash performance of a professional studio flash. Even in the darkest of environments, it delivers stunning results. In settings like city neon lights, hallways, tunnels, and other low-light scenes, the Vintage Z1 effortlessly creates the perfect ambiance with a single flash, delivering high-quality portraiture and instantly creating cinematic shots. The darker it gets, the better the shots,” Viltrox explains.

A young woman wearing headphones poses in various locations: by the waterfront with city lights and ferris wheels in the background, and indoors with a boombox, bookshelves, and a lit lamp behind her. — Viltrox Vintage Z1 night photoshoot sample images.

A woman with long, wavy red hair smiles at the camera, standing outdoors in front of a vintage green car. Sunlight highlights her hair, and grassy hills are visible in the background. — Sample image with no flash used.

A young woman with long, curly red hair smiles outdoors, wearing a cream top and brown jacket. She stands in front of a vintage green car, with grassy hills in the background under a clear sky. — Sample image utilizing Z1 flash.

A woman with long, wavy hair stands on a beach at sunset, holding a camera up to her face. Other people are visible in the background, walking along the sand near the shoreline.

A woman wearing a denim jacket and headphones around her neck is putting a smartphone into a black leather bag while standing outside near a building with large windows.

A person wearing a denim jacket and jeans stands on a modern walkway, holding a camera with a flash attached, slung over their shoulder by a strap. The background features glass railings and blurred outdoor scenery.

A person films a woman standing in front of a brightly lit Ferris wheel at night. The camera’s screen displays the woman and the colorful lights in the background, with the scene slightly blurred.

For extra creativity and lighting control, the Z1 also comes with a custom white diffuser attachment which Viltrox says “instantly softens light, infusing your photos with a smooth, natural, and ethereal glow that enhances their clarity and translucency.”

With its adaptable industry standard single-contact hot shoe communication, the Viltrox Vintage Z1 is compatible with cameras from many brands and body types from DSLR, to mirrorless, and even film.

The Z1 flash features wireless sync and two modes. S1 mode utilizes the flash body’s built in optical sensor to enable wireless off-camera triggering even for multi-light setups requiring flexible positioning. Whereas S2 mode bypasses pre-flash interference in multi -light setups for seamless, stable photo shoots that avoid common mistakes from pre-flash-firing.

For power, the Z1 utilizes an internal 3.7V/1,100mAh battery with USB-C fast charging, offering up to 10,000 flashes on a full charge, with 50-minute charge time, and a helpful 15 minute auto-sleep mode for efficiency during extended use.

A vintage Rollei 35 S camera with a flash attachment sits on a wooden countertop in a warmly lit shop, with shelves of colorful items blurred in the background.

A Canon camera with a large lens and an external microphone mounted on top sits on a wooden desk. In the background, an old film camera rests on a wooden drawer.