Yongnuo Flashes

[sandymandy]

Hi,

are Yongnuo Flashes worth their money? Theyre really cheap around 70$ for a "power 58" flash. No idea what its called correctly called in engrish.
Also, could i just get ANY flash on my eos 1100D body and then use that one as some kind of "transmitter" to set off an external flash? Or how does it work...

 

[AdamJ]

The Yongnuo 565EX does everything the 580EXII does, except High Speed Sync and wireless optical master control. Add Yongnuo YN-622 radio transceivers and they'll do everything (except HSS) that a 600EX-RT will do. They are built from very nice materials. They do not have such a strong reputation for reliability as most Canon flashes but if that's a concern, just buy another one as a back-up. I've had no problems with mine.

I now have a 565EX, a lower powered YN-468 II and another 565EX on its way to me, along with four YN-622 E-TTL II transceivers. For all this, I paid about 60% of the price of one 600EX-RT. Canon vs third party flashes has been a hotly debated topic recently. Professionals will often say they need the dependability of the Canon brand, regardless of cost. I agree that if price is no object, there's no reason not to go with Canon. Otherwise, my view is that Yongnuo light is just as good as Canon light.

Edit: to answer your specific question about triggering an off-camera Yongnuo 565EX, it depends on whether you want it to expose automatically. If so, your best choice would be a pair of YN-622 transceivers. If you are happy to set the flash output manually, it can be triggered by your built-in flash or by any cheap radio triggers, e.g. RF-602 or 603.

Re-edit: the new Yongnuo 568EX adds High Speed Sync but doesn't have an input for an external battery pack.

 

[drjlo]

Add Yongnuo YN-622 radio transceivers and they'll do everything (except HSS) that a 600EX-RT will do.

Clarification. YN-622C transceivers do provide HSS (up to 1/8000th). Yongnuo already started selling their new flash YN-568EX, which is now capable of HSS as well, and as a bonus it has a modeling light Canon 600 doesn't. I have both in mail to me.

Differences among Yonnuo speedlites:
http://www.lightingrumours.com/yongnuo-yn-568ex-is-first-speedlight-in-china-with-hss-2718

 

[AdamJ]

Thanks, drjlo. I was re-editing my post at the same time to say just that.

 

[drjlo]

Sure thing. Let's just hope these new, more advanced and more expensive Yongnuo products do not have serious QC problems or other issues to be discovered. When buying Yongnuo products, make SURE to buy from a store that gives you warranty (some of the cheaper eBay places don't).

 

[DavidRiesenberg]

I have four 560 IIs (manual) that I work pretty hard. They are strong and consistent and I'm very happy with them. They do tend to overheat if you shoot too many full power discharges too fast but that shouldn't be a problem in most cases. Heck, they are so cheap that you can double or triple up and shoot all day on a lower setting.

 

[Sameer Thawani]

I've used the YN 567 Nikon version and don't have a problem with it. Works fine, I've used it both on camera and off camera, and find it to be as reliable as any other.

 

[cliffwang]

Is YN-568EX a 580EXII replacement?

 

[DB]

Is YN-568EX a 580EXII replacement?

Not really. I have the YN-565 which is pretty good in terms of similar GN figure and takes my PiXeL TD-381 battery pack and works as a good wireless ETTL-II slave, but has not got HSS nor Master functionality. The newer YN-568 is essentially the same flash with a new control panel that DOES support HSS, but won't take a battery pack?? and also is not a Master flash unit in a multi-strobe setup.

I guess that it is designed specifically for those people who want a HSS capable flash with reasonable power output for one-hundred and fifty bucks.

 

[DB]

Hi,

are Yongnuo Flashes worth their money? Theyre really cheap around 70$ for a "power 58" flash. No idea what its called correctly called in engrish.
Also, could i just get ANY flash on my eos 1100D body and then use that one as some kind of "transmitter" to set off an external flash? Or how does it work...

Yes. They are most certainly worth their money for a cheap 'powerful' flash.

I have had a couple of them, and I also have a Meike MK-580 that is really close to a 580EX-II but with the power output more like a 430EX (works great as a 'Master' too).

The only thing I'd advise is to buy off a retailer than accepts 'Returns', like Amazon. I bricked one YN-565 having used it successfully on vacation for over a week, but when I plugged the battery pack in it never flashed again (Amazon refunded the full amount + postage).

Yongnuo QC is a bit hit n' miss, so just be careful where you buy.

 

[sandymandy]

Well Im a bit confused still. My aim is to get just one flash basically since Im a fan of available light, wide open lenses and I mainly shoot portraits. The flash would just help indoors sometimes.

I dont wanna use the inbuilt flash of my 1100D. And i also dont wanna set the flash settings manually because i just go not much experience using flash and photography generally.

Do i get it right that i should get the lastest Yong Nuo flash model + the latest flash transmitter? So i can place the flash somewhere on the side for example and the transmitter will tell it to shoot?

thx

 

[AdamJ]

Sometimes we all get carried away with technical specs - sorry about that. Here is the simple answer.

If you want automatic flash exposure (E-TTL) while on your camera, get either a Yongnuo YN-468 II, or the more powerful 565EX or 568EX. From what you have said, the YN-468 II will be more than sufficient for your needs. I have one and I'm very pleased with it.

To trigger it off-camera, you have two options:

1. If you want to retain automatic flash exposure when the flash is off-camera, you will need a way to transmit exposure information from your camera to the flash. For this, you will need a pair of YN-622 transceivers. They relay E-TTL information from the camera to the flash.

2. If you don't mind setting the flash output manually when it is off-camera, buy a pair of Yongnuo RF-603 transceivers. All they do is trigger the off-camera flash. They are cheaper than the YN-622s.

I hope this helps.

 

[AdamJ]

One further note for you, sandymandy.

The solutions in my previous post are based on radio triggering. This is considered to be more reliable than optical triggering which uses a pre-flash, either from an on-camera flash unit or from the camera's built-in flash, to control compatible off-camera flash units in E-TTL. You have no need to consider optical triggering because your 1100D's built-in flash does not support this kind of control. You could buy a device (ST-E2) to give you this control but it would work out more expensive than the radio options.

 

[mws]

I got the fully manually 430 version for something like 35 bucks a pop with shipping; just keep an eye on ebay.

They are noisy, and slow to recycle, but they work just fine. I certainly wouldn’t shoot a wedding with them, but if you are looking for a cheap way to explore/have some fun with flash they are great.

 

[willis]

Works nice as kicker but personally I would use Canon's flashed as main.

 

[FTb-n]

For single flash E-TTL work, I use the Canon 430 EX (Mark I) with a 60D and a 7D. I often use it off camera either with an extension cord or using the wireless flash trigger of the 60D and 7D. This flash works great as an off camera main with the popup of the 60D or 7D as a fill for those times when you can't bring the studio with you (try a 2-1, main-fill ratio).

Available light is far and away my preferred way to shoot, but I dabble in portrait work strictly as an amateur. I like to keep things low budget which means home made PVC frames for backdrops and reflectors and cheap flash instead of studio strobes. Over the years I've collected six Yongnuo YN460-II flashes. At $40-45 each, these are fantastic for budget off-camera manual work. I love the built-in optical slave settings plus the seven position power settings.

So why six? I don't want to leave the impression that these aren't very strong. Using 2-3 umbrellas with one flash each works great for two or three subjects. But, with larger groups, it is very handy to be able to mount 2-3 flashes per umbrella then have a couple for backdrop lighting.

I don't know about the smart Yongnuo flashes, but the manual YN460 is a great option for the budget strobist. They do everything that my old Sunpak 383's did for half the cost.

 

[paulc]

Why not just pick up a used 550EX?

 

[AdamJ]

Why not just pick up a used 550EX?

In the context of in-camera menu control, the 550EX is a bit old-school now.

 

[sandymandy]

Thanks for the replies i will bookmark this thread now and check back when i need to

 

[Jamesy]

Do you get the same level of control of the flash from the cameras on screen menu with the Yongnuo's as you would with say a 580 EX2?