• UPDATE



    The forum will be moving to a new domain in the near future (canonrumorsforum.com). I have turned off "read-only", but I will only leave the two forum nodes you see active for the time being.

    I don't know at this time how quickly the change will happen, but that will move at a good pace I am sure.

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Yongnuo YN-E3-RT Officially Released

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#2
The YN-E3-RT is already available on eBay and Amazon. The eBay sellers are in Hong Kong and China. It's going for under $150 in several listings at eBay. It's a bit more at Amazon ($155.99), but only available from one marketplace seller. Not sure where they are located but their estimated delivery time is 17-28 days so likely in east Asia as well. With the ST-E3-RT running in the $280's presently it's just over half the price, and has focus assist which may come in handy on occasion.
 
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#7
Got mine.

I haven't updated the firmware, everyone I know is Apple only, so that will take me a while.

First impressions:-
1: It is not a clone, it is slightly bigger than an ST-E3-RT.
2: The buttons are all easier/looser than the ST-E3-RT, I find the original ones too stiff but they never get rubbed or knocked to a different setting, I suspect the YN-E3-RT will be the other way around.
3: Group Mode on my 1Ds MkIII's works right out of the box.
4: Second curtain sync in M Mode only and with a maximum of three groups works straight out of the box.
5: The shutter release cable works badly, it triggers the camera but not the flashes! With the ST-E3-RT all flashes are triggered when the shutter is.
6: There are no Personal Functions as per the ST-E3-RT.
7: The AF assist beam works very well on my 1Ds MkIII's with my crappiest focusing lens, the 50 f1.4. The beam pattern is well lined up for subject around ten feet away, get closer and the beam pattern gets progressively higher in the frame. The beam pattern is quite broad, certainly much more than a center AF point only deal.
8: Range, it is the same as the ST-E3-RT, effectively. In fact it can fire a 600EX-RT from slightly further away than an ST-E3-RT but it doesn't maintain radio contact anywhere nearly as reliably as the Canon version. Once they both lose contact the ST-E3-RT will reconnect from much further away. All in initial trials. Do not buy a YN-E3-RT based on longer range.
9: The pouch is much thinner material than the Canon one, not good or bad just different and obviously cheaper material.
10: I got the two trigger/remote cables with mine. A nice included extra that is a $50 option with Canon!
11: Mine came with batteries in it. That would have been nice but for the fact that even though it was an unopened box the On/Off switch (remember I mentioned that?) had been knocked to on, so the batteries were dead and my unit had been on the whole time.
12: HSS works exactly as the Canon does.
13: Sync at close to pre RT speeds (the infamous losing one stop of shutter speed) works exactly the same as the Canon system does, at closed down apertures there is a slight shutter shadow, at wide open apertures there is not.
14: HSS works perfectly in Group mode with full selection options.
15: There is some play in the hot shoe mounting when it is locked down, no biggie, just a small quality control oopsie that illustrates the cost advantage.

If you have a pre 2012 camera and 600EX-RT’s this thing is a NO BRAINER, get it, it is vastly better than the ST-E3-RT for you. If you have post 2012 cameras then it is a good cost saving and the AF assist light, if you need that functionality, is a good bonus that actually works, it isn’t a tick on a spec sheet useless addition.

I have the YN-E3-RT and the ST-E3-RT, I thought I’d sell the ST but at this point I won’t because I need the remote shooting function to fire the flashes too, maybe my unit is defective or maybe it is a firmware issue. The ST-E3-RT is much better made, it is more solid and robust feeling and the buttons and dial, though a little too stiff, are a better compromise than the looser YN-E3-RT ones.
 
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#8
Can you still change the off camera speedlite settings from the in camera menus?

Or do you have to make all changes from the YN-E3 unit?
 
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#11
ishdakuteb said:
hohoho... it finally comes, but where is the flash. price is set a little more than expected with a little better specs comparing to canon version (so far on paper). below is the link:

http://www.lightingrumours.com/yongnuo-yn-e3-rt-radio-controller-officially-released-4913

now, i want to see an officially released of the YN-600EX-RT.
Click to expand...
Sounds good, thanks for sharing.
Although, I already have the Canon version, I would still be interested in getting the Yangnuo for the 'Built-in AF assist', but will wait for some reviews first.
 
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#12
So after using my YN-E3-RT in a pro environment for a few weeks I have to say, it sucks. Mine has been unreliable, with regular loss of communication, remote misfires, and very touchy menu interface that only happens when the thing is mounted on a camera.

I now have to take it off camera to make any adjustments to remote or menu settings, once the thing drops a flash you have to go very close to reconnect.

The thing is a frustration, when it works it is fantastic, especially on pre 2012 bodies, when it doesn't, I just want to throw it away. It is not in the same league of reliability as the Canon ST-E3-RT that I also own.
 
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#13
privatebydesign said:
So after using my YN-E3-RT in a pro environment for a few weeks I have to say, it sucks. Mine has been unreliable, with regular loss of communication, remote misfires, and very touchy menu interface that only happens when the thing is mounted on a camera.

I now have to take it off camera to make any adjustments to remote or menu settings, once the thing drops a flash you have to go very close to reconnect.

The thing is a frustration, when it works it is fantastic, especially on pre 2012 bodies, when it doesn't, I just want to throw it away. It is not in the same league of reliability as the Canon ST-E3-RT that I also own.
Click to expand...

I'm disappointed to hear that... but I'm also glad because I don't have any 600 rt's and there was a crazy deal a few weeks back for 600 rt for only $300 and I was going to jump on it but they ran out.

Well, my point is that if deal came again... obviously I would happily jump on it... and I was thinking about the yn e3-rt instead of the canon option. But now that I hear it isn't ready for prime time... I will stay far away.

The Yongnuo 622c's I have are decent. I had a problem with the first set I got, but the 2nd set are more than adequate for what I do. And I just bought a 2nd 580 ex ii... so I guess I'll buy another 622c and hope for the best.
 
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#15
privatebydesign said:
I now have to take it off camera to make any adjustments to remote or menu settings, once the thing drops a flash you have to go very close to reconnect
Click to expand...

Argh, and I finally ordered it last week after so many positive reviews, esp. since I need the af assist over the Canon :-( ... did it work at first and then break, or didn't you realize the problems after purchase?

What's exactly the problem when changing settings on camera? Last not least, did you contact Yn with the flash connection loss problem to get a fixed fw?
 
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#16
Marsu42 said:
privatebydesign said:
I now have to take it off camera to make any adjustments to remote or menu settings, once the thing drops a flash you have to go very close to reconnect
Click to expand...

Argh, and I finally ordered it last week after so many positive reviews, esp. since I need the af assist over the Canon :-( ... did it work at first and then break, or didn't you realize the problems after purchase?

What's exactly the problem when changing settings on camera? Last not least, did you contact Yn with the flash connection loss problem to get a fixed fw?
Click to expand...

No it has behaved pretty consistently since I had it, it is just longer days in a pro environment that it really starts to fail. Normally after over two hours of constant use. My initial testing didn't show this up, after all, who takes test pictures for hours........

As for changing the settings on camera, in my first comments I noted that the buttons and wheel were easier to move than the Canon ones, I assumed when the screen changed it was because my thumb or finger had touched a wrong button and exited me from the menu, turns out that isn't what is happening, it seems something in the connection with the camera is exiting me from the menu, sometimes one second after entering it, but as time goes on much less than one second elapses before the screen stops responding; yet if you take the YN-E3-RT off the hot shoe you have complete use of all buttons for as long as you want and you are never locked out of the menu. It is 100% to do with being on camera.

I did not contact Yongnuo this time, I did previously about the Remote Release bug whereby the remote flashes are not fired with pre 2012 cameras yet they are with post 2012 cameras, and with the ST-E3-RT with both. They said this was designed in and they categorically refuted that the YN works differently on post and pre 2012 cameras in Remote Shooting mode, but it does.

The flash connection is relatively new, but it has happened on three shoots now, I shoot some real estate and have 600-EX-RT's inside the property and control them from outside, with the ST-E3-RT this is effortless and 100% reliable, however with the YN-E3-RT it is not so and when they do stop talking I have to take the YN off the camera and walk it back into the property, often the same room, to get it to reconnect.

I believe many will never have an issue with the YN, I probably work them harder and longer than most would and the reliability seems to drop off as shoot time goes up. For pre 2012 cameras and non critical/short term use they are still a way better buy than the ST-E3-RT, for longer shoots or with post 2012 cameras just get the Canon.
 
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#17
privatebydesign said:
The flash connection is relatively new, but it has happened on three shoots now, I shoot some real estate and have 600-EX-RT's inside the property and control them from outside, with the ST-E3-RT this is effortless and 100% reliable, however with the YN-E3-RT it is not so and when they do stop talking I have to take the YN off the camera and walk it back into the property, often the same room, to get it to reconnect.
Click to expand...

The good thing Yn actually does respond to requests, and this sounds something they cannot ignore. How long do you have to stop shooting for the controller to work again, is it a thermal issue? Do these problems only happen on your legacy pre-2012 1d3, or also on new bodies that are supposed to support rt flashes?

privatebydesign said:
I believe many will never have an issue with the YN, I probably work them harder and longer than most would and the reliability seems to drop off as shoot time goes up. For pre 2012 cameras and non critical/short term use they are still a way better buy than the ST-E3-RT, for longer shoots or with post 2012 cameras just get the Canon.
Click to expand...

... unless you need the af assist, doh. I do hope Yn gets this fixed with a fw update (bless them for the option!), I guess they are interested in getting this right since it looks like this is to jumpstart their whole rt flash line.
 
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#18
Marsu42 said:
privatebydesign said:
The flash connection is relatively new, but it has happened on three shoots now, I shoot some real estate and have 600-EX-RT's inside the property and control them from outside, with the ST-E3-RT this is effortless and 100% reliable, however with the YN-E3-RT it is not so and when they do stop talking I have to take the YN off the camera and walk it back into the property, often the same room, to get it to reconnect.
Click to expand...

The good thing Yn actually does respond to requests, and this sounds something they cannot ignore. How long do you have to stop shooting for the controller to work again, is it a thermal issue? Do these problems only happen on your legacy pre-2012 1d3, or also on new bodies that are supposed to support rt flashes?

privatebydesign said:
I believe many will never have an issue with the YN, I probably work them harder and longer than most would and the reliability seems to drop off as shoot time goes up. For pre 2012 cameras and non critical/short term use they are still a way better buy than the ST-E3-RT, for longer shoots or with post 2012 cameras just get the Canon.
Click to expand...

... unless you need the af assist, doh. I do hope Yn gets this fixed with a fw update (bless them for the option!), I guess they are interested in getting this right since it looks like this is to jumpstart their whole rt flash line.
Click to expand...

I have had no luck getting decent responses from Yongnuo. I was told I was wrong on the occasion I did engage with them. They are working so hard and fast they don't even know how their own product works..........

I only use it on pre 2012 bodies, there is zero point to it on post 2012 bodies apart from AF assist and I use manual focus for the real estate. Once they quit I move on, I am not a Yongnuo sponsored tester, I just revert to the three groups I get native with the ST-E3-RT, next time I try them, hours or days later, they are fine, same batteries, same flashes etc.

If I needed the AF assist and it was a critical work environment, wedding receptions etc, I'd suck it up and get a 600 for on camera, besides, it is rare that an on camera fill or bounce is useless in those situations.

At this point, though I was very bullish about the YN RT system from the start, I am going to skip it, I was thinking of getting some YN-600-EX's when they came out but I just don't have the confidence in them now, just like Sigma, they might be fantastic lenses that wipe the floor with the Canon 35 and 50 L's, but if they stop working then I am even more screwed, and it wouldn't be the first time Sigma dropped everybody in the sh!t.

For me personally, and I well understand others will see it differently, reliability is worth way more to me than a $100, or a few lppmm.
 
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#20
privatebydesign said:
If I needed the AF assist and it was a critical work environment, wedding receptions etc, I'd suck it up and get a 600 for on camera, besides, it is rare that an on camera fill or bounce is useless in those situations.
Click to expand...

Jee-jay! After only two months of waiting for this thing from China, I finally have the item of my dreams in my hand. Lesson learnt #1: Don't buy from shady e-Bay sellers to save €5. Speaking of cheap, here's my impression.

Let's start with the positive facts:
+ Yn is cheap
+ Yn rembers the HSS setting even after switching through modes, Canon forgets it once you cycle though ext-a and you have to set it again.
+ Yn works with my pre-2012 60d and supports linked shot, though it needs a shutter release cable.

This leaves a mixed feeling:
+- Yn supports 2nd curtain remote. But, alas, not only does it work in M mode as written in the specs but it doesn't work in M group mode but only in the good ol' a:b:c ratio system.
+- Yn doesn't support 1/2 ev stops and interprets -1/2 ev fec as 1/1 (not -1/3 as it would make sense). For the 6d, this happens to be a blessing in disguise as you can use max. x-sync of 1/180s and still set 1/3 stops on flash.

Next up are the downers:
- Yn's wheel is really way too easy to move, when in a hurry you're not able to set it precisely.
- Yn has no personal functions if that matters to you.
- Yn's power saving setting is only off or the very short 5min, not 10/60 min like Canon

Last not least, here's the complete bummer:
- Yn has af assist, the very reason I bought it. Unfortunately this is completely useless as it uses a fixed pattern that projects the red stripes in almost all cases next to the center af point.

EDIT: This is not just my unit, it's a systematic failure on the Yn! The pattern is too wide so you need to move either the trigger in the hotshoe or walk back and forth which makes it "nice to have" for pitch black indoor shooting of static scenes, but utterly useless for anything that moves. Doh, it I wouldn't need this to make my 60D work with the rt flashes I'd return it :-\

http://flashhavoc.com/yongnuo-yn12af-af-assistant/comment-page-1/#comment-16032
 
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