Yongnuo YN-E3-RT Officially Released

[privatebydesign]

Didn't you get the cables included for the remote and linked shooting?

 

[Marsu42]

Didn't you get the cables included for the remote and linked shooting?

Yes, sure, the cables are there, with "though it needs a shutter release cable" I meant to say it's not as easy as on my 6d as the 60d needs the cable attached.

 

[jdramirez]

I have three of the yong 622c's. The red stripes aren't bad... but it is annoying having to match up the AF point with the line... which doesn't always work perfectly. But I'm fond of their performance... and in my "studio"/living room, it is kinda dark... and the AF assist is quite welcome.

As for moving targets... I really wasn't expecting to use it for that purpose... and I don't even think it would cast efficiently past 10 yards.

 

[jason1]

Like privatebydesign, I have also experienced very poor range, especially outdoors. Does not live up to 100m range as advertised.

I can't seem to get away more than 5-10m before connection drops out and I need to walk closer to the flash to regain connection. Very frustrating & going to give up on this soon. Currently running v1.10 & 5d3.

Thinking to try the Phottix Mitros+ & Odin combo....

 

[Marsu42]

I can't seem to get away more than 5-10m before connection drops out and I need to walk closer to the flash to regain connection. Very frustrating & going to give up on this soon. Currently running v1.10 & 5d3.

Same here with 1.10 and 6d... "100m" is a joke, it's very important to do a channel scan and select the best one, that improves the range and reliability a bit, though nowhere near 600rt to 600rt standard.

Most disappointing is that my Yn unit does one of these things, I wouldn't keep it if I wouldn't need it for my pre-2012 60rt:
* bad: flash tends to loose connection if camera and flash are both near ground level
* worse: flash connection drops on the Yn even though the flash shows the green "connect" light
* worst: flash is shown as connected on the Yn, but simply refuses to fire

 

[jason1]

Most disappointing is that my Yn unit does one of these things, I wouldn't keep it if I wouldn't need it for my pre-2012 60rt:
* bad: flash tends to loose connection if camera and flash are both near ground level
* worse: flash connection drops on the Yn even though the flash shows the green "connect" light
* worst: flash is shown as connected on the Yn, but simply refuses to fire

haha...I have experienced all of this too. Sigh..........

 

[Marsu42]

haha...I have experienced all of this too. Sigh..........

On the one hand, I'm happy the 6d is not alone with these problems but on the other hand, I'm stunned how unreliable this unit is, that Yn dares to sell it and that neither pro reviews or hands-on amateur reviews have picked this up. It doesn't take more than one hour to see that the af assist is a bad joke and no more than 1 day to experience the reliability problem unless you're shooting in a studio with the flashes having 1m distance and line of sight :-(

 

[privatebydesign]

I tried to post where I could about my comparatively early issues, indeed I was the first person I saw write anything negative about the YN.

I think there is too much pent up expectation out there for certain products, so much so that when they arrive people have too much hope that they will do what they want. They are half priced for a reason.

I have tried to be honest and informative with my comments on it, and got put down a bit for it, but have said I am keeping mine even though I also have an ST-E3-RT to use, this does mean the YN is never mission critical.

The Chinese are not up to reverse engineering this stuff yet though the they have become brilliant at things like the Phottix Odin/Mitros+, (and some of the Godox big flashes) and that is the only small flash system I would consider other than the Canon RT.

The YN might have SCS, but what use is it if it is unreliable!

 

[Marsu42]

I think there is too much pent up expectation out there for certain products, so much so that when they arrive people have too much hope that they will do what they want.

I guess it was most like sheer disbelief that Yn would sell a €100+ item that barely works as the introduction item of their upcoming whole rt flash/controller line...

They are half priced for a reason.

It's frustrating as imho the Canon unit at least at starting price was way too expensive. Yes, they've got r&d to cover, but €300 for €10 of electronics? And now we've got a cheap cn unit - I would wish there would be some 3rd party manufacturer going the middle way like Sigma and Tamron with their latest lenses: no Canon price premium, but no crap either.

I have tried to be honest and informative with my comments on it, and got put down a bit for it

This wasn't directed at you if it sounded that way, I read lots of "hands on" and of course forum posters get no revenue so in-depth testing is not to be expected.

but have said I am keeping mine even though I also have an ST-E3-RT to use, this does mean the YN is never mission critical.

This is probably what I'll end up doing, too - Yn for convenience, 600rt as master for important situations.

The Chinese are not up to reverse engineering this stuff yet though the they have become brilliant at things like the Phottix Odin/Mitros+, (and some of the Godox big flashes) and that is the only small flash system I would consider other than the Canon RT.

Well, let's hope they'll at least fix some issues with upcoming fw updates - they even added some nice Pn functions with 1.10, so it seems they're still working on it. Maybe they get the reliability up a bit with trying harder to find remote flashes as most connection losses are fixed by turning the Yn off and on again, they should be able to do that rediscovery in software.

 

[Loswr]

It's frustrating as imho the Canon unit at least at starting price was way too expensive. Yes, they've got r&d to cover, but €300 for €10 of electronics?

That R&D yielded what has been, for me, a completely reliable RT flash system. As they say...priceless.

 

[privatebydesign]

Well, let's hope they'll at least fix some issues with upcoming fw updates - they even added some nice Pn functions with 1.10, so it seems they're still working on it. Maybe they get the reliability up a bit with trying harder to find remote flashes as most connection losses are fixed by turning the Yn off and on again, they should be able to do that rediscovery in software.

If they have any sense then they will be using this as Beta testing for the Yn-600-EX, which I wouldn't buy, but if they take the time to get right could turn it around for them, if they aren't then I fear Yongnuo will go down as the unreliable make of the Chinese flashes, which os a shame because their simple RF-602's changed flash for many of us, and the lower priced models are very good value for money. But they do lack cohesion, too many projects and ideas and not enough development and testing.

It's frustrating as imho the Canon unit at least at starting price was way too expensive. Yes, they've got r&d to cover, but €300 for €10 of electronics?

That R&D yielded what has been, for me, a completely reliable RT flash system. As they say...priceless.

100% agree, I got the ST-E3-RT before the YN and was shocked by the Canon's reliability, I honestly don't think I have had a misfire from it yet other than because of battery use. I only got the YN to play with for the Gp mode on my pre 2012 bodies, and it is fine when it works, but the ST is 100% reliable, and that is priceless.

 

[Marsu42]

As they say...priceless.

I absolutely agree for a pro environment or for wealthy amateurs, but for the rest of us the introductory price of the Canon unit was simply too close to a real 600ex-rt flash, esp. as the controller is just for comfort and was never was offered with cashback at least in Germany. As pdb already wrote, if you're ok with carrying the weight some fill flash somewhere seldom hurts & the flash has af assist so the Canon controller is most useful for outdoor shooting.

 

[Marsu42]

Reply from Yongnuo, it just took them 24hrs so that's at least something ... of course they refuse to acknowledge it could be a problem with the whole trigger line.

Thanks for your email!
We are sincerely sorry for the inconvenience when you are using YN-E3-RT. We suggest you to try with another set of battery fully charged and switch the channels to test again. If the problem still exists, it's probably that the trigger is defective, we suggest you to send it back for maintenance.

About the AF Assist Beam:
There is a height difference between the AF Assist Beam of YN-E3-RT and the camera lens. The angle between the light ray and the central axis of the lens is set when you are setting the AF Assist Beam. In a certain distance (4-5 meters), the central point of the AF Assist Beamand the central axis of the camera lens will intersect. At this time, you can see that the central focus point of the camera is positioned at the central of the AF Assist Beam. At short range, the central point of the AF Assist Beam is over the central point of the camera lens; at long range, the central point of the AF Assist Beam is under the central point of the camera lens.
If the AF Assist Beam is a little to the right/left, please try to fix it by pull the trigger towards left/right slightly.

 

[Dylan777]

For me personally, and I well understand others will see it differently, reliability is worth way more to me than a $100

+1

Tested my Canon 600EX-RT flashes with Canon ST-E3-RT Speedlite Transmitter, I have no issue trigger the flashes at 150 feet. 15/15 shots, got them all.

My garage is not that big, but I'm going to test them at 200 feet this coming weekend - stay tune... :

 

[privatebydesign]

We know, why do you think we have been recommending them so highly!

The only negatives I have seen said about the 600 EX's is the inability to use optical and radio at the same time, a "limitation" I am glad to take for the added functionality, and the price, but they compare well to the 580EX II and are cheap when compared to the Nikon SB910.

 

[wickidwombat]

The odins are also 100% reliable for me but then again they are also expensive
I guess you just get what you pay for
Only issue I've had has been 580ex II flashes doing full power dumps on occasion but this is a quirk of that flash
And nothing to do with the trigger

 

[privatebydesign]

It really does seem the two frontrunners in full ETTL radio flash are the Canon RT system and the Odins, but like you say the Odins/Mitros+ are not a "cheap" option.

The Odin route definitely has some advantages over the RT system, the RT system has some advantages over the Odin's too, I don't think a serious buying decision should be taken on the price difference, the feature set is far more important.

Though I have to say the thought of a couple of Profoto B1 Airs is making me save my pennies, it is a completely different league, but what quality power.

 

[Marsu42]

Fyi (and ot ): If you do manual channel selection for the YN-E3-RT it's ultra-important to always do a channel scan, this improves the reliability considerably even though nowhere near the Canon flashes as masters.

With the Yn, some channel strengths often drop for no apparent reason at all even if you're standing in the middle of nowhere. The Canon 600ex flash is much more sturdy when it comes to transmission strength while the Yn sometimes fails to connect to a flash some meters away when choosing a weak channel.

 

[Dylan777]

For me personally, and I well understand others will see it differently, reliability is worth way more to me than a $100

+1

Tested my Canon 600EX-RT flashes with Canon ST-E3-RT Speedlite Transmitter, I have no issue trigger the flashes at 150 feet. 15/15 shots, got them all.

My garage is not that big, but I'm going to test them at 200 feet this coming weekend - stay tune... :

Still work at 200ft....

 

[jdramirez]

For me personally, and I well understand others will see it differently, reliability is worth way more to me than a $100

+1

Tested my Canon 600EX-RT flashes with Canon ST-E3-RT Speedlite Transmitter, I have no issue trigger the flashes at 150 feet. 15/15 shots, got them all.

My garage is not that big, but I'm going to test them at 200 feet this coming weekend - stay tune... :

Still work at 200ft....

Have you tested the distance using the 600rt as the trigger?