Yongnuo's 600-exrt compatinle transmitter!

If you have pre 2012 bodies the YN-E3-RT gives you serious additional functionality over the ST-E3-RT, so much so I believe (and I own both) that it is worth more than the Canon.

But I also believe the current price hike is due to over demand for the first batch, I suspect when they become plentiful again the price will ease.

If you shoot post 2012 bodies the YN is not worth close to the ST, it is not as well made and second curtain sync really isn't an important feature.
 
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AvTvM said:
Quite strange. If yongnuo really moves to usd 299 they won't be selling many more. I'd say Time to lean back a bit ... wait and see, how it develops.

That's interesting, the information seems to have sunk in that this isn't some 3rd-party cheap rip-off of a quality Canon product, but on par or even better than the original - and of course they could sell it for more $$$, there is no reason a 3rd party product has to be cheaper (Zeiss lenses anyone)?.

I hope Yongnuo quickly forgets about this, or they'll introduce their rt flashes at a likewise high price :-o
 
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I see it other way round: no reason why such a trivial electronic device like a radio flash trigger should cost more than 100 Euros retail (including 20% VAT!). No matter whether it has Yongnuo, Canon or Louis Vuitton written all over it.

I see the relative value of the Canon and Yongnuo units at par: while the latter has moe functionality (AF-assist for any camera) and group-function (also for pre-2012 Canon camera models), the Canon thing might not be as easily shut-down by some electronic curveballs coming from Canon in their 2014 camera models. Yes I know, the Yongnuo hat a USB port and can be firmware-upgraded. But still ...

But again ... both of them should not cost any more than 100 Euro or USD ... landed cost.

Personally I am not going to purchase any Canon-RT stuff, before there is an even less expensive RT-Transceiver available from either Canon or Yongnuo or anybody else out there. Then I will get one ST-E3 trigger and 3 transceivers to radio-trigger my existing 580 II and 430 IIs ... and will quickly snatch another 3 used-but-like-new 580 IIs ... before any of you do. :-)
 
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AvTvM said:
But again ... both of them should not cost any more than 100 Euro or USD ... landed cost.

It depends on the r&d (or reverse-engineering :-)) cost - but as I already said back when the Canon original was released, as this is just an lcd screen & some electronic parts but *not* a high-voltage flash device even €100 is ridiculously high, make that half that... max.
 
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AvTvM said:
I see it other way round: no reason why such a trivial electronic device like a radio flash trigger should cost more than 100 Euros retail (including 20% VAT!). No matter whether it has Yongnuo, Canon or Louis Vuitton written all over it.

I see the relative value of the Canon and Yongnuo units at par: while the latter has moe functionality (AF-assist for any camera) and group-function (also for pre-2012 Canon camera models), the Canon thing might not be as easily shut-down by some electronic curveballs coming from Canon in their 2014 camera models. Yes I know, the Yongnuo hat a USB port and can be firmware-upgraded. But still ...

But again ... both of them should not cost any more than 100 Euro or USD ... landed cost.

Personally I am not going to purchase any Canon-RT stuff, before there is an even less expensive RT-Transceiver available from either Canon or Yongnuo or anybody else out there. Then I will get one ST-E3 trigger and 3 transceivers to radio-trigger my existing 580 II and 430 IIs ... and will quickly snatch another 3 used-but-like-new 580 IIs ... before any of you do. :-)

I think you're going to have a LONG wait on those 580's and 430's....they are only optical and no radio capabilities at all. I don't think canon will have any programs coming soon to retro fit them to be radio capable.
 
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cayenne said:
I think you're going to have a LONG wait on those 580's and 430's....they are only optical and no radio capabilities at all. I don't think canon will have any programs coming soon to retro fit them to be radio capable.

I know, they are optical. But no need to "retrofit" 'em. All that's needed is a cheap RT-compatible radio-transceiver underneath each 580/430. I believe, we are going to get them soon. Not from Canon of course ...but some Chinese will be clever enough to build and sell a couple million of those and make a fortune ... at USD 49,- a piece. :-)
 
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AvTvM said:
Not from Canon of course ...but some Chinese will be clever enough to build and sell a couple million of those and make a fortune ... at USD 49,- a piece. :-)

Some Chinese first have to reverse engineer the protocol, and Yongnuo won't share - so this leaves Yongnuo themselves, and they'll be even cleverer and sell rt-integrated flashes and studio gear for much more than $49 :-p

Btw I don't know what the fuzz is about, the price hasn't changed (still $150): http://en.yongnuo.com.cn/goods-233-Yongnuo+Speedlite+transmitter+YN-E3-RT.html
 
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Marsu42 said:
AvTvM said:
Not from Canon of course ...but some Chinese will be clever enough to build and sell a couple million of those and make a fortune ... at USD 49,- a piece. :-)

Some Chinese first have to reverse engineer the protocol, and Yongnuo won't share - so this leaves Yongnuo themselves, and they'll be even cleverer and sell rt-integrated flashes and studio gear for much more than $49 :-p

we'll see ... quickest and easiest buck to be made are those transceivers. They'd sell by themselves ... even at USD 99 a piece. :-)

And it would not keep Yongnuo from additionally selling YN-600EX-RT plus YN-430EX-RT plus a series of studio strobes with integrated RT-transceivers. For all those who either have no 580/430ies or prefer to have flashlites/strobes without having to fiddle around with separate transceivers and separate batteries. :-)

A complete RT system still has the follwing components:
1) ST-E3-RT trigger
2) large RT speedlite - 600EX-RT
3) smaller RT speedlite - "430EX-RT" (possibly slave only)
4) RT-transceiver
5) series of 3 or 4 Wh sRT-studio strobes

Since the components compliment each other - depending on individually needed/desired setup(s) - offering a complete system and leaving customers a choice would provide significantly higher sales revenues and total profit compared to only offering components 1 and 2. It appears Canon wants to learn this the hard way. ;D
 
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AvTvM said:
we'll see ... quickest and easiest buck to be made are those transceivers. They'd sell by themselves ... even at USD 99 a piece. :-)

Indeed we will :-p ... I'd bet that they position their rt system as a premium system vs. their cheaper proprietary, and keep selling dedicated triggers only for the latter. If any, they'll design rt triggers only quite some time after introduction of their own rt flashes.
 
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privatebydesign said:
They are still readily available for less than $145, though some people are charging more.

I just pulled the trigger on one from ebay'er in Hong Kong. I got it for about $145.80 with free shipping.

It indicated I'd not get it till March 3 through March 20th....

Now....I'm already getting impatient on waiting for it to arrive!!!

:D

cayenne
 
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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, also once the thing drops a flash you have to take it very close to reconnect, even with fresh batteries.

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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That is unfortunate to hear - I have had amazing results with the 622C system under various conditions. At the suggestion of the dlink below, I have been using Alkaline batteries rather than NiHM rechargeables as the voltage drop-off is sudden on NiMH and with Alkalines it is gradual. The 622C's require 2.2v to operate correctly.
Is it possible you are up against a similar design constraint with the YN-E3-RT? Perhaps try a good set of Alkalines in them instead.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B77OmmGIg0gMVFpqNkpBYXBHajA/edit?pli=1

A couple of quotes from the link above...
"If the voltage becomes low (total 2.2 volts), the 622 will turn off automatically."
"Alkaline batteries start at 1.5 volts and hold their voltage until the very end. Rechargeables at 1.2 volts are already 20% down, and approaching the threshold for the 622. Alkaline characteristics are well suited to this type of device, with a 60-hour standby time. (NiMH batteries are great as flash batteries, being capable of a rapid discharge into the capacitor.)"
 
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cayenne said:
privatebydesign said:
They are still readily available for less than $145, though some people are charging more.

I just pulled the trigger on one from ebay'er in Hong Kong. I got it for about $145.80 with free shipping.

It indicated I'd not get it till March 3 through March 20th....

Now....I'm already getting impatient on waiting for it to arrive!!!

:D

cayenne

I got word that mine got held up by HK customs. THey ebay seller asked if I wanted to cancel or have them try again…I asked to try again, so waiting to see if it comes in….

Hope mine works better than PBD's did…

:(
 
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