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YN560III Review – First built-in radio trigger flash

Hi,

I must say that I have the YN560III for some time (more than a month) and I know some of you are waiting for this review, as there iyn560iiis not much reviews about it online. I had a lot on my hands lately and finally decided to put some thoughts about this one on paper.

YN560III specifications:

  • GN39 at 35mm, GN58 at 105mm and ISO 100 – pretty much like the other flash units in the Youngno 56* line (560/565EX/560EX/568EX and so on).
  • 16-channel radio receiver, compatible with RF-602, RF-603 – means you won’t need a receiver to work it.
  • Flash power adjustable from 1/1 to 1/128 and fine tuning (-3 to +4)  - great!
  • Auto zoom 24,28, 35, 50, 70, 80, 105mm
  • Big LDC – much like the 560II, but a bit less powerful.
  • Manual mode, slave mode 1 and 2, multi mode
  • Fits most of the cameras, although it will be used 90% of the times off camera.
  • Battery pack port and PC port
  • Metal standard hot shoe
  • Switchable Sound indicator
  • Improved battery compartment for 4xAA alkaline or NiMH)
  • Switchable stand-by (3 minutes), power off after 30/60 minutes)
  • Weight 350g

YN560III out of the box review- Read more →

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New Site You Might Like lightapalooza2013

Hi Guys,

I know I havn’t write for some time, I got A LOT of work on my hands (which is great) so I took a short break. I’m about to post some products reviews mainly on the new YN5600III (previewed here), I must say that its a really great bargain flash, so if you are starting to build your strobist kit, this 560III delivers!

However, just stumbled a very good looking site (that talks a lot about Wescot stuff, but…) its pretty new site, it will have a lot of great reviews and as far as I can guess there are going to be some nice strobist video tuts we all like to watch and get inspired by ,I know that I do (it pumps my hobby photography side).

They also say there are going to be some competitions around there. You might take a look at

A new strobist site

Here is a video tut I found there:

Now there only thing I’m missing here is a good looking guy or girl and speed boat…`-)

Have Fun!!!

mmmm , I’d be happy if you share this…

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How to photograph your Guitar tut

This one is a second tutorial based on Dr. Tilo “Gallo” Gockel photography work, I advise you t o visit his site (here) . Tilo writes in German, but watching the guitar-setup-thumbbehind the scenes of his works and use Google Translate is pretty much enough to get it. He is a very talented strobist guy , the first tutorial was about shooting in your bathtub, as very nice one. However this time I want to write about a guitar photography setup I saw, So if you wonder “how to photograph my guitar?” you are in the right place!!!

I have to say that one of my first attempts on photography, was about 20 years ago, I had an HP315 digital camera, yes, I know it sounds like a desktop printer today’s but there were not to many options out there and if I remember correctly HP was a Pentax branded camera… But with the HP “digital Camera” I tried my first studio photography session and photographed my electric guitar. No need to mention that there where no flash options then and no strobist sites or even Internet, so you had to manage…Every time I see a nice guitar portrait image, it reminds me those times.

Tilo used 4 lights this time for this cover shoot, lets see how this image photographed! Read more →

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Jannuary’s Photography Challenge winner is!!!

Hi guys,

January’s photography challenge was our third challenge on diyphotographystuff. This month we had 10 images posted , picking the winner was a tight mission but after all there has to be one winner, so January’s photography challenge winner is:

This image posted by Terry Clair :
photographed with his Fuji S2 Pro, I must say that Terry poseted here some images and he has a big camera arsenal.

The Fuji S2 is one of the first DSLR cameras I’ve used, it has spectacular colors even today, 10 or more years after it was first announced, it has a very unique color and skin tones.

 

However, We are going to take a month off with the photography challenges, we will get back soon with bigger prizes and hope for bigger crowd.

Read more →

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Cookie Photography With Your Pocket Camera

The_Pocket_cookie_photography_second_imageI posted a short tut about cookie photography some time ago , this is a post I really like. I want to show an other angle about food photography and showcase how easy it is to get really clean images and “catalogue” look by using your pocket camera, some white reflectors and up to one flash light (that costs less than 50$). This might be an intro to anyone who wants to take images with one light on a very tight budget. I know that I’m going to get fat because of this tut, but what the heck, I’ll do anything for some new readers `-).

The Pocket Camera Cookie Photography:

The Gear I Used:

Pocket camera – we got it 5 years ago when our first boy born. Now it is his camera, so you can get the idea we are talking here about very very basic gear. There are two important things your camera must have:

  • Manual control – So you could set your camera ISO/Shutter Speed/aperture.
  • Flash power control – You need your on camera flash only to trigger the off camera flash , so you must have the ability to shut it as a main light. Two options : 1.You can set it to under expose the scene (-2ev will make it really unnoticeable). 2. Power levels control – set  it to its lowest power .

Off Camera Flash – I used here the YN460II. This flash is the cheapest flash on the market that still has all the strobist functions you will ever need. The best thing about it is that it has a great optical slave. This slave allows as to work or trigger it with our pocket camera’s flash.

Reflectors – In this setup I used simple white panel and a piece of styrofoam I found . You can use any white panel you ca think of…

The Pocket Camera Cookie Photography setup:

The_Pocket_cookie_photography_setup

The setup is extremely simple, but I’ll break it into 3 steps:

Flash power and settings: Flash power set to a low power, its 1/32th full power and pointed to the wall behind the cookie plate.  Now its time to choose between the optical slave modes , S1 optical slave mode works the best with the pocket cameras.

Camera settings – Work in manual mode!! Manual focus is a must. Camera other settings :

  • Shutter speed – 1/400th sec. Digital cameras has some kind of electric shutter so the flash can sync in most of them upto 1/500th sec.
  • Iso Settings – 80ISO. tryied to get the image as clean as a 5 years old pocket camera could.
  • Aperture – f/8. thats the max i can get with this camera, not much of DOF, so thats why perfect focusing is essential. You should set your camera to the smallest aperture you can set.

General tips – Try some angles (shoot from above and so on). Change reflectors positions and find your sweet spot. Don’t eat all the candy by yourself, let your kids get some after…`-)

The_Pocket_cookie_photography_second_image

Using your pocket camera combined with an optical slave flash can add some creative ideas.

Loved this post, let us know and show your love by sharing it in your social circles.

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Horizontal Flash Holder – 3 bucks per unit!!!

Hi posted a DIY project some weeks ago about a damn straight forward way for attaching your flash to a tripod horizontally, this time I want to show you a much better way, but you’ll have to put in “some work”:

Why I need a horizontal flash holder? There are three reasons why:

  1. If you work with umbrellas, you probably noticed that your flash head stands at least 10cm above the umbrella’s axis, therefore the light won’t spread equally. If you compare your strobist flash Vs. a studio strobe, you’ll see the strobe is almost centered to the umbrella’s axis. The DIY horizontal flash holder will put your flash closer to your umbrella’s axis.
  2. Brollys – putting a flash into umbrella softbox or better known as brolly is a very hard task… The DIY horizontal flash holder fixes this too.
  3. Stability – Have ever tried to shake a little your studio light stand when you have a flash attached to a trigger who is attached to an umbrella to flash adapter? You probably noticed that the flash isn’t so secure up there, something will break on way or another.Well, I don’t ask you to  go and shake your light stands, but you can see what I mean…

Here is my solution you’ll get about 8 adapters, quite a lot even for you strobist guys ,only spending les than 20 bucks:

I put a short promo video below, but go on and read the rest!!!

The images: Read more →

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YN622C Review and First Impressions

Hi , I wondered for some time if to get myself a set of those YN622? I’ve been enjoying the YN602′s for a long time and loved to manual control my off camera flashs.I didn’t think that for my type of photography, I’d have to get a better radio trigger, but as you get more techy and some what lazzier you want to treat your self with a new gadget. So I ordered 3 YN622C set to see how good are they, there are some reviews around ,shared some links in the bottom of this article for the ones that put in some work in reviewing this, but lets read my point of view!

Some general things you might what to know before ordering:

 

YN622c at amazon

What can the YN622C do?

  • The YN622C is a “high performance master and slave equipment for multiple flash photography” (that’s what they say about it in Youngnuo).
  • Its a two-way transmitter-receiver (Each unit can be used as a transmitter and as a reciever).
  • IT allows your camera to control multiple flashes at the same time.
  • It runs on 2.4GHz radio with 7 channels and 3 groups (A, B, C).
  • With supported flash models it can do almost anything you can ask for – HSS control up to 1/8000th/ses, E-TTL ratio

How does the YN622C fit in the market?

  • The Pixel King – A set of three YN622C trigger units costs today about 140$ (it was about 150$ on lunch days but slowly goes down), this price tag makes it the most affordable+advanced trigger system out there, if you think of features per dolars, the YN622C will be the best value. Whoever the nearest unit in this price range that offers camera menu control abilities is the Pixel King. A 3 piece set (1 transmitter and 2 receiver) goes for about 187$ (that the lowest offer found on amazon). The Pixel King will support HSS in case you need it and have the flashes that supports it, but will not support TTL ratio control (this is a nice feature) nor multiple groups set to different power levels. The King is a bit smaller.
  • Phottix Strato  - This set will cost you about the same as a YN622C set, but won’t pass HSS.The Strato is a much smaller unit in relative to the King/622C, its size is more like the RF602/3. Phottix strato 3 piece set costs about 160$ on amazon.
  • Phottix Odin – This triggers offer all the control you’ll ever need but costs a “bit” more, a 3 piece set will go for about 500$, you make your decisions. The cool thing with the Odin is the fact that the transmitter has a LCD back screen that will let you control all you flashes!
An inportant fact is that the YN622C can currently work with Canon cameras only, other triggers mentioned above will do other too!

 

Does it supports your gear?

Cameras:

This breaks down into two types of cameras: TYPE A Cameras - with external flash control menu, You’ll get the whole bundle:Cameras that have Menu flash control are: 1Ds Mark III, 1D Mark IV, 1D Mark III, 5D Mark III, 5DMark II,7D, 60D, 50D, 40D, 650D, 600D, 550D, 500D, 450D, 1100D, 1000D.

  • Manual control - Full Remote Manual Power Control in 3 groups from the camera menu!
  • ETTL – Full ETT Ratio Control and FEC in 3 groups from the camera menu !

TYPE B Cameras – without external flash control menu: 5D Original, 10D, 20D, 30D, 300D, 350D, 1D and 1D Mark II

  • Manual – This will let you trigger the flashes, but power level will be set on each flash manually.
  • ETTL – No ratio , but global FEC control is available from the camera. You can set individual FEC directly on each flash to achieve a ratio though.

Flashes are as above but only global FEC can be set from the camera even with MK II flashes (& Type B cameras)

Flash Compatibility:

Flashes that will support Full remote flash control through the camera menu

  • Canon - 600EX(RT), 580EXII, 430EXII, 320EX, 270EXII.
  • YongNuo – YN565EX (for Canon), YN468C II, YN467C II, YN465C,YN568EX.
  • Other units : Nissin Di866 II (may requir factory reset) Metz – 58 AF-2, 48 AF-1.
Flash units that would ofer partial control:

Manual – Flash power will be set manualy on each flash.

ETTL Global FEC control is available from the camera. Ratios may be available, though individual FEC can also be set directly on each flash to achieve a ratio if needed

  • Nissin (without HSS) - Di622 II
  • Canon - 580EX, 550EX, 430EX
  • Metz – 54mz4
  • Nissin (with HSS) - Di866
  • Sigma – 500 DG Super, 530 DG Super
  • Sunpak – PZ42X – Confirmed ETTL and FEC from the camera – No HSS.

YN622C – The Bottom Line:

As I’ve been using manual triggers for a long long time (mainly RF602s) I thought it will be a nice change to try those though camera menu triggers. I almost never use ETTL for my photography but working on manual all the time.
What triggered me to get those (I wanted better triggers for a while) was the fact that they offer HSS and this feature pushed me to get them.
I LOVE IT!!!
I they are amazing that for this price.I like the fact that they are made as transceivers (units can be used as triggers or receivers) rather than its competitors (Odin/King/Strato) that you must have a backup transmitter to be on the safe side.
They deliver all said about plus offering a powerful AF assist!
If you have a camera with flash control menu and the right flashes, go and get them , its a MUST!

Click to view YN622C manual in PDF Format or right click and save as to save pdf manual file!!!

More reviews on the net:

 

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Top Rechargable bateries Battle – Who Will Be The Winner?

Hi,

As we work a lot with off camera flashes, we really like to get as much power and battery juice as we can get, and actually there is never enough power. So I decided to put to a test the top 3 batteries set on the market, they are very popular rechargeable batteries brands and I’m pretty sure you guys will be interested in this battle!!!

The battery models that participate:

 
1. Sanyo New Versio n XX 2500mAh

sanyo-eneloop-xx

The Sanyo XX are the new version of the very popular eneloop. This version is also powered by the Eneloop technology. Has declared 2500mAh (Min. 2400 mAh). Maintain 75% of power after 12 months.Those are  supposed to be the best on the market .Can be recharged 500 times without capacuty loss.

2. Sanyo eneloop

sanyo eneloop

The Sanyo eneloop they come pre-charged, can be used immediately out of the pack and maintain 75% of their charge for up to 3 years when not in use. Eneloop batteries deliver reliable battery extremely performance. Typical capacity is 2000mAh (Min. 1900mAh). There is a new normal Eneloop who can recharge 1500 times

3. GP Recyko

GP-recyko

I must confess that this is my prefered battery model. When looking for better rechargeable batteries 3 years ago, those where the only available in Israel, so I got them and was amazed how much better they were compared to the “normal” GP batteries I had. Typical capacity 2100mAh (Min. 2050mAh), can recharge 1000 times.

 

How we took the test: Read more →

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YN-500EX TTL & HSS New Flash By YongNuo Released

New by Yongnou - YN 500 EX

After releasing the YN 560 III Yonguo announced another flash model with some more features the YN500EX.

The YN 500 EX is their second attempt on the HSS compatible flash market, but this time it comes with a bit less power 53GN.

The new flash is pretty much similar to the YN568EX :

  • Full manual control.
  • Wireless options – S1/S2 optical slave, and can be used as a slave with Nikon/Canon wireless system.
  • Smaller design – YN500 EX is looking a bit smaller compared to its bigger brother the YN568EX (reviewed here). LCD is smaller and the buttons looks more close together.
  • Buttons design – a welcomed upgrade with the YN 500 EX is its new button design, they are larger and backlit, very helpful while trying to manage the flash in dark places.

General thoughts about the YN500EX: Read more →

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Just Announced YN560III – Whats New About It?

YN560iiI first impression -rear LCD screenYongnuo Just announced the availability of a new version for one of their most popular flash units and probably the most popular flash within the strobist community the YN560 series. The is now a new YN560III.

As i mentioned before, I think that the newest version of a YN flash has to be better than its ancestor not only by its specs but for its building quality and its Quality assurance (QA).

YN560III OK,

But Whats new with the YN560III?

YN560III new chanel graphic indicator

  • Its main feature is that the new YN560III - RF-602 and RF-603 2.4G compatible radio receivers built-in to the unit! If you have those in your camera bag and you work with the popular RFs, I think you might find it very handy! You might note the graphic channel &  group and indicator on its back .
  • Power – Its pretty similar with the YN560II GN58 and recharging times are suppose to be very fast, just like the YN560II.
  • Control – Full manual control just like the earlier models, probably including a creative stroboscopic mode.
  • TTL? – No! this flash is fully manual flash with all the strobist feature and control you might think of!
  • Price – If the popular YN560II sells now for about 72$ on eBay, we guess that the YN560III will sell for about 90$.

 

YN560III specs sheet - There is no official specs sheet yet, probably in the next couple of days something will show up, but this is what we know of: Read more →

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