Strobist Flash Reviews:
Flash Reviews : YN565EX Review | YN568EX Review | YN560II Review
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Category: Gear Review

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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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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YN568EX Review – Is It So Good?

 Some Background:

For the past couple of years, Youngnuo had a great success with some really good flash units, their main market was the strobists and Go to Amazon and buy a YN568EXoff camera flash users who searched for affordable and good strobist flashes. YN started the revolution (I call it revolution, cause before the YN560 you could only get a Vivitar piece and it was for about 120$, and half the options) with the YN560 and the YN460 (I reviewed their II versions in two other posts, links below), YN offered some amazing value for the money flash units, it was so affordable, that I wasn’t so upset when my first YN560 who I got about 4 years ago recently broke `-), but the fellows at YN are now aiming higher. Last year the YN565EX released to the market and offered some decent alternatives for its price to any other Canon/Nikon flash out there. The only default somehow everybody talked about was the fact it didn’t has HSS- it will sync to your camera’s highest sync speed, but not faster. Now the YN568EX came out, I got one for review and here is my summary.

YN568EX – what do you get:

The YN568EX is packed with features, I start with what you don’t get (this is going to be short…)

YN568EX first unboxed

My YN568EX first openedYN568EX rear view

Read more →

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YN460II Vs. MK930 – Budget Strobist Flash

When I’m asked what is the cheapest strobist flash to start with, I usually say that the best flash for money in my opinion is the YN560II, but is there a cheaper flash to start with? Yes there are two flash units that answer all the strobist demands that you’ll need:

  1. Nice power.
  2. Low price.
  3. PC Sync plug in.
  4. Optical slave .
  5. Full manual mode.
The following two flashes reviewed here cover those needs:

YN460II Vs. MK930

Yn460II (By Youngno) – made by Yongnuo, one of the recent strobist and budget flash manufacturer. In my opinion they actually made the flash revolution rolling , while offering affordable strobist gear in prices that you could not imagine 3 years ago. The YN-460II has a very nice power output 38GN and you can get 7 power levels in one stop increments (1/64 to 1/1), but you can also fine tune it with 1/3 stops too.As most recent flashes it has the S1/S2 optical trigger mechanism and thats all you actually need for a simple strobist flash that costs less than 45$!!I

MK930 (By MeiKe) – This one is another strobist flash on the budget. Meike is a relatively fresh company, I tried their equipment only after a fellow photographer complained about his YN flashes and started to look for alternatives. Just like the YN460II it offers a decent power, GN42 a bit higher than the YN, it comes in a bigger body (as you can see in the header image), it has 8 power levels (the YN has “only” 7) and a way to fine tune output levels into 1/3 stop steps. Read more →

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YN560EX Review – New From Yongnuo

The new YN560EX

***For the first time and after some days of testing the YN560EX I have to say , this flash is in my opinion the best ( by far)  value for your money! Now after revealing my bottom line, go on and read further or go and buy yourself some! (at the end of the post to read why I’m so impressed).

Hi I finally got the new YN560EX flash for a review and had to run my tests on it for a while, but I’d like to share some of my first impressions in this post, and there are some nice things to say about the YN560EX, so keep on reading!!!

First of all, this new flash is a more advanced version for the YN560/YN560II having one major difference , and it is it’s ability to have TTL while its off your camera , controlled by A master flash (like the Canon 580/550) or other ST unints. Therefore if you are a TTL shooter, the 560EX will be great for you! The YN560EX is another step in the YN flash development as they offer some impressive stobist flash units already, and it has the same specs like the YN560II (You  could read my YN560II review here)

Update: There is a new model to the YN560x series you might be interested in – YN560III with build in RF602/603 trigger, previewed here. Read more →

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6 Most Asked Questions About the YN560II

 

Hi, I posted a review for the YN560II that I got a while ago and the review came out very popular, so many visitors mail me for questions about this unit , some of the questions I found repeating over and over, so I decided to put a list here. I case you still have something to ask me about the 560II you can feel free to leave a comment below at the comments section or mail me from this page.

Let go on!!! Read more →

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YN-560 II Review – Is It The Best Strobist Flash Out There?

Hi, after my first (and positive experience) with the YN565EX (you could read about it here or read my review for the yn560EX here ) I decided to get one more flash unit into my strobist bag. As for strobist needs I only need a manual flash, good controls and flash power. I must say that at first glance you get it from the yn560ii, big time!

Update : There is another YN560 Model the YN560III available now, read our YN560III preview here. New our YN560III review (20/3/2013)

So lets start with some quick specs with the new model yn560II:

  • Power: The Yongnuo Flash has a guide number of 58 which puts it in front with the other big flashes like the Canon 580/600 and Nikon 800/900/910. This will be plenty of light for  your needs.
  • Manual control (only): This flash is manual only flash, no TTL support and no af assist beem, but it offers lots of control, actually all the control you’ll need from a strobist flash.
  • Salve Modes : That’s what I like about this on, it has accurate and very useful S1 and S2 slave modes.S1 and S2 are optical slaves sensor in the flash that will fire the flash when the sensor senses an other flash fires around.S1- triggers the flash normally while S2 mode will trigger the flash avoiding the pre flash, in case you camera uses pre flash to adjust focusing.That makes it handy as an off camera flash even if you don’t own triggers yet.It can even be used with your pocket camera
  •  Connectivity : It has a standard PC socket in case you’ll need to trigger via PC connection. An external battery pack can be used here too for getting its recycling times even better and getting some more flash fires before juicing up your batteries.
  • Bouncing : You can tilt it both ways right/left and up/down like all other flashes.
  • Zoom Control – the flash head can be controlled from 24mm to 105mm all manually. Read more →
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Canon 40mm 2.8 Panckace Lens!!!

I’m really thrilled now, as I’ve just find out that Canon announced a 40mm Pancake lens.  The pancake lens are lens that are very “short” and therefore are also light weight.

Why I like it? several good reasons:

  1. lightweight – I decided to buy a lightweight camera (probably one of the canon 600/650 models) during our last trip to Spain, I finally realized that touring with a bug of camera gear isn’t very fun- it’s heavy and you are to worried about someone robbers your bug as you snatch something at McDonald’s…
  2. Small – small is good, cause it doesn’t worry people when you go on some street photography.
  3. Specs – Its an EF lens, so it will fit your Full Frame camera and your Crop camera as well. F/2.8 will fit most of your low light photography needs.
  4. Silent focus motor will make it great for video photography too.
  5. Close 0.3m minimum focusing distance, that very close.

Its suppose to be available at the end of June 2012 for about 199$ so its an affordable glass (Currently available only at B&H pre order).

What do you think about it?

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The Digital Holga?

Some time ago, I wanted bad to shoot some film, yes you know I was practically born into the digital era (had a Pentax “digital camera” before my first Canon G3!!!). So I played a little with some films until my son decided that the film camera is his,and I had to get a “new” one. As I had all the digital stuff I wanted, I decided to get something else and bought a plastic  stupid simple camera (the one on the right side) “Holga”. As far as I know (and I’m no expert on this topic), Holga was a camera for 120 slides (square images), but some guy in China/HongKong decided its time to do a 35mm version.

What was fun about the original?

As there where no or very little quality control in the original Russian factory, and aiming for a budget and affordable camera, they went and produced a plastic lens for the camera, this plastic lens combined with some light licking into the camera and defused black corners , somehow became into a hit! There are still fans for that use that for fan and more (see flickr here). What I liked most with the my toy Holga was that sa of its plastic lens, lack of auto focus , it delivered some old looking images, the kind you have to Photoshop it if you want to get it out of your digital camera. I know I had some scans somewhere here.

So one day I get an Email from a friend that told me:

  • Friend: Hi you remember that plastic holga you got?
  • Me: Yep, I know?
  • Friend:Well, you can get it for your digital, here is the link.
  • Me: TNX! Read more →
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Lytro Camera Review – Amazing!!!

Lytro camera technology!!!

This post is a really sort one! I don’t know if ant of you heard of this small camera called Lytro, the cool thing about it that not only this camera can take pictures (is it can!!!) but the crazy shit here is that you don’t have to focus the camera to the point object you want to photograph. I can’t even explain exactly how it works as I see it as a magic trick and not technology .

Here is an easy video on how it works on your dashboard after you take the image using your Lytro camera:

 

 

And here is a quick cool and funny video about how it can change your approach to photography, cool!!!

I think the focusing stuff is made by something that is like a CT Scan at the hospital, it takes during one press of a button tens or hundreds of images in many focus points, that you can choose your desired image this the desired focus point the you choose, stunning!!!

There are some examples in the links below

http://blog.lytro.com/

http://www.lytro.com/living-pictures/279

http://blog.lytro.com/category/lytros-story/

There are currently two models on PRE-ORDER status on lytro site’s, so you can’t find it yet in the stores. Some general spces:

  • For 399$ you can get the 8GB model, that will take up to 350 pictures (there will be also an 16GB model that will let you take about 750 “images”).
  • Like Apple’s gadgets it comes with internal drive so you can’t add memory the your “camera”.
  • The Lytro camera is armed with 8x optical zoom and a constant f/2 lens, that will get you plenty of exposure.
  • They don’t tell the resolution yet as I don’t think you can meter this camera by resolution when you get so much more scene here…
Here is an example what this camera can do:

What do you think about it?

PLEASE share as fast as possible

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Yongnuo YN-565EX ETTL Speedlite Flash Review

I must say that I don’t understand Canon’s legal department, how can they let YN COPY their flash bit bit?! The yongnuo yn-565ex looks exactly like the 580EXII (minor differences) with 430EXI digital back, as if someone made a joke of Canon’s stuff…

But lets move on and see some specs about this new yn565EX flash:

  • TTL Flash with very powerful guide number GN58 @ ISO100, 105mm, support TTL, M, Multi mode
  • Auto and manual zoom functions 24-105mm focal length
  • Full support TTL Functions FEC, FEB, Rear-curtain sync, FE lock, Modeling Light, Menu Access of Canon camera
  • Charging Socket for External Flash Pack

The YN-565 is actually is their version for the Canon 580EXII.

Side ny side comparison with Canon580EX
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Popup flash diffusers

Hey, I’ve wondering on dpreview lighting forum (very recommended) and read one of those posts about pop flash diffusers. One of the things that I don’t like about Dslr cameras and digital cameras that use a built in flash is the look of a direct flash, so I always recommend to add some popup flash diffuers to your popup flash. Those are very handy and you can get on from amazon for about 6$-7$, thats nothing in compare to the price of your digital camera (You could see a the bottom of this review links to the popup flash diffuser that I use .

But why I writing that after I already had a post about popup flash diffusers? There was a guy on that thread that continued saying that those popup diffusers are crap and just don’t worth a cent…I personally love those guys that offer to through your pocket or simple digital camera and buy a more professional camera just cause its better in some conditions… Well I said, I have to see if the Puff does some difference. It is a one minute test so don’t judge the photos for their art quality, but only answer the question whether the 6$ gadget makes its job.Here are the pictures: Read more →

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