UPDATE 2: other tests of the YN-560: http://betterfamilyphotos.blogspot.com/2010/08/yongnuo-yn-560-flash-update.html
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So I finally got the YN-560 today, a little less than 2 weeks after I ordered it. In the meantime, speedlights.net has posted a very thorough review of the YN-560, so I'll just mention the few things that I found so far that were new or different. I didn't have a lot of time to test it but because there's some possibly disappointing info, I wanted to bring this to potential buyers' attention right away. Note: the camera I used was a Nikon D300.
1. Power: I don't have a light meter, but based on my very unscientific test, I would guess that the power is closer to the SB800 (per Kurbster.com) not the SB600 (per speedlights.net). What I did was to put the 2 flashes approximately the same distance from the wall, side by side, then compared their output. The output looked identical in terms of intensity at 35mm zoom and at 105mm zoom, though the SB800 covered a slightly larger area. I plan to conduct more a more rigorous test (by comparing the histograms) this weekend.
2. When the flash is attached to the camera, my camera acts like there is no flash, i.e., shutter speed is not limited to sync speed, even with Auto FP disabled. This is useful for trick shots like this one: http://strobist.blogspot.com/2008/08/on-assignment-50-years.html , and fortunately the rear curtain appears at the top of the D300's frame, which means shooting upside down is not necessary.
3. Whether on-camera or as an optical slave (either mode), the flash can sync at 1/320 with no noticeable decrease in output (at least on low power -- I plan to test this more thoroughly this weekend). At 1/400 and at higher speeds on-camera, the flash is visible but blocked by the rear curtain. At 1/400 off-camera (as optical slave), the flash output isn't visible at all.
4. The digital optical slave (which ignores the preflashes) works with TTL flash but not in CLS AWL commander mode. In commander mode the YN560 doesn't only fail to sync -- it doesn't fire at all. I tried various combinations of the popup flash being on TTL or manual, and the SB800 being on TTL, AA or Manual. I tried different channels, and assigning the SB800 to Group A or Group B. No combination worked except for the popup being on TTL and all other channels being deactivated (which is in effect just like using the pop-up on TTL mode). This is contrary to the experience of speedlights.net owner's fransener ( http://www.flickr.com/groups/strobis...7624196263437/ ), so I'm very disappointed but will conduct more tests. I've also contacted him to inquire. To be fair, the YN560's manual does state on p.33 that the digital optical slave is NOT designed to work for red-eye flash, Nikon's commander mode, or Canon's wireless flash (including the ST-E2).
1. Power: I don't have a light meter, but based on my very unscientific test, I would guess that the power is closer to the SB800 (per Kurbster.com) not the SB600 (per speedlights.net). What I did was to put the 2 flashes approximately the same distance from the wall, side by side, then compared their output. The output looked identical in terms of intensity at 35mm zoom and at 105mm zoom, though the SB800 covered a slightly larger area. I plan to conduct more a more rigorous test (by comparing the histograms) this weekend.
2. When the flash is attached to the camera, my camera acts like there is no flash, i.e., shutter speed is not limited to sync speed, even with Auto FP disabled. This is useful for trick shots like this one: http://strobist.blogspot.com/2008/08/on-assignment-50-years.html , and fortunately the rear curtain appears at the top of the D300's frame, which means shooting upside down is not necessary.
3. Whether on-camera or as an optical slave (either mode), the flash can sync at 1/320 with no noticeable decrease in output (at least on low power -- I plan to test this more thoroughly this weekend). At 1/400 and at higher speeds on-camera, the flash is visible but blocked by the rear curtain. At 1/400 off-camera (as optical slave), the flash output isn't visible at all.
4. The digital optical slave (which ignores the preflashes) works with TTL flash but not in CLS AWL commander mode. In commander mode the YN560 doesn't only fail to sync -- it doesn't fire at all. I tried various combinations of the popup flash being on TTL or manual, and the SB800 being on TTL, AA or Manual. I tried different channels, and assigning the SB800 to Group A or Group B. No combination worked except for the popup being on TTL and all other channels being deactivated (which is in effect just like using the pop-up on TTL mode). This is contrary to the experience of speedlights.net owner's fransener ( http://www.flickr.com/groups/strobis...7624196263437/ ), so I'm very disappointed but will conduct more tests. I've also contacted him to inquire. To be fair, the YN560's manual does state on p.33 that the digital optical slave is NOT designed to work for red-eye flash, Nikon's commander mode, or Canon's wireless flash (including the ST-E2).
For now, if the YN-560 doesn't work with the commander mode, my plan is to use the pop-up flash on manual mode (covering it with an SG-3IR if I don't need it as on-axis fill), then use the SB800 in SU-4 mode in manual, and the YN-560 in S1 (regular optical slave) mode. Alternatively, I can connect a TTL cord to the SB800 to fire it in TTL off-camera, then put the YN-560 in S2 (digital optical slave) mode.
5. The optical slave (both modes) works even when I cover the flash with an SG-3IR infrared filter, implying that the YN-560 is triggered by infrared, not visible light. I plan to double check this (it's possible that the pop-up flash reflection from the SG-3IR was sufficient to trigger the YN-560).
Overall, I'm ok with the flash so far. I also plan to see how well the digital optical slave works with my point-and-shoot (Casio Exilim EX-V7). A P&S camera doesn't have a mechanical shutter, so I think I can sync at its highest shutter speed of 1/800, which would be very useful for underexposing bright ambient light. At that speed, the practical limit becomes the flash duration (at full power, the YN-560's t0.1 flash duration is 1/320).
All of those coming up this weekend...
Heyhey, I'm kinda new to photography and BRAND new to flashes. Would you recommend this flash to a total newbie? I don't really do any studio work, I just take pictures of places I go, family, etc.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the learning curve like? I've done a bit of reading, but I guess I'd have to play with one to figure it out. What does it mean when a flash is manual? Or, I guess the more appropriate question might be, what is an automatic flash?
Thanks!
Ed
Hi Ed! If you take mostly candid (non-setup) photos, then I would not recommend this flash. With a manual flash like this one, you have to dial in the power and adjust it based on your ISO, aperture, the distance between the flash and the subject, and the guide number (available power) of the flash. That's a lot of factors to take into account for quickly changing candid moments.
ReplyDeleteA TTL flash is one that will put out a more-or-less correct amount of flash regardless of those factors, which makes TTL more suitable for candid, family, and event photography. Please check out the TTL FAQ and TTL Tutorial on this site.
Best regards,
Mic
I ordered two YN560's not too long ago. At first they seemed to work great; easy to adjust and the power output was pretty good. Unfortunately BOTH flash units have contracted the same disease. It misfires often but the sound indicates that they recieved the signal to flash. So I get a fire about every 3-5 shots and even that is very inconsistant. Has anyone else come into this same problem?
ReplyDeleteHi Lee. Sorry to hear that. Have you tried changing batteries? You might also check out the Flickr Yongnuo discussion group. The folks there are quite helpful.
ReplyDeleteBest regards,
Mic
I just bought this flash and am using it with a d7000. I am using the popup in commander mode and the flash (in S2 mode) fires without any problems at shutter speeds of 1/125 or slower, but never fires at anything faster. I haven't had a chance to try it with the popup flash in TTL mode but even if that worked, it isn't something I use because I never use the popup flash. Anyone get this to work at anything faster than 1/125?
ReplyDeleteHi Tamim. If you don't plan on using the light from the popup, then cover it with an infrared filter or SG3-IR infrared filter. Then switch the popup to manual mode and switch the YN560 to S1 mode. In this configuration, you should be able to sync to 1/320.
ReplyDeleteBest regards,
Mic
Thanks for the input Mic; I appreciate it. Well, the issue is that I also have an SB-700 in the mix that I would like to control from the camera. I have the SB-700 in remote mode and the camera's pop-up in Commander mode. So if I put the camera's pop-up in Manual mode (NOT commander->Manual, correct?), should I put the SB-700 in SU-4 mode and change its settings manually?
ReplyDeleteFrankly at this point I'm OK with the YN-560 synching at 1/125 in S2 mode as long as I can still control my SB-700 from the camera with commander mode, but I can see situations coming up where I might want the faster shutter speed up to 1/320 so I'm trying to figure out the best way to go about it.
Yup that's right - Switch the sb700 to su-4 and yeah popup is in pure manual mode.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to retain full cls AWL capability you *may* be able to get higher than 1/125 sync if you decrease the power on the YN560. I personally don't know the exact limits though some users have reported exceeding the 1/125 limit which i think was because they used very low power (allowing the yn560 to recycle fast enough).
You might also be interested in the YN565 (yongnuo's new wireless TTL flash).
Best regards,
Mic