Is the YongNuo YN-560 a Headturner?

WARNING: I have ZERO evidence whether this works.  You may kill your YN560 in the process.  I am sure this will violate whatever warranty YongNuo or the seller may have.  Do this at your own risk!!!



The Nikon SB-800 normally has a swivel range of -180 degrees to +90 degrees.  In other words it can only swivel 90 degrees to the right.  There is a mod out there for brave SB-800 owners that will let you swivel the head up to 135 degrees to the right:
http://strobist.blogspot.com/2008/08/how-to-break-your-sb-800s-little-neck.html
Being somewhat of a risk-taker, I did it to my SB-800.  It was extremely hard to twist the head -- like a very stubborn jar.  A couple of times, I nearly gave up (because of the mental stress of potentially breaking an expensive flash).  But eventually the head turned.  I did this mod a couple of years ago and have never experienced a problem.  (Do so at your own risk!!! And of course be aware that the SB-700 and SB-900 can turn 180 degrees both directions without any mods.)

CAUTION!  WARNING!  DANGER!  Do not try this at home!


Out of curiosity, I tried the swivel mod on my dead YN-560 (1st generation - with plastic foot).  Let me emphasize it again: I was doing this to an already dead YN-560 (my YN-560 died when it fell in the water) so I had nothing to lose.  If you want to try this on a working YN-560, do so at your own risk.  Please note further that Nikon's reliability is way ahead of YongNuo.  I'm pretty sure an SB-800 will handle more abuse than will a YN-560.

That said, I twisted my dead YN-560's head and found that it was pretty easy to twist it to the right.  Easier than opening a bottle.  I don't know what that means, and I have no way to tell if it damaged my YN-560 further.  I also don't know if the 2nd generation YN-560 with metal foot is any different in this regard.

Anyway, now my dead YN-560's head twists 135 degrees to the right:

Too bad I have no way to know whether it could work...