Hello once again dear readers. I am very happy to be back and posting. Tonight I bring you a review of the best photography gadget that I have ever owned (apart from cameras and lenses).
I consider this review as the 2nd part of my Yongnuo Family Review. I suggest you read that post first because I am going to build on it. Here's a quick recap of the Yongnuo system I owned from the previous article: I had two Yongnuo 560II manual flashes, one 560III manula flash with a built-in wireless receiver, and four RF603 wireless transcievers (can trigger either a flash or a camera shutter via an included cable, I had cables for Canon & Olympus.) With that system I could trigger 3 flashes and one camera. And if you remember, I hinted at a new trigger that can control flash settings remotely.
Enter the YN 560-TX wireless trigger. This trigger works with Yongnuo 560III or 560IV flashes, where not only can it trigger them wirelessly like the RF603 triggers, but it can change the power and zoom settings remotely from the trigger itself, without having to change anything on the flash. This is an extremely useful feature that relieves you from having to move to the flash put far away or lower the light stand or even poke your head inside the softbox to change the power setting, now you can do it all from the comfort of your camera. Not only this, but the trigger turned out to be way more useful than I imagined, here are some of the extra features that deserves to be mentioned:
- You can assign your flashes for up to six groups, where you can control each group together immediately.
- It can trigger, or be triggered from an RF603 set on the same channel.
- It can trigger your camera as well via a cable that's not included, but I used the one I had for the RF603, and it worked great.
- It works on AA batteries that last for a long time.
- It can change the flash mode to "Multi" where it can fire quick multiple flashes at a certain frequency, not that I find it very useful.
I believe you can see how much potential this trigger has, especially when combined with the four RF603 triggers that I already have. Once I heard of the 560TX, I ordered one trigger and two 560III flashes, and sold one of my 560II flashes. So the net result is that I have now three 560III wireless flashes, one 560II flash, four RF603 triggers and of course my Olympus TTL flash. The main thing that annoyed me with the 560TX is that it lacked a carrying case, a hotshoe foot and a release cable in the package. I had to buy a Lowepro camera bag that I use as a protection and carrying case for the trigger.
Below are some examples to show how flexible and useful this system can be:
- Using this trigger, I can trigger all five of my flashes (3 x wireless, and 2 using RF603), and have two spare RF603s to trigger two more flashes.
- Or I can have the spare RF603s trigger other cameras instead of flashes, so that I have multiple cameras with different angles all capturing the same moment.
- Or I can use one of the spare RF603s in my hand far away to trigger the whole system (cameras and flashes together.)
- Or I can have the 560TX itself in my hand; controlling flash power and zoom settings, and triggering the whole system (cameras and flashes together) at the same moment.
- Or I can have one or more cameras setup, and carry an RF603 or 560TX in my hand with one of the flashes and go do light painting for an object far away from the camera.
And I believe lots more can be done. This system is extremely flexible and reliable (till now, and I don't treat my equipment in a harsh way) that I think it should have cost more than what it does. And I salute the Chinese for producing such a flexible system at such a price. Bravo.
P.S. The two pictures including my camera were shot using a Canon 60D with the 18-55 kit lens, which had an RF603 trigger in the hotshoe, which in turn triggered the 560TX mounted to my camera, which in turn triggered the flashes lighting the picture with the power settings set from the 560TX. :-D
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Interesting post Mohammad. So, the 560III has a built in receiver for the 560TX? I was looking at the Cactus v6 but this one is quite aggressively priced. For the price of a Cactus transceiver, you could almost get a YN560III with built in receiver for the 560TX. That's hard to beat!
ReplyDeleteI would be curious to know what is the highest shutter speed you could sync with this if you connected it to a camera with unlimited sync speed (such as a point and shoot with a hotshoe).
Best regards,
Mic
Thx Mic. Yes the 560III has a built-in receiver for the 560TX.
DeleteAnswering your second question is more difficult since I have no compact camera with unlimited sync speed anymore, maybe someone can test it and report. But using the optical slave in my 560III, I was able to sync at 1/2000 using my RX100.
Hi Mohammad,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the very interesting post. I just got my Fuji X-T1 today and I am wondering what is the best way to use flash with Nikon D600. I would like to trigger flashes from either X-T1 or D600, currently I have Nikon SB900, YN560II, and YN460. Do you have any suggestions? I heard that Canon version of YN560TX will work for Fuji, I curious if I get a Canon version 560TX for X-T1, and a Nikon version 560TX for D600 and a couple of YN560III, I should be able to trigger and adjust flash power remotely neither from X-T1 and D600. Am I correct?
Thanks,
Xiaoli
That's a lot of questions right there. Let me try to separate them.
Delete1. If you want to trigger all of your three flashes from your D600, then buying two RF603N II transceiver sets (the new ones denoted by version II have a Tx/Rx switch) will give you four transcievers, 3 of them will trigger your flashes and the 4th one will sit on your camera's hotshoe to trigger all of them. Note that I didn't mention the 560TX because you don't have any 560III/IV flashes.
2. To trigger the same flashes using the same triggers above on your Fuji X-T1, as far as I know, the RF603 Nikon version doesn't work on the X-T1, however, people are reporting that the RF603II Canon version (Must be Mark 2, very important) works with the X-T1, and will be able to trigger your other RF603N triggers. So the downside of this will be you will have to buy a 3rd set of RF603II triggers, the Canon version.
Check these links:
http://www.fujix-forum.com/index.php/topic/18891-yongnuo-rf-603c-transmitter-does-not-work-on-x-t1/
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3633277#forum-post-53222820
3. Now if we imagine you only have the D600, the X-T1 and two 560III flashes, then you can buy the 560TX Nikon version to trigger both flashes and change power remotely. The 560TX should work fine on both the D600 and the X-T1. The only difference bewteen the Nikon and Canon versions of the 560TX, is the ability to wake-up the flashes on the half-press of the shutter button. Check this link:
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3697966#forum-post-54004455
I am personally using the 560TX Canon version on my Olympus cameras, and they work very fine, however, if the flashes go to sleep mode (which can be adjusted from the flash by the way), when I take the first picture, the sleeping flashes are woken up, then they fire normally until they go to sleep mode again.
I hope I have answered your inquiry. :-)
Mohammad,
DeleteThank you very much for such detailed explanation. I should have mention in my original question that I already have a couple RF603 and RF602 Nikon version. If I understand correctly:
In setup 2, I need ONE more RF603II Canon version if I want to work with my existing flashes and triggers, but no remote adjustment
In setup 3, I can get RF603II Nikon version triggers and replace my flashes with YN560III if I want to trigger and adjust flash power remotely, on both D600 and X-T1. Only downside is that on X-T1 it will not wake up the flash.
Xiaoli
Hi Xiaoli, sorry for the late reply, it was on hell of a day at work.
DeleteLet me assume something first: your RF603 can trigger the RF602. If so, then here's the answer:
In setup 2 you are absolutely correct.
In setup 3, you won't need RF603 triggers if you're going to replace your flashes with 560III. The 560III flashes have a built-in wireless receiver that can be triggered by RF602/RF603/560TX. So you will replace your flashes with 560III flashes, and buy a 560TX Nikon version, and you can trigger and control your flashes remotely from either the D600 or the X-T1. And you can wake up the flashes using the X-T1 by shooting a picture instead of half pressing the shutter.
In setup 3, if you want to trigger other flashes than the 560III without remote power adjustment, you can use any RF603 on the flash.
Is it clear now?
Hi Mohammad,
DeleteSorry for the late reply. Thanks for the explanation. It is clear now.
Xiaoli
Hi Mohammad,
ReplyDeleteI was wondering whether you had to modify the Yongnuo 560-TX to shoot with Olympus. I ask because I shoot with an Olympus E-M1 and am shopping for Speedlights and Triggers right now. I am considering this set up. Please let me know.
Thank you,
Patrick
Hi Patrick,
DeleteNo need to modify the 560-TX. I bought the Canon version, and it works brilliantly. The only thing is that when the flashes go to sleep mode (which can by the be configured to last for a long time or not sleep at all), you will have to take one picture (or press the test button on the 560-TX) to wake up the flashes.
Thanks for your reply. I ordered one plus 3 YN560 IIIs. I'll let you know how it all turns out. Thanks for your info. It was instrumental to my purchase decision. :-)
DeleteIs this flash possible to use on the A6000 ? And if yes, will TTL work?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Magnus (that just bought a A6000).
Yes the TX works on A6000, just don't push in too far (note though that is just a trigger, it doesn't have a built in flash). But no, it does not support Sony (or any other) TTL signals (neither do the 560 iii speedlights). But if you want to go Strobist style, with manual control of off-camera flash, then you can buy one TX, and 3 or 4 560iii's for the price of one Sony TTL flash.
DeleteI concur with the advice given by our friend above. As for TTL vs. manual, in my opinion TTL is more useful for event photography (weddings, etc.). For setup shots (portraits, etc.), manual is more predictable. Even though the 560TX doesn't have TTL capability, I usually use multiple flash with setup shots, where I would use manual anyway.
DeleteAn inexpensive alternative is to get one TTL flash for the a6000 (with bounce and rotation capability) for event photography, then use the TX and a few 560III or IV flashes for setup shots. It is much more economical than building a wireless TTL system with several TTL flashes (considering the cost of a TTL flash and a wireless TTL trigger).
Best regards,
Mic
This a great post. I have been using the 560 TX and am loving it. Do you know if it is possible to use it to disable groups besides walking over to the flash units to switch them off?
ReplyDeleteThank you. You can disable flash groups by selecting the flash group and pressing the "Mode" button until it shows two dashes "--". Now that group won't fire.
DeleteEnjoy your 560 TX. :-)
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteI am taking pictures at basketball games using a TX-560 on camera, and firing one YN-560iii and two YN-560iv’s remotely. It works great. What I want to do is fire another camera remotely when I press my shutter on my main hand held camera. I also have two RF-603Nii’s. I thought if I put one of these on the remote camera in TRX mode with a shutter release cord to the shutter release port that it would work. It did not. The shutter would not fire. I also tried using an RF-603Nii in the hot shoe of the handheld camera in place of the TX-560, but that did not fire the shutter either. If I press the button on RF-603Nii, the remote camera does fire. I did see one thread somewhere that seemed to indicate that the remote shutter and remote flash trigger functions are wired separately?
Is there any way with Yongnuo equipment where I can fire both a remote camera and remote flashes by pressing the shutter on my main camera? Thanks for any help anyone can provide.
First of all, I am sorry for the delayed posting of your comment, it was mingled by the spam filter.
DeleteSecondly, the way you describe how you set up your triggers is correct, but ... you have to set the RF603 on the camera that you want to be triggered to RX mode, not TX, that way, it shall receieve the signal and fire the camera through the shutter release cable.
If it doesn't work that way, then maybe the reason is the Nikon version of the RF603 is different. I am using the Canon version and I can trigger as many cameras as I want as long as I have the release cables connected.
But before we jump to that, here's what you shall do:
1- make sure that the 560TX and your remote flashes are all using the (RF603) triggering mode, and not set to the (RF602) triggering mode. You can find it in the custom functions of the flash/trigger.
2- make sure they are all set to the same channel. I know, you are sure, but just double check to rule this out.
3- using the same setup you described, change the RF603 to RX mode, now it should light up when you fire the main camera or press the test button on the 560TX. If yes, then the cable shall fire the camera immediately.
4- if it still doesn't work, then there is a dumb solution, but it should work. Put the RF603 on the main camera on TRX mode, and make sure it triggers all the other flashes and the 560TX. Then put the 560TX on the remote camera and connect the shutter release cable from the 560TX (little rubber flap on the side) to your camera. It should work, but you will lose the ability to change the flash settings from the main camera.
5- if for some reason, step 3 doesn't work and step 4 does, then I suggest you try out a canon version of the trigger.
I hope that helps.
Thanks very much for your reply. To be clear, I am using the second version of the RF603. I tried all of the steps that you so graciously listed out for me, and I still can't get the second camera to fire when firing the first camera. From my testing, it seems to me that with the RF603ii, the test button on it is only a shutter release, and the hot shoe only triggers flashes. I was surprised to learn from what you posted that the TX-560 can be used as a receiver to fire a shutter. It would still only work when pressing the button on the RF603, and not when the RF603 was in the camera hot shoe and the shutter was pressed.
DeleteYou're welcome. It seems to me from what you're saying that everything is working as expected, except that the RF603 NII doesn't trigger the camera's shutter when on the remote camera as a reciever, and doesn't trigger the 560TX when set as a transmitter on the main camera, but the 560TX can trigger the camera shutter when you press the button on the RF603.
DeleteCan you tell me what cameras are you using? Please check the following:
1. Does pressing the test button on the 560TX or releasing the camera shutter where the 560TX is mounted cause the RF603 LED to light up when not mounted to a camera and set as Rx?
2. The answer ahould be yes, and if so, then the RF603 is receiving the signal correctly, and should trigger the remote camera once connected to the cable (please try it first without putting the RF603 in the hotshoe).
3. If the RF603 LED lights up, but the cable doesn't trigger the remote camera, then I would doubt that the cable release port on the RF603 is defective, or the cable itself is defective.
4. Now let us test it the other way around, with the 560TX as a shutter release for the remote camera. You say that pressing the button on the RF603 will trigger the 560TX, but not from the hotshoe. If so, then I would doubt that there is an incompatability between the RF603 and the camera itself (seems you're not using a Nikon camera), thus you ahve to either get the Canon version (test it out first), or check if there's a modification for your RF603 IIN to work with the hotshoe of non-Nikon cameras.
Please let me know what happens.
I found this modification to modify one of the RF603s to be a permanent transmitter, which it can then trigger any RF603 even without being connected to the camera. The modification is extremely simple and shown in this youtube video: Yongnuo RF603 Sony Mod (jump to 6 minutes to see the modification). I would hesitate to test this, but please let me know what you find first.
Deletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iiy4zGEt5xU
Thanks again. I did find the following thread which seems to explain things and provide a potential workaround.
Deletehttp://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3719288?page=1
I checked the post and it seems v2 adds a bit more complication. Please let us know when you find a solution.
DeleteThanks.