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Comparison to YN560 (mk I), Canon 580EX II,
EDIT: A problem that I didn’t experience at first – while the LCD screen is bright and easy to read in most situations (looking straight at it), I found out that it’s not so easy to read from other angles. For example, if you put it on an umbrella swivel (for an umbrella, beauty dish, softbox, etc..) and have it angled it can be impossible to read. If tilted 90 degrees forward, it appears as if everything lights up on it (the LCD screen uses something similar to a digital alarm clock – so it looks like “1/188” which allows the “88” to light up certain parts to form different numbers. So it could be 1/1, 1/2.. 1/16, 1/32, 1/64, 1/128) Again, the problem is that at odd angles (like 90 degrees forward) it appears as “1/188” instead of what the actual power is. On the other hand, tilting it 90 degrees backwards it will look blank.. so the viewing angle isn’t great and creates some readability issues. Another example is if it’s sitting lower to the ground and you’re looking at it from a standing height it will appear blank. You need to bend down and look at a better angle to see the actual power. This could be considered a big downfall for some and does show that there is an advantage to the original YN560’s LED system.
For comparison, the Canon 580EXII does have a similar issue but not nearly as bad. Tilting it 90 degrees forward it is still easily readable.
Over the last couple years, YONGNUO has made a name for themselves in the photography world. They’ve released some very nice, high quality alternatives to the “name brand” products out there as VERY nice prices. One of their better lines of items are their Speedlites (portable flashes).
I own and use many of their Speedlites – the YN460, YN460-II, YN465, YN560 and now the YN560II. I’ve used them for years and they all still work perfectly (the only issue was with a YN560 (original) that arrived with a broken zoom). For the prices they sell for, I find them to be very reliable. I have dropped them onto concrete from small heights (2-3 feet) and they continued to work fine.
Owning several of these, I’d like to compare them for anyone who was in the same situation as I was when looking for a flash. For the record, these units were purchased for:
YN560 – 70 bucks
YN560II – 100 bucks (NOTE: That was the price from a US Seller. From China they can be found for about 70 bucks, the same as the YN560)
580EXII – 500 bucks
Design:
Right off the bat, all 3 pretty much look the exact same. YONGNUO basically made a copy of the 580EXII mold (right down to including fake buttons on the sides which are REAL buttons on the 580EXII). The nice thing about this is that it means all accessories designed to fit the Canon 580EXII will work just fine with the Yongnuo YN560 (and 560II).
The obvious difference is the back of the flash. The original YN560 uses a LED system to indicate the power and zoom range – this means if 1 LED is lit, it’s 1/128 power.. if 2 are lit, it’s 1/64.. 1/32.. 1/16.. 1/8.. 1/4.. 1/2.. 1/1. This makes it easy to glance at from a distance and see “All the lights are lit, it’s full power” opposed to an LCD screen which can be tough to read in the dark or from a distance.
LCD/Back display:
The YN560II and 580EXII use an LCD screen which tells you the actual power: 1/1, 1/2, 1/4, etc..
The better option for back display (LCD vs. LED Lights) comes down to preference – I have no issues with either. Both LCD screens (YN560II and 580EXII) have a backlight option – the Canon 580EXII has a specific “light” button which will turn the backlight (green) on for a few seconds. The YN560II will automatically turn the backlight (red/orange) on whenever any button is pressed. I like the YN560II’s method as you can easily see the information no matter wherever you are when adjusting power – lit or dark areas (with the 580EXII you need to press the light button to see the light – so if you’re in a dark area and changing power, you need to press the LIGHT then change the power (or vice versa) to see what level it’s at – the YN560II will light up as soon as you start adjusting the power). The YN560II does not, however, have a dedicated LIGHT button but you can press any button (even the “enter” button which won’t have any effect on the settings) to turn on the light for a few seconds.
The LCD screen on the YN560II is much more basic. You get the MODE you’re in (M/S1/S2/MULTI (more on these later), the power (1/1, 1/2, 1/4…), the zoom level (24mm, 28mm, 35mm, etc..), the AUDIO indicator (more on this later..) and some others which will come on from time to time. One of the most helpful is the LOW BATTERY icon – unfortunately it doesn’t give a constant indicator of battery life, only when it’s “low”. The 580EXII, on the other hand, has the same information but it’s laid out in a much nicer presentation.
I will say that I prefer the YN560II LCD somewhat as everything is…
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|Works like a champ!! Canon 5d mark iii + remote trigger,
Short and sweet.
Low price (Canon can kiss my butt)
It came
It works
It’s durable
Simple to use
Work with my Canon 5d Mark iii
Works with my cheapo cowboy studios remote triggers
Nice case
Great recycle time
Works with rechargeable batteries
It’s 8x cheaper than Canon…enough said!!
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|Significant variance in color,
I bought one unit to try it out, and it worked great. So I bought two more. They all work great, well built, reliable. If you configure it correctly per the manual it does not time out. Very happy with the units except last night I discovered an odd color when I was using two Yongnuos with my Elinchrom studio flash in a three flash setup. I lit a model with the key light being a Yongnuo through a softbox, the Elinchrom providing fill, and another snooted Yongnuo lighting the background.
The Elinchrom fill provided nice, vibrant color in the model’s blonde hair. The Yongnuo key light created an odd, muted cast in her hair that was very muddy and unattractive. One half of her face looked great and the other half looked terrible. This is the first time I noticed it so I decided to do a color comparison between my six flashes (Two Canons, three Yongnuo’s and a studio unit). I shot an Xrite colorchecker chart with each flash using the same exposure (measured by the histogram as the each unit’s power output is slightly different). I then loaded the photograph in Photoshop and used the eyedropper tool to extract the RGB values of the white square for a very accurate, numerical comparison.
Interestingly enough, one of the Yongnuos provided a color balance that almost exactly matched my studio flash. The other two were SIGNIFICANTLY bluer which explains the muddy look in the model’s hair on the Yongnuo side. The two Canon flashes (a 580 EX II and 430 EX II) were almost exactly the same with each other, and very slightly cooler than the Elinchrom. I attached a 1/4 CTO gel to the two very blue Yongnuos and remeasured. One of the two now almost exactly matches my two Canon’s and the other is slightly warmer. I am much happier now as all my flashes are now close enough in color balance to each other to not be noticeable if I combine them in a shot – but I have to keep the gels on them permanently. Adjusting the power will probably change the color balance (more light through a gel reduces the color it gives the light), so I will need to remember which flashes I use for what purpose in a shoot, and try not to mix them where it will be noticeable.
Bottom line: What you pay for in the more expensive Canon’s are matched and uniform color balance. Although the Yongnuo’s are reliable, the money savings show in the unmatched and very different color balance between units. If you only use a single flash the impact will not be noticeable as there will not be a color mismatch. Fixing a color mismatch in post is difficult and time consuming at best.
For those that are interested, here are the results of the tests:
Elinchrom:
R:187
G:187
B:185 (Note how balanced the color is – the values are almost exactly the same)
Canon 580 EX II
R:190
G:195
B:198 (Note that is a touch cooler than the Elinchrom, but not by a whole lot. Probably hard to notice in a photograph. Also not as beautifully balanced as the Elinchrom)
Canon 430 EX II
R:190
G:195
B:197 (Notice how amazingly close the two Canons are to each other)
Yongnuo 1
R: 187
G: 188
B: 184 (Surprisingly well balanced. Better than both the Canons in fact. Also very close to the Elinchrom – this is VERY good and it needs no gelling. Will always use it with the Elinchrom)
Yongnuo 2
R: 178
G: 186
B: 200 (Terrible balance – the spread between the numbers R,G,B. MUCH cooler than anything else. This creates the muddy color). Can’t use it in combination with other flashes in the same shot
Yongnuo 3
R: 194
G: 201
B: 215 (Terrible balance. significantly cooler than anything else) Can’t use it in combination with other flashes in the same shot
After adding the 1/4 CTO gels to units #2 and #3, here are the results
Yongnuo 2 + 1/4 CTO
R: 189
G: 192
B: 182 (Much closer to the other flashes now, but slightly warmer)
Yongnuo 3 + 1/4 CTO
R: 190
G: 194
B: 192 (Very close to the Canons now, I can combine it with the two Canons if I need three strobes for a shot without getting a noticeable color mismatch)
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|Hands down, a GREAT Investment!,
This flash is excellent for SO MANY REASONS! If you are just beginning in photography, you should check out this flash. If you are a pro and you need either a back-up, a slave, something to experiment with, and/or if you love to work in manual, you should check out this flash. Yes, it doesn’t have any automatic functions, but for the price to feature ratio, you get more than enough to up your game with flash photography.
I have been shooting as a pro for about 2 years now. Before that, when photography was just a hobby, my first flash was the Canon Speedlite 270EX Flash for Canon Digital SLR Cameras. Even though it helped, it was not by much however, my knowledge of strobist photography was non-existent at the time. After a while, I graduated to the Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash for Canon EOS Digital SLR Cameras. When I got the 580EX II, I realized that I missed out on sooooo much just shooting with the 270EX. In addition, I ended up getting a Canon 430EX II Flash and the Speedliter’s Handbook: Learning to Craft Light with Canon Speedlites. After studying this book, my photography has not been the same since.
Even though I love my 580 & 430, I could not afford to buy 2 or 3 more of those flashes and even if a miracle happened, how much harder would it be for me to replace those flashes if one or more is lost or damaged. So I did my research and came upon the original YN560. For a cheap flash, it had the best reviews I came across, especially for a flash under $100. I was skeptical at first because I was so used to Canon equipment, however, I thought $70 couldn’t hurt me tooo bad. When I finally got one I was COMPLETELY BLOWN AWAY!!!!! This is EXACTLY what I needed as a slave only flash! The build quality is similar to the 580, they take the same accessories, and it is just as powerful as the 580. I bought a second one that same day.
2 years after using the original YN560s, I saw that Yongnuo came out with the YN560III, which has a built-it receiver for the YN602/603 triggers! At one time, this flash wasn’t in stock for almost 2 months because they were selling out SO FAST! As soon as they were available, I purchased as many as I could since demand was and still is crazy for this flash.
If you are a pro looking for a cheap flash, here are my reasons why I would recommend this flash to you:
1. YN560III has a built in radio trigger, which adds a crazy amount of convenience to your workflow!
2. YN560III has also 2 built in optical slaves modes, 580 has one but is limited to work with canon flashes only.
3. Cheaper to replace & add additional flashes.
4. Provides a sound when the flash has charged to fire again.
5. Similar build quality as the 580.
6. Accepts the same accessories as the 580.
7. Just as powerful as the 580.
If you are a beginner, and/or someone who is considering the cheap route when it comes to buying your first flash:
1. Built-In Radio Receiver.
2. The YN560III can be triggered by ANY on-camera flash, whether you have a professional camera or a simple point-and-shoot camera. Unless you have a Canon 7D or newer with a pop-up flash, triggering most of Canon’s flashes have complex limitations.
3. Price to feature ratio.
4. Pretty much the same reasons why a pro would buy this flash!
If you are a beginner and are not aware of the 580EX II, it is a very good old school Canon flash. Take away the automatic functions and the weather sealing, you pretty much have the YN560III. If you are a pro, yet again, the YN560III is just a cheaper and manual-only version of the 580 (With a Built-In radio receiver!).
Also, as a comparison to Canon’s new flagship model flash, the Canon 600EX-RT Speedlite Flash (Black), you can purchase 5 YN560IIIs plus a set of Yongnuo RF-603 C3 2.4GHz Wireless Flash Trigger/Wireless Shutter Release Transceiver Kit for Canon 1D/5D/7D/50D/40D/30D/20D/10D Series for the price of only ONE of Canon’s own built-in radio flashes! Having an automatic flash with a built-in radio triggering system is AWESOME I must say however, you WILL PAY a large sum for Canon’s system. Pretty much, five…
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|Great performance for the price, thus far,
I got this in the mail just this morning as a second strobe to my Nikon SB-700 AF Speedlight Flash for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras. I don’t need the TTL functionality of the Yongnuo YN-565EX ETTL Speedlite Flash for Nikon, so despite the fact that there were no reviews for this model, I took a chance because it syncs directly with the Yongnuo RF-603 N3 2.4GHz Wireless Flash Trigger/Wireless Shutter Release Transceiver Kit for Nikon D90/D3100/D5000/D7000 which I already own. I am not usually an “early adopter,” but I have seen many, many reviews for previous versions of the YN-560 and YN-565, so I am fairly confident in its quality.
For practice, I set up the YN 560 III as my key light triggered with my RF-603. I put my Nikon SB-700 in slave mode as my fill light, triggering it when the key light fired. It worked perfectly. I also put the YN560 III into slave mode and triggered my SB-700 with my RF-603. The YN560 fired as expected. I was considering buying another set of RF-603s, but this strobe eliminates that as an option. With either of these setups, the strobes are full manual mode only, but for an amateur photographer just getting into flash photography this worked well for me.
I’ll update if I have any issues.
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|Amazed! EDIT: Not anymore :/,
First off, I am a professional photographer for the last 7 years. I’ve been working with Canon only equipment but in this economy the opportunity to get a flash for a fraction of the original Canon was too tempting to pass by….and I am amazed at how well this flash works right out of the box.
So far I’ve used it in a studio setting as a backlight (slave, with a little octabox attached to it) and it worked like a charm. Full output is fantastic for bigger events. With the Yongnuo wireless transmitter this is amazing for fashion shoots on location, headshots etc. As a lightstand, I’m using my Manfrotto tripod, works like a charm as well.
If you understand how to model your light and shoot in manual you get an amazing flash for a great value. I’m about to order 2 more for on location lighting.
Also props to the shipper, product came well packaged 20 days earlier than expected!! That’s service!
EDIT 7/12/13
Unfortunately the flash suddenly stopped working in the middle of a shoot. Suspecting the batteries at first I tried 3 different batches and then called the company to get a replacement. Now I have to pay for the return shipping cost to have a new one send to me… Let’s hope that doesn’t happen every 4 weeks… 2 Stars of the original review.
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