Re: Yongnuo YN-560 Mkii further investigation results
Paul, as suggested elsewhere The Speedliter's Handbook by Syl Arena is a must-read publication for the aspiring flash user, it guides you from first principals to deviance s techniques.
When considering the third party 'guns such as the two Yongnuo units you mentioned, do remember that the 560 is completely manual whereas the 565 is automatic and the 568 is automatic with a few bells and whistles. A 560 wirelessly triggered (whether optical or radio) is still a manual gun.
You need to think of the gun and trigger as two separate items, the gun itself will be either manually set or automatically set by the camera depending on the model chosen. Then you think about triggering it off-camera, by a cord, optically, or by radio. The 560, 565, or 568 will all optically trigger without any modification or additional hardware in manual mode (slave mode).
The 565/568 will also optically trigger in automatic exposure mode when using a compatible camera (7D, 60D, 5D etc.) or an optical-wireless master flash (580 or 600).
The radio trigger (such as the 622c) doesn't really offer much advantage with the manual 560 (except to eliminate the small, but significant lighting effect of the on camera master triggering gun), but with the automatic 565/568 guns the radio trigger offers a wealth of configuration options which aren't available using optical triggering.
Under controlled scenarios such as water drop photography, the manual guns are more than adequate, but in dynamic scenarios such as the grand kids automatic exposure can be a real boom. If you already have two auto guns then there's an argument that two more manual only guns would be fine, but it's really down to how you'd use the extra guns. The ideal situation would be four fully auto guns, radio triggers, and one of the latest cameras with 5-group flash control, but of course that's also the most expensive option. However, in the real world where money is important, if you're thinking of portraiture under studio conditions then manual guns (for background and rim lighting for example) would be perfect, with the auto guns as key lights. If you're doing event photography and use the two manual guns for background lighting, then again that's perfect. If you're intending to use soft boxes, remote flash locations, high-speed sync, or daylight multi-flash set ups then the radio triggers are essential though. Also remember that Canon's flash settings on all but the latest camera models only allows control of two flash groups, plus limited control of a third.
At the end of the day, it's all down to how you're intending to use the guns and your budget as to how you spend your money. One thing I would say is that whilst you can cheaply add to the radio triggers (you can buy them singly, in pairs, three, or four at a time), once you've bought a manual gun, you're stuck with a manual gun.
Hope that helps and doesn't confuse you!
Originally posted by pelliott1954
View Post
When considering the third party 'guns such as the two Yongnuo units you mentioned, do remember that the 560 is completely manual whereas the 565 is automatic and the 568 is automatic with a few bells and whistles. A 560 wirelessly triggered (whether optical or radio) is still a manual gun.
You need to think of the gun and trigger as two separate items, the gun itself will be either manually set or automatically set by the camera depending on the model chosen. Then you think about triggering it off-camera, by a cord, optically, or by radio. The 560, 565, or 568 will all optically trigger without any modification or additional hardware in manual mode (slave mode).
The 565/568 will also optically trigger in automatic exposure mode when using a compatible camera (7D, 60D, 5D etc.) or an optical-wireless master flash (580 or 600).
The radio trigger (such as the 622c) doesn't really offer much advantage with the manual 560 (except to eliminate the small, but significant lighting effect of the on camera master triggering gun), but with the automatic 565/568 guns the radio trigger offers a wealth of configuration options which aren't available using optical triggering.
Under controlled scenarios such as water drop photography, the manual guns are more than adequate, but in dynamic scenarios such as the grand kids automatic exposure can be a real boom. If you already have two auto guns then there's an argument that two more manual only guns would be fine, but it's really down to how you'd use the extra guns. The ideal situation would be four fully auto guns, radio triggers, and one of the latest cameras with 5-group flash control, but of course that's also the most expensive option. However, in the real world where money is important, if you're thinking of portraiture under studio conditions then manual guns (for background and rim lighting for example) would be perfect, with the auto guns as key lights. If you're doing event photography and use the two manual guns for background lighting, then again that's perfect. If you're intending to use soft boxes, remote flash locations, high-speed sync, or daylight multi-flash set ups then the radio triggers are essential though. Also remember that Canon's flash settings on all but the latest camera models only allows control of two flash groups, plus limited control of a third.
At the end of the day, it's all down to how you're intending to use the guns and your budget as to how you spend your money. One thing I would say is that whilst you can cheaply add to the radio triggers (you can buy them singly, in pairs, three, or four at a time), once you've bought a manual gun, you're stuck with a manual gun.
Hope that helps and doesn't confuse you!
Comment