Yongnuo YN-560EX (EX600) Review

This is a follow up to my preliminary review of the Yongnuo YN-560EX.  For convenience, I'm going to incorporate the information on the previous review in this one, so this will be the main resource page for the 560EX.

ABOUT THE YONGNUO YN-560EX
The YN-560EX (formerly EX600) is a manual flash but can act as a wireless TTL slave via Canon or Nikon's wireless flash commanders (yes it is cross-compatible with Canon and Nikon).  I was excited about this model because it's only $109.99, less than the YN-565EX (which has wireless TTL as well as on-camera TTL and costs around $160 for the Nikon version).  It is one of the cheapest wireless TTL flashes available.  (At the end of this article I will post other wireless TTL alternatives.)

The YN-560EX should not be mistaken with its similarly-named predecessors, the YN-560 (a purely manual flash) and the YN-560II (an updated version of the YN-560, also purely manual).  The 560EX was previously known as the EX600 but its name was finalized as the 560EX.



YONGNUO'S FLASH LINEUP
Here's a brief comparison with the other current flashes in Yongnuo's lineup:

• YN-560 - Manual only flash.  Simple interface.   Compatible with external power pack.
• YN-560II - Manual only flash.  LCD interface.   Compatible with external power pack.
• YN-465 - TTL flash (Canon or Nikon version available).  No optical slave, no zoom.
• YN-467 - TTL flash  (Canon or Nikon version available) with built-in optical slave and zoom.
• YN-467II - update of YN-467.  Adds metal foot, PC port and improved buttons and battery compartment.
• YN-468 - Similar to YN-467 but adds stroboscopic mode and LCD display.
• YN-468II - update of YN-468.   Adds metal foot, PC port and improved buttons and battery compartment.
• YN-460RX and TX - manual flash with Yongnuo's built-in radio-based wireless TTL system.
• YN-560EX (formerly EX600) - When mounted on-camera, it is a manual only flash.  However, as a wireless flash it is capable of TTL with either a Canon or Nikon commander.
• YN-565EX - When mounted on-camera, it is a TTL flash (Nikon or Canon but not both).  Like the 560EX, it is capable of TTL as a wireless flash with either a Canon or Nikon commander.  Compatible with external power pack.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX

I ordered my 560EX on eBay from seller thephotogadget.  Three days after I ordered it, it was shipped out from Shanghai, then I received it just 10 days later.  It arrived in a package with bubble wrap around the 560EX's box.

The box contained the flash itself, a ballistic nylon case, a flash stand, an instruction manual in Chinese and English, and a brochure describing Yongnuo's flashes.  The case is handsome and includes a pocket for the included flash stand.  However, the material is thinner than similar cases for the Nikon SB-800 or SB-600.  The velcro is also kind of weak.  If held upside down and shaken, the case could open and your flash could drop.

The flash stand accommodates the standard ISO foot and has a receptacle for a locking pin.  There is a 1/4-20 socket at the bottom for mounting on a tripod or light stand.  However the socket is plastic.

THE 560EX BODY

The 560EX seems to take its design cues from Canon's 580EX, although it's not likely one will be confused with the other. 

Optical sensor on top; ready light indicator on the bottom

The front of the flash has a large red window.  In Canon and Nikon flashes, this red window is used for AF assist.  In the 560EX, the red window covers a "ready lamp" that pulses to indicate the flash is ready when it is being used as a slave.  Above the red window is an opaque cover that houses the 560EX's optical sensor for the wireless slave function.

At the back of the flash, there is a large LCD panel, unlike the YN-560 which had a simple panel with LED lights.

560EX and 560 comparison of interfaces and head rotation

In terms of size, the 560EX is about the same size as the YN-560.

Nikon SB-800, YN-560EX, YN-560

Nikon SB-800, YN-560EX, YN-560

The 560EX build quality seems about the same as the YN-560, but the LCD screen makes it look more polished.  The buttons are also different from the YN-560 and are hard plastic instead of squishy rubber, another improvement.  The hotshoe is mostly metal but the middle is plastic.  It is probably plastic to avoid activating the TTL contacts of a hotshoe.  There is a collar around the foot, and when the collar is rotated, it brings down the locking pin.  The 560EX doesn't look cheap at all.

On one side of the flash is the battery compartment with a spring-loaded battery cover with a hinge, so it will never get lost.  The battery chamber has a clear label to show the polarity of the batteries.  The other side of the flash has a rubber-covered port that covers a 2.5mm (not 3.5mm) miniplug sync port.  There is no port for an external battery.

Spring-loaded battery cover

The 560EX's head rotates 180 degrees in both directions, and has a vertical bounce angle of -7 degrees to 90 degrees.  The head has a built-in diffuser and catchlight reflector.  When the diffuser is pulled out, the zoom does not change.

OPERATING THE FLASH

By default, turning the flash on or off requires the power button to be held down for about 4 or 5 seconds while the LCD shows some simple animation.  If the power button is released before that time, it won't work.  Fortunately there is an option for 'quick startup/shutdown'.  If that option is activated, then pressing the power button immediately turns the flash on or off.

The 560EX has a simple and intuitive interface:

From L to R: Optical slave mode (S2 looks similar), Manual on-camera mode, Stroboscopic mode, Wireless Nikon mode (Wireless Canon mode looks similar)

The first button is for the backlight and sound.  Pressing the button activates the backlight.  If it is held down, then the sound will toggle on or off.

The second button is the mode, which cycles from Slave 1 (simple manual optical slave) --> Slave 2 (optical slave with delay) --> on-camera manual flash --> stroboscopic mode --> Canon wireless --> Nikon wireless --> Slave 1.

In Slave 1, Slave 2, manual flash, and stroboscopic modes, you can select the power level and the zoom.  To select the power level, you press the directional pad.  Pressing left or right adjusts the power down or up by a full stop.  Pressing up or down adjusts the power up or down in increments.  By default the increments are 0.3, 0.5 and 0.7.  There is an option to change the increments as discussed below.  In stroboscopic mode, you can only adjust power in full stops (incremental power changes are not available).

To change the zoom, you just press the zoom button which cycles from 24mm --> 28mm --> 35mm --> 50mm --> 70mm --> 80mm --> 105mm --> 24mm.

In stroboscopic mode, you specify the number of times the 560EX will flash and the frequency of the flashes.  The number of flashes is anywhere from 0 to 70 (however from 20 to 50 times, the number changes by 5, and from 50 to 70 times the number changes by 10).  The maximum number depends on the power level selected.  At 1/4 power, the maximum number of flashes is 3.  At 1/128 power, the maximum is 70.  Adjusting the power level upward automatically decreases the number of flashes to the maximum.  The frequency is anywhere from 1 to 100 hertz (cycles per second).  The frequency is not affected by power level.  As with the number of flashes, the number changes by 5 above 20hz, and changes by 10 above 50hz).

In the Canon and Nikon wireless modes, you can change the channel (1 to 4) by pressing the channel button, and/or group (A, B or C) by pressing both mode and channel at the same time, as clearly labeled by the buttons.  This simple interface is a huge improvement over the YN-565EX which was much less intuitive.  As with the other modes, you can also change the zoom.  Changing the power level or flash exposure mode (TTL or manual) is of course done through the commander.

There is a pilot light / test button left of the directional pad.  It glows green when the flash is recycling and then red when the flash is ready.  You can press the button to fire a test.

As mentioned, the flash has some options available.  Holding down the zoom button activates the options menu.  Pressing up and down cycles through the 5 available options, while pressing left or right cycles between the parameters for each option, and pressing the middle button on the directional pad exits the option menu:
-

Options mode.  Maximum vertical (bounce) angle also shown.

1. Power saving in non-slave mode ("SE Sd").  It will show 2 numbers.  The first number is the number of minutes before the flash enters a standby mode.  At "--" the flash doesn't standby.  The second number is the number of minutes before the flash automatically shuts down.  Available choices are: (3 30, 15 60, 30 120, -- 120).

2. Power saving in slave mode ("Sd").  30 mins or 60 mins.

3. Power level increments ("Inc"). 0.3 stops, 0.5 stops, or 0.3/0.5/0.7.

4. Backlight time ("lcd").  7, 15, or 30 seconds.

5. Quick startup or shutdown ("qu"). On or off.

Power (Guide Number)

To test the 'real' guide number of the 560EX, I attached it to a lightstand, outdoors, away from a bounce surface.  I positioned the flashmeter (a Paul Buff CyberCommander) on an identical lightstand, and used a tape measure to position the flash 10 feet away from the flashmeter.  I triggered the 560EX by mounting it to an RF-603 trigger which was in turn connected to a Paul Buff CSRB+ receiver.  I used the flashmeter function of the CyberCommander at ISO 100, 1/250 sync. I took 3 measurements each at 35mm and 105mm zoom, waiting 30 seconds between firing.  I converted the f-stop to guide number using the information here.  For comparison, I did the same to an SB-800.

YN-560EX Results

35mm: 
test1: f/8 1/10 = GN of 82.8 feet
test2: f/8 0/10 = GN of 80 feet
test3: f/8 0/10 = GN of 80 feet
average GN = 80.93 feet = 24.67 meters.
105mm: 
test1: f/8 9/10  = GN of 109 feet
test2: f/11 0/10 = GN of 110 feet
test3: f/11 0/10 = GN of 110 feet
average GN = 109.67 feet = 33.43 meters.

Nikon SB-800 Results

35mm: 
test1: f/8 3/10 = GN of 88.8 feet
test2: f/8 2/10 = GN of 85.7 feet
test3: f/8 3/10 = GN of 88.8 feet
average GN = 87.77 feet = 26.75 meters.  At 35mm, the SB-800 is 2/10ths of a stop more powerful than the 560EX.
105mm: 
test1: f/11 2/10 = GN of 121 feet
test2: f/11 2/10 = GN of 121 feet
test3: f/11 2/10 = GN of 121 feet
average GN = 121 feet = 36.88 meters.  At 105mm, the SB-800 is about 3/10ths of a stop more powerful than the 560EX.

Note: speedlights.net publishes an extensive power comparison here.  To compare the data above with the speedlights.net power index: add 1 stop (I asked speedlights.net why they add 1 stop but I didn't get a reply).

Flash duration
Used an LX5 (which has a digital shutter therefore unlimited sync).  Killed ambient by setting exposure at ISO 80, f/8.  Started with a shutter speed of 1/125, then fired full power at progressively higher shutter speeds (allowing 30 secs recycle time) until there is noticeable drop in output.
Result: no reduction in flash exposure observed at speeds up to 1/640.  At 1/800 there was a slight reduction in flash exposure.  The flash duration at full power is therefore between 1/640 to 1/800.

Max Wireless sync speed
- S1: 1/8000 tested ok on Nikon D70 (manual external flash attached).
- S2: 1/2000 tested ok on Lumix LX5 (popup flash was on TTL mode).  Could not test higher speeds.
- Nikon wireless mode:
1/500 tested ok on D70.
1/250 tested ok on Fuji S5
1/200 tested ok on D90.
The 560EX wireless mode works at all Non-HSS shutter speeds tested, up to 1/500.

TTL comparison with SB-800.
-3, -2, -1, 0, +1, +2, +3 FEC
TBA

Recycling speed
Test: connected flash to camera, fired full power
Counted amount of time it took to fire 10 shots.  Got the average time.
Result: 25.6 seconds to fire 10 shots.  Average recycling speed: 2.6 seconds.  Please note that this needs to factor in my reaction time, which at 1:30am is not really very good.

Wireless compatibility:
The list below shows the commanders I tested.  For each commander, it shows the groups tested, channels tested, whether TTL worked (+1, 0 and -1 FEC), and whether wireless manual worked (tested 1/64, 1/16 and 1/4).

• D90 popup.  A ok. B not ok. / Channel 1-4 ok. / TTL ok / Manual ok.
• SB-800 on D90.  A,B,C ok. / 1-4 ok / TTL ok / Manual ok.
• Fuji S5 popup.  A,B ok. / 1-4 ok / TTL ok / Manual ok.
• D70 popup. A ok / 3 ok / TTL ok / Manual ok.

Wireless Accessories:
SG-3IR: tested ok with Nikon D70, Nikon D90, Fuji S5.
Aokatec AK-TTL wireless radio trigger: see Aokatec review.


OTHER THIRD PARTY WIRELESS TTL ALTERNATIVES
Other flashes you may want to check out:

• Yongnuo YN-565.  Same wireless capabilities as 560EX but in addition has TTL when mounted on-camera.
• Oloong SP-660.  Same wireless capabilities as 560EX.
• Oloong SP-690 II.  Claims to have both master and slave wireless modes.

Nissin and Metz also produce flashes with wireless capabilities, but for me the price difference between their flash and Nikon's flashes is not that significant.

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The Light Brigade: Multiple Speedlights vs. Studio Strobe

UPDATE: New test shots posted!


Into the valley of death rode the SB-600s...

I was almost ready to take the leap to get a studio strobe.  However, I kept thinking about the limited use I would have for it, given its bulk.  I tried to figure out whether it would be practical to use multiple speedlights instead of a single studio strobe.

Initially, it seems that it would take an inordinate number of speedlights to match the power of a studio strobe.  IIRC, David Hobby estimated that an Alien Bee B1600 with 640ws of power is equivalent to about ten SB-800 speedlights with around 60ws each.

On the other hand, I was only planning to get a B800, which rated at 320ws.  That would be around five speedlights.

And if we were willing to get 20% less power (about half a stop reduction), then four speedlights would theoretically suffice to get somewhat close to the output a medium-powered monobloc.  Interestingly, this site http://www.scantips.com/speed2.html says that behind an umbrella, an SB-800 speedlight (at 24mm zoom) has about 2 stops less power than an Alien Bee B800 studio strobe (with a 7-inch reflector).  To bring a speedlight up by 2 stops in power, we would need ... let's see... four speedlights!

Then last week, we also learned that calculating the combined GN of multiple speedlights (even of varying power) is fairly easy if you know how.  And at least on paper, four speedlights (SB-800, SB-26 and two SB-600s) can give a GN of about 220 feet, almost the same as an Alien Bee B1600 with a 7 inch reflector.

Four speedlights seems right at the edge of practicality (both use and cost).  I know three is commonly used by a number of pro photographers (such as in these great examples by Louis Pang and Syl Arena) so that's definitely possible.  Of course there's also Joe McNally with his Tree of Woe, and Archimedes with his mirrors, but I would venture to say that they're outliers.

Why go through the trouble of using multiple speedlights?  One advantage of having four speedlights instead of one studio strobe is that the four speedlights can be used separately if necessary.  That's one trick a monolight can't do. :)  Here are other potential advantages as described by David H.

BRACKET OPTIONS

One of the first issues we have to deal with when using 4 speedlights is how to mount them on a light stand.  There are a few bracket options in the market such as the Lightware Direct FourSquare and the aforementioned mod of the Brewer bracket.  

Here's a DIY version I made that I like better because it's a more compact arrangement of the 4 speedlights:

To put this together, you need two brackets like this.

You don't need the umbrella riser (as long as you have a way to keep the middle thumbscrew from moving around), so you can buy the $17 version. And if you have your own coldshoes or prefer to use your AS-19 stands, you can even get the $10 version that has only the bracket and thumbscrews.  In an emergency (like a sudden attack of cheapness), it's possible to use just one of these brackets plus some ball bungees, though there's a chance you could drop one or more of your flashes.

You also need a ballhead if you want to use the quad-flash with an umbrella bracket (so you can use an umbrella).    If you somehow want simply to blind your subject with bare quad-flash, you could skip the ballhead and just use the umbrella bracket to angle the quad-flash at 90 degrees.  (P.S. Remember to take your medication for miseritis).

I started assembling mine by mounting two flashes on the bracket, each at around a 30-degree angle.

I then placed the other two flashes between them, and bungied them up.  

If I had another bracket, at this point I would attach the second bracket to the first via the middle thumbscrew, then secure the latter two flashes to the second bracket.

Here are some more views of the assembled quad-flash:

The total weight of this quad-flash assembly, including the bracket and batteries is about 5 lbs. (of course this will vary with the types of flashes you have).

TRIGGERING OPTIONS

Another challenge when using quad-flash is how to trigger the flashes and if possible, remotely adjust them.  There are many ways of doing this, depending on what flashes you have and how much you're willing to pay.  Here are some possible arrangements:

1. If you have a commander flash and the flashes are slave-capable: trigger and remotely adjust them via your commander.
2. If one of the flashes is commander-capable and the others are slave-capable: use an extra-long TTL cord to control the commander flash while using the others as optical slaves.  This option works better for Canon if you have a flash that can be controlled by the camera's menu.  For Nikon, we're limited to using the FEC to adjust the whole group.
3. If all the flashes have TTL quench pins: use a Radiopopper JrX Studio to trigger and remotely adjust them in manual mode.  You don't have to buy 4 JrX Studio receivers.  Instead, just buy one JrX Studio receiver, then daisy-chain these RP Cube substitutes by ebay seller bufo1955.

POWER COMPARISON (IRL)

Barely a week after I got two more flashes for this quad-flash arrangement, guess what happened?  I came across a really good deal for an Alien Bee B1600.  As an Asian guy who can't pass a deal like that, I snapped it up.  So how does the power of the quad-flash compare with that of a B1600 with a 7-inch reflector?  I took shots of a brick wall at 10 ft, f/22, at 1/250 (yes, people, besides being reduced to a gear collector, I am now shooting brick walls! :) ).

I took the shots outdoors so there was no chance for any extraneous bounce.  The B1600 was triggered with an MK-RC7 (1st generation) radio trigger.  The quad-flash was triggered with a TTL cord to the SB-800, and the TTL cord was daisy-chained with AS-E900s for each of the other cameras.

Here are the unedited JPEGs straight out of the camera:

B1600, f/22, 1/250, 1/100, 10 ft from wall

Quad-flash, f/22, 1/250, ISO 100, 10 ft from wall

Note that the color temperature of the quad-flash shot is warmer.  That's because in the case of the B1600, the camera did not know that there was a flash being triggered (the radio trigger is completely manual).  In the case of the quad-flash, the camera was connected via TTL cord to an SB-800, therefore the camera was aware that there was a flash, and in Nikon's system, the camera corrects for the flash's color temperature (in fact, in the case of the SB-900, the camera can correct even for the use of gels if you use the official Nikon gels).

MODIFIERS
With this quad-flash, your choice of modifiers will be more limited than either with a single speedlight or with a studio strobe.  You could use:

• a scrim/diffusion panel
• an umbrella (however, very small umbrellas may lead to excess spill)
• possibly a softbox - a Westcott Apollo, due to its unique configuration, may be usable with this quad-flash, except that the flash heads would be set to their 0 degree position (instead of 90 degree position).
• bounce from a reflector or other surface.

CONCLUSION

Given the power discrepancy, the cost of multiple speedlights, potential challenges in controlling the flashes, is it worth using a quad-flash instead of a monolight?  To help you answer that I will be discussing using the studio strobe from a family photographer's perspective.

RELATED POSTS

1. Intro to Studio Strobes
2. Are you ready for AlienBees?

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Right-Brained Guide to Combining the Guide Number of Multiple Flashes

What's the guide number of two identical flashes?  That's easy enough.  It's about 1.4 times the guide number of one flash.  But what if you need to know the combined guide number of several different flashes with different guide numbers?  That's easy too -- just count the photons.  (I'm just half-kidding.)

If you have two or more speedlights or are thinking of getting a few, and you'd like to know what the combined guide number is supposed to be, I promise that no matter how much you may hate math, you'll be able to calculate it using a regular (not scientific) calculator after the jump.  I'll also promise to use a common sense approach and keep the math minimal.

BACKSTORY
Last week, I posted about studio strobes and although I know that studio strobes are more cost-effective when it comes to sheer power, I still want the versatility of using multiple speedlights (hotshoe flash).  I decided to add a couple of flashes to my gear - an SB-26 and another SB-600, with the thought of getting a studio strobe later if I find it absolutely necessary.  (The SB-600 was hard for me to swallow because I had purchased an extra brand new one a few months ago but returned it unused and now I bought a used one at the same price... argh!)

Guide Number - A Review

The guide number (GN) of a flash is a measure of its light output, especially for speedlights (not so much studio strobes due to other variables).  It's not an arbitrary number.  Rather this meaningful measurement can tell you the distance that the flash can adequately illuminate a subject at a particular aperture.  If at 10 feet, you have enough flash power that you can use a fairly narrow f/11 aperture, then the GN is 10 feet x 11 or 110 feet.  (More precisely, the GN is the f-number of the aperture times the distance.)

To make GNs comparable, it is important to make sure that GNs are based on the same ISO, same zoom setting on the flash, and same unit (such as feet or meters).

Before we get down to the business of combining guide numbers, let's take a quick detour.

Inverse Square Law - A Review for Non-Mathematicians
The inverse square law tells us that the intensity of a light source diminishes rapidly as we move away from the light source.  But have you wondered why the inverse square law applies to light (more precisely, to a point light source)?  It's not because the light disappears (any grade school kid knows that energy cannot be destroyed).  Rather it's because the light energy gets spread out.  You can almost imagine the tiny photons from a glowing sphere of light shooting out into space in straight lines with the straight lines spreading further and further apart from each other as the photons travel farther away from their home.

The photons spread out horizontally, so we divide the number of photons (i.e. the intensity of light) by the distance to account for the horizontal spread.  If they spread out horizontally only then we wouldn't need the inverse square law.  It would just be called the inverse law. :)  But of course the photons will also spread out vertically, so we have to divide the horizontally spread-out photons vertically as well by dividing the intensity with the distance again, to account for the vertical spread.  In other words, we divide the intensity by the distance squared.  Some might even say the intensity is inversely proportional to the square of its distance. :)

What's this gotta do with combining the GN?  Well as I said, to combine GNs we just count the photons.

COMBINING GUIDE NUMBERS
We could re-imagine GN as a measure of the photons a flash can put out.  Let's take the Nikon SB-800 as an example.  Its GN is 125 feet (35mm zoom, 100 ISO).  Wow - 125 feet is pretty far.  What's even more amazing is that for the light to reach 125 feet while taking into account the inverse square law, we would need 125 x 125 or 15,625 "photons" to get there.

Now suppose we had an SB-800 (GN: 125 feet), two SB-600s (GN: 98 feet each), and an SB-26 (GN: 118 feet).  Lots of photons there.  Let's count them:
SB-800: 15,625 photons
SB-26: 13,924 photons
first SB-600: 9,604 photons
second SB-600: 9,604 photons
Total: 48,757 photons.

How far could 48,757 photons go?  Well, thanks to the darned inverse square law, we have to spread those photons vertically and horizontally by getting the square root of 48,757.  Turns out that's around 220 feet.  Well, there sir (or madam) is your combined GN.

To recap:
1. Determine the guide number of each flash, at same zoom, same ISO, same unit. e.g. 35mm ISO 100, in feet.
2. Count the "photons" of each flash (by squaring the distance).
3. Add the "photons" of the flashes.
4. See how far the total photons can reach under the inverse square law by getting the square root.
You're done!

If you want to double-check your calculations, try out this spreadsheet.

EPILOGUE
Going back to why I got two more flashes instead of a studio strobe, how does a GN of 220 feet compare to the power of a studio strobe?  According to the Paul Buff Alien Bees website, their B1600 fitted with a standard 7-inch reflector (80 degree coverage) has a GN of 236 feet.  So, on paper, if we forget coverage for the moment, the combined GN of my 4-flash setup delivers almost as much light intensity as a B1600.

Note though that at 35mm, the speedlight coverage is only 45 degrees vertically and 60 degrees horizontally according to Nikon.  If we use an 11-inch reflector on the B1600 with 50 degree coverage, then the GN jumps to 450 feet.  The 4-flash setup GN of 220 feet would be more like a B400 with an 11-inch reflector.  So I still have an excuse to get a studio strobe in the future. :)

Meanwhile, how would I trigger all 4 speedlights and control them simultaneously?  Triggering options for a multi-flash setup will be an upcoming post.

RELATED POSTS:
Stop Thinking

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