yongnuo yn-560 ii

[Eishan]

i have a canon eos 50d and i want to buy a yongnuo yn-560 ii flash which i will mount on my cameras hotshoe. i really don't know where to find the specifications for 50d's flash hotshoe voltage or the yn-560 ii's voltage. i heard if the voltage of the two doesn't match then circuits could be fried or camera could be damaged? can anyone tell me if its okay to use the flash on my camera body? please it's urgent...

[Yorptunes]

"The Yongnuo Speedlite YN-560 II Flash for Canon EOS 50D has been designed for your APS-C or Full frame camera. It is the upgraded version of the YN-560 and now features a large LCD panel which will let you easily access the menu and configurations and a new metal hot shoe. The Yongnuo Speedlite YN-560 II Flash can be used as a wireless slave and has a new Multi slave mode, which can be used outdoors with a maximum distance of about 15m. The Yongnuo Speedlite YN-560 II Flash for Canon EOS 50D has a overheating protection to warn you when the flash can get overheated. Can be used with any wireless triggers." 

I got the above off the WEB plus several other sites show the two are compatible.  

[ebiggs1]

It doesn't have TTL.  It is cheap. But most of all, it isn't Canon.

[ClayStevens]

It does work. May be can consider the yn-560 iii. It has TTL and a little better. Both are good product.

[amfoto1]

"It does work. May be can consider the yn-560 iii. It has TTL and a little better. Both are good product"

Sorry, but no it doesn't. The YN-560 III is still a manually set flash, no TTL control.

The YN-560 III does have an added LCD control screen and radio triggering... currently just triggering and nothing else, but supposedly a remote radio controller is being worked upon and will be available eventually (the flash is already set up for it, supposedly). It also is said to have an improved overheating prevention system compared to the 560 or 560 II.

To get TTL control in a Yongnuo flash, you need to spend a bit more and get the YN-568 flash. I don't know if this is exactly the same functionality as ETTL, but agree that it's likely worth spending the extra for it.

As modern flashes, the Yongnuo must be using a safe, low trigger voltage. ISO standards beginning in 1992 for flash set them to a trigger voltage of 24 volts max. Many are actually well below that... Canon flashes fire with 3.3 volts, for example.

I haven't been able to find specifics about their flashes' exact trigger voltage, but since Yongnuo's own 602 & 603 radio triggers are only rated for 30 volts max, it's a pretty safe bet their own flashes' trigger voltages are kept well below that.

Modern Canon cameras - including the 50D - are rated to be able to handle 250 volts via the hot shoe or the PC socket.

Should be safe. And I know people using various Yongnuo flashes with their Canon cameras, have never heard of any trigger voltage problems with them at all.

***********
Alan Myers

San Jose, Calif., USA
"Walk softly and carry a big lens."
GEAR: 5DII, 7D(x2), 50D(x3), some other cameras, various lenses & accessories
FLICKR & PRINTROOM 

[omranek]

 have a canon T1i and I can not figure out how to use the Yongnuo yn-560 ii on-camera as a fill flash. is it even possible? the manual is not helpful.

[SGFFX]

omranek,

Because it does not have TTL you will need to use it in manual mode. Search for Guide Number on the web and you will find information on calculating the settings. You can also purchase a hand-held light meter that will calculate various exposure and flash settings based on setting one or other.

Guide numbers and light meters are "scientific" methods. I find that experimenting with the flash is a good way to learn. Mount the camera and flash on a tripod. Set a "target" to be photographed at 8 feet from the camera. Set the camera to its sync speed and set the flash to full power and take a picture. Now take more photos reducing the power by half each time. So set it at half power then snap, then quarter power, etc. This should give you a sense of how the flash works. Try this at another distance such as 12 feet, then 16 feet. You can also try it with a fixed f-stop and varying f-stops. The goal is to get a sense of how the flash works at varied distances and varied exposures. Hope this helps and have fun with the experiments.

Steve

[omranek]

Steve

Thank you so much for your reply. i will try that !!

[Skirball]

Guide number isn't going to do anything for you.

You either just eyeball it, adjusting the power manually, or use a light meter.  Eyeballing it can work just fine if the light isn't changing much between shots.  I do it a lot with manual fill flash.

[omranek]

the problem is the flash doesn't fire at all. it works in slave mode when i am using my built-in flash. i wish i could use it on-camera as it is more handy