Yongnuo YN14EX Ring Flash Will Not Work Properly on Canon 90D

[Chris_N]

My Yongnuo YN14EX Ring Flash worked perfectly on my Canon 550D (Rebel T2i) and on my Canon 760D (T6s). I got perfect exposure with ETTL. However, On my Canon 90D it gives me about 3-4 stops of underexposure at iso 100. The other problem is that the ETTL will not automatically compensate for the changing iso. So using iso 200 increases exposure 1 stop, iso 400 - 2 stops etc. In theory, setting the iso to 800/1600 would compensate for the 3 or 4 stops of underexposure but that would give me a lot of grain. I prefer to shoot macro shots at iso 100.

All I can do is run a test exposure and dial in 3 stops of exposure compensation on my camera or on the flash which is very annoying. By that time, the subject may have disappeared.
I know the short answer may be that this flash is just not compatible with the 90D. I have no idea what the difference is in the firmware that makes the 90D handle flash differently compared to earlier Canon models.

I would appreciate any thoughts and suggestions to find a solution to this problem. Maybe, I have the wrong camera flash settings. I have firmware 1.1.1 which appears to be the latest one. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Kind regards
Chris

[Chris_N]

Mike, thank you very much for the suggestion of putting the available light metering to average and the flash metering to average. I will check it out.

Otherwise, my other work around is to dial in 2 or 3 stops of extra Flash exposure while keeping iso to 100. (Somehow increasing iso increases exposure compensation, in any case for close ups, iso 100 is usually all you need)

Kind regards

Chris

[mikemathmiller]

I spoke too soon.  The problem is back.  It comes and goes.  The flash firmware can be updated but I have the most current version installed.  It is v1.36 dated 12-13-2018.  Let me know if you figure it out.

[Chris_N]

Thanks for letting us know Mike. I did find that if I dialled in 2 or 3 stops of extra flash exposure compensation and left the iso at 100 then the flash will correctly expose at varying distances and lens aperture. I usually have the camera set on manual speed and aperture for close ups and use the flash as the main exposure.

Something to check is if the flash hot shoe is making good contact. With other Canon flashes, whenever the flash gives a wild exposure I remove the flash and reseat it on the hot shoe. That usually solves the problem. However in the case of the Yongnuo YN14EX, there is definitely a compatibility issue with the Canon 90D. My previous Canon 760D works fine with this flash. 

In this case

I can't see any way to update the flash firmware on this model. If you find a way, please let us know.

Kind regards

Chris

[mikemathmiller]

Good news.  I was able to update my flash's firmware and the problem went away.  Look for firmware updates at www.hkyongnuo.com.  Here are the instructions on how to perform the update.

1. Download, unzip, and install the software updater program and the firmware update.

2. With the flash off, connect it to your computer with a USB cable (probably either a mini-B or micro-B connector).

3. While holding down the MODE button, turn on the flash.  When the software recognizes the flash you will see the flash name on the flash LCD panel.

4. Click the browse button and select the firmware to use.

5. Click Upgrade.  Once the firmware is installed, the speedlite will restart automatically.

6. Disconnect the speedlite from the USB cable.

Good luck,   Mike

[Chris_N]

Thank you Mike. Do you have a direct link to the firmware update? I could not find it anywhere.

Also, I can't see any way to connect the flash to a usb cable. There is only a 3 pin charging port and a circular flash firing port. 

Are you using the YN14EX II or the earlier Mark 1? I have the Mark 1. I suspect only the Mark 2 can get a firmware upgrade and has the extra usb port.

So I guess I will have to use a work around by dialling in exposure compensation or get a new flash.

Thank you for all your help and support. 

Kind regards

Chris 

[mikemathmiller]

I saw a post somewhere that suggested cleaning all camera and flash contacts.  I cleaned the camera hotshoe and flash contacts with rubbing alcohol and haven't had a problem yet.  It's worth a try.

[mikemathmiller]

I have the Yongnuo YN600EX-RT II and thought there would be the same process to update your firmware as mine. I looked online at some photos but couldn't see a USB port.  There is a possible cover near the flash hot shoe on some models.  Turn your flash upside down and look for it.  The firmware should be in the vicinity of this link, but I couldn't find yours.

The company is pretty good about answering questions via email.  Try emailing a question to service@hkyongnuo.com.  Keep your questions simple and brief because they are not native speakers of English.

[Commercial link removed per forum guidelines and replaced with the page's firmware link.]

[Chris_N]

Thanks again Mike for your help. The e mail and links are very useful.  I checked and there is no data port anywhere on this flash. I did find a YouTube video with a hack about using the Yongnuo (YN622N-TX) transmitter to connect a flash to a PC wirelessly:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r46LEAuP9og . However,  as the YN14EX is an older flash, I don't believe there is a firmware update available. I will double check with Yongnuo support. 

Kind regards

Chris

[mikemathmiller]

Instead of using ETTL with flash exposure compensation I think you would be happier using the flash in manual mode.  Take a shot and then adjust the manual output as needed.  Shooting in RAW will also give you more exposure latitude.

[Chris_N]

Thanks for the suggestion Mike. Shooting Manual and RAW will have some advantages.

However, If I dial in say +3EV flash exposure compensation and leave the iso at 100, the exposure stays consistent at different apertures and distances. So its like the ETTL is working, but consistently underexposes 3EV without compensation.  Strange...

Kind regards

Chris  

Update: I received a kind and polite reply from Yongnuo support today. They confirmed that there is no firmware update available for the Yongnuo 14EX ring flash. They did say that the  2022 version of the Yongnuo 14EX Mark II should be compatible with the Canon 90D.