| Author: | | Forum Member Registered: November, 2014 Posts: 56 | | Review Date: June 12, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $65.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | bulid quality, price, power, ease of use | | Cons: | no ttl | |
1. Build quality is astonishing. It's built better than flashes worth 3 times as much.
2. It swivels and rotates smoothly and without pushing additional buttons.
3. It's bloody powerful.
4. It's fantastic if you want to get into strobing. (up to 100hz)
5. It has britght lcd with good contrast.
6. It has very simple interface that enebles photographer to work fast.
7. Last but not least, it's cheap. The cheapest Metz is considerably more expensive and it's not build as good as this cheap, chinese flash.
The only fly in the ointment is that it doesn't feature any kind of ttl automation. But again given the price it would be at least naive to suspect this flash to combine ttl with that level of power. On the other hand though Canon and Nikon owners can enjoy Yongnuo flashes that works with in camera light measuring systems and costs just a bit more than the 560II.
Please Yongnuo, bulid a flash that supports TTL.
| | | | | | | Loyal Site Supportaxian Registered: September, 2013 Location: Texas Posts: 503 | | Review Date: November 23, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $75.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Build quality, charge time, user interface. | | Cons: | Screw type shoe clamp instead of cam lever. | |
An outstanding all-manual flash. Well built, reliable, charges quick enough. The optical slave mode is sensitive and consistent. It has a great user interface. Large display and well laid-out buttons are a pleasure to use. I wish it had a lever-type clamp for mounting rather than the screw-ring. I also wish that the pilot light would be red when charging and green when charged instead of the other way around.
| | | | | Forum Member Registered: December, 2009 Posts: 88 | | Review Date: November 11, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $87.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Price, Simple menu, Build quality, Accessories | | Cons: | None actually | |
Unboxing this flash unit was a real treat. I had a prior experience with Metz 48 AF-1 and therefore I was even more surprised that this Chinese flashgun left a much better impression than its German counterpart. For example, it came with a stand and a soft pouch, which is a very nice touch, even if I have not used it very much. And that pouch even had a pocket for the plastic stand - a very nicely thought out detail.
Then the build quality - simply excellent! It felt really, really solid. The shoe is also metal (again, a big plus over the mentioned Metz). The soft dampened clicks when turning the head, this is what well built piece of equipment sounds like. The plastic body does not make any crackling noises and you can't feel the joining lines of body pieces - it feels like it has been carved out of one solid piece! The battery compartment is also well thought out - it has a spring on its hinge to keep the opened hatch open so it doesn't fall shut while you are replacing batteries - it's the little things like this that add up to already good impression and make it even more remarkable. It also has built in diffuser and bounce card. If only the diffuser and reflector would be a bit more easier to pull out, but who knows, maybe they just need some wear.
Menu system is very logical and intuitive. Simple to use even without much digging in the manual. Controls are plentiful and responsive. Orange LCD has excellent contrast.
I have used it for a year now and so far it has not failed me, nor have I managed to overheat it. I mainly use it off-camera in optical slave mode (as I only have only one wireless radio receiver) and it performs remarkably well. Yongnuo flashes are excellent for strobists.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: April, 2010 Location: Tamworth, NSW Posts: 158 | | Review Date: January 10, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $70.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Cheap, easy to use, very adjustable, good build quality | | Cons: | Doesn't work in onboard flash NOT contributing to exposure | |
After a long time using a Sigma EF500 I bought a YN560II to have a second flash. When it arrived I was immediately blown away by the build quality, especially compared with the Sigma - no creaky plastic, it just feels solid. I have seen an example on ebay where it was listed as having unresponsive buttons - but it is unknown if this is common or if the owner had shot thousands of beachside strobist shots.
I like how easy it is with the 4-way pad to adjust power to a perfect level. And the audio confirmation of being charged is fantastic. It always charges faster than the EF500 Super.
I cannot get it to fire in the wireless commander mode custom setting '2' ie onboard flash does NOT contribute to exposure. When custom setting is '1' it works fine in S2 mode.
I use it with Cactus V5 on my Sigma and the YN560II in S1 mode - works perfectly with one caveat, the timings between the V5 and Sigma and Sigma and YN560II means I have to have shutter speed at 1/125 otherwise I get some of the shutter in the image *sometimes*. With V5 on both K5 and YN560II no issues with sync. (V5 is rated to 1/1000). But this isn't a Cactus V5 review.
I will definitely be buying more YN560II's in the future. They are cheap and they work as advertised, plus I don't feel as though it would shatter if I dropped it.
Oh nearly forgot to mention, it has a battery port for an external battery. I haven't been able to track a cheap plug so I could create my own battery pack yet but I am on it.
I give it a 10, because it does everything expected of it well. If it was a p-ttl, HSS etc etc then that would be nice but it isn't $400 either!
*edit*
Just had a play around with my Sony DSC-HX20V
It fires and syncs the YN560II at 1/1600
I'm guessing the Sony is full electronic shutter then. I know this doesn't pertain to Pentax but it does give a solid example of how well the YN560 syncs in S2 mode.
| | | | | | | Senior Member Registered: July, 2009 Location: London Posts: 212
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 1, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $75.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Well built, well designed, good value | | Cons: | sharp hotshoe pin, wheel hotshoe clamp | |
It is a basic manual flash, which it does well, highpower and can be focussed to operate over a long distance.. Slight reservation with the hotshoe in that the contact has a sharp pin end to it, also the clamp is a screw wheel rather than a lever.
I think it needs to be made clear, that the remote trigger for the flash is only by cable or optical. The device has no wireless (radio) capability what so ever. I suggest the wireless claim is misleading, it will become even more misleading as I believe the next model the yn560iii will have wireless operation.
| | | | | New Member Registered: May, 2012 Location: Brasov, Romania Posts: 5 | | Review Date: November 5, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $80.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | price, power, build, functions, swivel head, recycle time | | Cons: | max speed 1/160 s, no AF assist beam | |
Sorry for post, is NOT a review, it's an information... price is about 72 USD.
Update 21.12.2012 (...at the end of the world) 
OK, first of all, it's a manual flash. And it's very good.
If you want HSS, P-TTL, ABS, ESP, AWD, airbag... Buy other flash.
PRO:
the price
the build quality is good.
the controls are simple and intuitive.
test button is hard to press, it's good in my opinion, will not fire accidentally. 
swivel: 180 dgr left + 90 dgr right=270 degrees
zoom
CONS:
max speed 1/160 s
no AF assist beam
I tried to shoot at High speed, as Mikhail Kriviniouk said... it works! But this is YN 560 II.
K-5 + Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 settings: f/3.5 @1/60s Hi... 12frames ...
Flash settings: M, power 1/16, zoom ... I don't know...
result=ok
K-5 + Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 settings: f/2.8 @1/100s Lo... 17frames ...
Flash settings: M, power 1/32, zoom ... I don't care...
result=ok
As slave it works excellent.
No missfires, only wrong settings, but I don't change the user. | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: November, 2010 Location: Canterbury Posts: 596
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 7, 2012 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Cheap, Powerful, Simple, 1/128 power, Nicely packaged, Accessories. | | Cons: | No P-TTL, no auto modes, brand not known for reliability | |
This flash is great for manual flash and strobist photography. It has everything you need for that, including going down to 1/128 power. It would be nice to have P-TLL, but I can't see myself using that feature. I found it to work excellently so far, and it seems sturdy and well built. This may be subject to change, as I have not had the flash very long.
When I unpacked the flash I was pleasantly surprised. It has a nice padded case, which includes a slot to keep the coldshoe/foot in. It also came with a plastic diffuser, but there was no room in the case for that.
Some people were asking if the test button was hard to push in like the original YN-560. No it is not, it is just right for me - YMMV.
The orange backlit LCD is lovely and clear, and the controls are well laid out and easy to use - matches Pentax ergonomics nicely.
The slave 2 mode worked fine with the P-TTL of the pop-up flash on my K10D (it ignores the pre-flash and fires with the main flash). Remember to put it on slave 1 mode when using a manual aperture lens though, other wise it will fire at the wrong time not fire at all. (This confused me for quite a long time. Doh!)
The flash does exactly what is says on the tin, without bells and whistles, but with simplicity and ease. As far as I am concerned, as long as it carries on working reliably it's the perfect manual flash.
P.S. Thanks to Enoeske for the pictures on the review page.
| | |
;)
;)
;)
