YONGNUO YN560 IV Wireless Flash Speedlite for Canon Nikon Pentax - Master/Slave Flash with Built-in Trigger System | Perfect for Studio Photography, Portrait & Event Shooting

I realize there are already almost 400 reviews for these flash units and mine will most likely get lost in the flood but I just wanted to weigh in on what makes them so awesome.First of all I have used Canon Speedlights in the past, still own a 430EX that sits in a box and collects dust.I really don't like using ETTL as I find it rarely gives me the kind of exposure I like in my photo's. I personally feel it looks flat and unprofessional so this review will be based on manual functions. This unit doesn't have a TTL function anyway so... on to the review.I have been using Yongnuo flashes for about 3 years now and I honestly have no gripes. None at all. Especially now that I've upgraded to the IV models and get the added wireless functionality built in.I dropped a 560III model about 4 feet onto the concrete a couple years back and the bottom of it broke off. It actually kept working for a full 2 hour shoot after that before it blew out completely. Probably due to some shorts after wires coming loose. But that just speaks to the durability of the Flash.Here's the thing, at this price, I was not upset. I dropped a Speedlight onto the concrete, watched a chunk of it fly off and thought, "Darn... well I guess I need to buy another."Try having that mentality with a Canon or Nikkon Speedlight.I take these hiking, out on major event shoots where I'm running around bumping into stuff, sometimes outside and getting rained on etc. etc.I never worry about breaking one because I know I can afford to grab another. It's a freeing feeling. I worry enough about my camera and my lenses as it is.Here's the other reason I love these.While I have a master controller for my speed lights, I prefer to use my flash in manual mode even when it's attached to my camera or on a trigger. On the Canon speed lights switching power while in manual mode takes a few extra clicks and requires you to depress the tiny center button first to let the unit know you want to start changing power level. It drives me a bit crazy now that I'm used to these.With the Yongnuo in manual mode, you just click one side or the other on the interface and your power level changes by standard stops. Click up or down to change power in smaller increments.I can get the exposure I want so quickly with these now that I really don't understand why Canon chose to design theirs differently.The wireless works well with the YN560-TX master controller though my shutter speed needs to drop to about 160 to avoid shutter shadow.They work flawlessly with the RF-603CII-C1 triggers.The power is also definitely up to par. Just one of these is enough to light up a medium-sized room with some bounced light.I have 3 (still less $$ than 1 canon) and dial them in at different levels for a better effect but have gotten by with 2 in very large rooms and been happy with my results.I've used them on both a t2i, t3i and a 6D and have friends who use them with 5D MarkIII's and love them just as much.If I had to pick one thing I don't like... I guess that they heat up and delay quickly. If you are firing off shot after shot the batteries get hot quick and the unit will force a delay until they cool down. You can attach an external power pack to eliminate the problem but I have learned to just work around it. I'm a bit more intentional with my shots anyway so I'm not one to just blast away, spray and pray style.I'd say I can get about 8 minutes of continuous shooting, full power, at maybe a shot per second before I start experiencing delays.You should also consider the speed, if you need to shoot at High Speeds like 250+ then these will not work. If you're using a controller you may even need to drop down to 160.Beyond that, no issues.Again, if you like automatic exposure and using the TTL or ETTL functions then this is obviously not for you since it doesn't offer that functionality at all. But if you use manual adjustments with your speed lights or you use a master controller then these are not only up to the job but they are incredibly affordable meaning you can have multiple flash units on standby if one gets broken.Really can't recommend them enough. I've bought 5 so far, broke one 560III and gave the other away once I got my IV's.I plan to buy a few more as backup and can happily say that I feel confident in my purchase.I’m not big on writing reviews…or I haven’t been until now, but I need to say some things about this flash that a LOT of people have either said and it’s gone un-noticed or not said yet.THIS IS A LONG REVIEW INCLUDING LIVE TESTING. IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO READ IT ALL, SCROLL TO “FINAL THOUGHTS” AT THE END.First, I’m a fitness and glamour photographer. I use speedlites a LOT to capture dynamic and fast motion from my clients. I currently shoot with a Canon 600RT as well as 580EXII. I use several different modifiers, but I only use pocket wizard triggers now. I used to use Paul C Buff stuff, but moved to the PW system because of the reliability (something this flash lacks) and the ability to push them past their limits…also something this flash lacks but I’ll get into that.Here’s what I noticed right off:This thing is built solid. Good construction, and as previously stated, looks like the Canon blah blah blah.This thing is pretty fast to respond. It’s a basic flash that I had planned to shoot in manual or in optical slave mode using the 600 and pocket wizards (on the 600 and 580).I love the optical slave on this sucker. It’s awesome. I wish canon had a version like this. I would pay the extra $$$$$$$ to get that honestly. Would be less triggers to need on site and give me flexibility with it comes to a 4, 5, or even 6 light setup like I frequently use.The testing…I went out on site with my girlfriend, an athlete and figure competitor, and we set up some test shooting. Here’s my setup:Canon 7DMKIICanon 5DMKIII70-200L 2.8 with ISPCB Einstein x 2 (softbox and umbrella)Canon 600RTYoungnuo YN560IVPocket Wizard FlexTT5 (set to basic trigger)Pocket Wizard FlexMini (set to basic trigger)Pocket Wizard Plus IIIOptic Slave:The YN560 was powered down to 1/128 power for all shots performed with this shoot as to allow a faster recycle. Batteries in the unity were brand new. No external batteries were used.The YN560 performed well with optic slave, but had a few misfires. I’m not sure why, but I’m going to imagine it was because of lack of recycle time. The Canon had no issues.Bursts were in 3 shot increments as to not have to worry about “melting" the unit.Trigger:The YN560 was powered down to 1/128 power for all shots performed with this shoot as to allow a faster recycle. Batteries in the unity were brand new. No external batteries were used. Batteries in the trigger were fully charged.The YN had many more misfires this time around. I’m not sure if it was because the triggers weren’t communicating or because the flash is slow to respond. I DID move the flash closer at one point to hopefully eliminate the distance issue that may come from the triggers. Misfires still occurred with the same frequency, roughly 2 out of 10 shots.The bursts were kept at 3 shot increments as to not have to worry about melting the unity and to allow recycle time between bursts.I’ve included a test image for you to check out. You’ll see the light spill is pretty good at a 24mm zoom at around 8-10ft away. I really liked the results. Not bad for a test image.~~~The tests were conclusive enough. This little flash would work well for me (I thought). I can live with 2 misfires out of every 10 shots with bursts. That would work out to be roughly 1 misfire every 20-30 shots (maybe) if I were going slower. Good deal…time to take it on site and use it on a paid gig!Paid gig scenario:Canon 5DMKIIICanon 600RT with trigger @ 1/128 powerYN560 IV with trigger @ 1/128 powerPocket Wizard triggersPCB Einstein with PW trigger24-70 and 70-200 lensesLocation: GymType of shoot: stills, no dynamic motionI sat the lights up in a 3-light diagram that I use for some of my smaller paid gigs (no need to go into that detail - you’d be bored ;) )The YN performed GREAT…for about an hour. Then the misfires started every other shot. I immediately thought it was the batteries because I hadn’t changed them from the test. So I changed them out. Still misfiring.15 mins later…more misfire.30 mins later…even more.35 mins later…no firing.At this point I called a break on set because I wanted to change the batteries in the trigger again and check the flash. I figured it was a miscommunication with the flash/trigger. So I set it to optical slave. It worked great for 3 test fires (still on break from shooting). Then it died completely.I would hit the little red button on the back to test it (not sure what it was labeled) and it wouldn’t fire. The light would turn blue? I’d not seen that with this flash prior to this…so I had no idea what it meant. Still don’t.I hit test on the trigger. The light turned blue. No fire.I hit the red button again. The light turned blue. No fire.I flipped through the options and put it in optical slave mode. I hit test on the 600RT. I HEARD the YN fire. It popped…like the thyristor was firing, but no flash came. I hit test on the 600 again. Again the same thing happened.By this time my client was back. I simply moved to a two light setup and went on with my shoot. After the shoot I read the book through cover to cover AGAIN. I did nothing wrong that I could see. For some reason, it just wouldn’t fire. Maybe I blew the flash bulb or something. I’m not sure…but for some reason that thing stopped putting out light. So, I boxed it up and sent it back for a refund.~~~~FINAL THOUGHTS:I REALLY wanted to like this flash. I really did. I wanted a Canon Killer and a basic, basic, no frills flash. I wanted to outfit all of my shoots with 7-8 of these things. That won’t be happening any time soon though. For now, I’ll just stick with my Canon’s and my PCB lights.I cannot afford to have a cheap light die on set like that. My clients pay waaaayyyyy too much for me to be fiddling with gear on the fly.If you bought it, I hope you like it! If not, there are better ways to go (canon, etc) and still save your pocketbook. I think Metz has a good flash and a friend of mine shoots with it. It's a bit more expensive though...but may be worth it if you're looking for that optical slave feature like that I am.I have recently purchase two Fuji cameras - the XT 1 and the X Pro 2 and needed a flashgun. After a lot of reading online, I purchased the Yongnuo YN560 IV and I am delighted with it. You do not get TTL when using it, but it works fine in Manual mode. I also use Manual mode with my cameras. I have a Canon Off Camera Flash Cord and it works well with this flash gun, enabling me to get the flash off camera. The flashgun is well made, easy to use and because it has Receiver and Transmitter capabilities, this will be very useful. It is quite large, about the size of the Canon 600EX flashgun. I still have to try it out extensively , but I am really delighted that I can use it off camera without having to buy triggers etc.This was to augment the yongnuo mkiii that I already own. I wanted a second speed light and this fills the bill at a sensible price. The two work well together.If you don't need TTL (I do a lot of Macro, jewellery etc) this is an outstanding flas, never misses a beat and works seamlessly with the Yongnou flash controller YN560 TX II and TX/RX unitI like this flash unit very much and will get another when I have some more money. Plenty of settings and works well with my Yongnuo trigger so I would definitely recommend it.Works well with my bridge camera and while it is not dedicated it has the ability to vary flash power which is very useful for background lighting etc.