YongNuo YN-560 Speedlite Shoe Mount Flash for Multiple Brands

Yongnuo YN-560 speedlite, a manual-mode only flash designed for photographers who don’t need automatic exposure control.
I’ve recently purchased on eBay the Yongnuo 560 but is already my favorite flash for shooting with radio triggers: the combination of power, recycling speed, handling and ease of use is just perfect for me. YN560′s now come with metal flash foot and an improved zoom motor construction.

YN-560 Highlights
one of the very best flashes for “strobist” work
plenty of power with official GN of 39 (true GN is 34)
manual zoom range 24 – 105 mm
2 optical slave modes (much improved over 460 series)
very good build quality
power from 1/1 down to 1/128

Compatible Camera Bodies
Yongnuo’s YN560 is not designed for digital cameras such as a Canon Rebel or a Nikon Dxxx. It does mount, but you have to set the flash output level for every photo by hand, and there is no auto zoom, and no AF assist light. The flash can’t be controlled from the camera’s menu system either.
Canon cameras Nikon cameras
only really usable in manual camera mode “M” or “Tv” (all Canon camera bodies); no digital TTL support only really usable in manual camera mode “M” or “S” (all Nikon camera bodies); no digital TTL support
The flash has only 1 single electrical pin on the flash foot, instead of the 4 / 5 pins needed for digital data exchange. When searching for a digital flash that’s working with your DSLR automatically.
Depending on the seller you also might receive a free diffuser (‘stofen’) together with your purchase. Yongnuo offer them also for sale on eBay as an extra accessory; the diffuser is the Canon 580EX version as they have identical flash heads.
Build Quality
The YN-560 is a large flash with massive body and big flash head.

Casing
The quality of the engineering and build is a real surprise: The new 560 is on an excellent level in terms of build quality and quality of the controls. A clear upgrade from the 46x line, e.g. the YN-460-II that was the most powerful Yongnuo model before. The new 560 does feel really professional now and it’s a pure joy to work with.
Wireless Flash

The YN 560 can be used as a remote flash in these configurations: (1) (radio) triggering through flash foot or using the PC jack or (2) with the non-TTL optical slave modes “S1″ and “S2″.

No Dedicated Remote TTL Slave Mode (Canon and Nikon)

Both Canon and Nikon have dedicated wireless flash systems that work with optical signals, transmitted in the form of invisible pre-flashes before the main flash burst. These tiny light pulses tell compatible slave flashes in a wireless setup when they should fire, at which output level, and which other special features such as high-speed sync or modeling light are required.

But if you’re OK going that way the YN-560 can be integrated in a wireless i-TTL or E-TTL setup as long as only 1 or 2 other flashes are used.

This is a real nice eBay business with value for money.

Try it.

I bought this unit to be part of my strobe flash set for a portable studio. I use the unit off camera with YongNuo sender receiver units. I use the Speedlite in manual mode.

I tested the flash based on the Guide Number and Focal Length setting specified by the manufacturer at different power settings. As a subject, I used the box the flash unit came in, setting it at various distances from the flash, and selecting the predicted aperture on the camera for that distance.

All the images of the box were the same, with some variation due to my placement rather than the flash unit. For all distances, power levels, and predicted apertures, the YongNuo YN-560 delivered even and consistent flash output.

For my use, this product is a God-Send.

I bought two YN-560s for my beginning strobist setup consisting of two lightstands with umbrellas. Right from the get-go, the flashes have been working great. I have yet to put them through some rigorous use but preliminary results look good. Just to specify, I received the flashes with the metal foot for connection to the hot shoe. Apparently, there were problems with the plastic shoe version that were addressed in this new one. I was also looking at the Lumopro 160 but at half the price, the 560 is hard to beat. No TTL on it but for me it's fine; I've been wanting to learn how to use flash on manual in order to get consistent lighting.

- Price: five times cheaper than a SB-900 but similar in power. I read reports that show the stated guide number is a bit of an overestimate but still puts it near the SB-900 and the 580EXII.
- Construction: it feels well built and hefty. It doesn't feel cheap. The battery door works great and doesn't feel like it'll fall off from too many opens and closes. Like I said before, the metal foot connects great and the connection feels sturdy.
- Interface: really easy to use. Two buttons for zooming the head in and out. Two buttons for adjusting power up and down. One button to change the mode (manual, optical slave).
- Range of motion: only 270 degrees (180 one way, 90 the other). Not a big deal unless you're using it on-camera and wanting to bounce off a wall behind you.
- Optical slave: I have some radio flash triggers that I was pairing up with these guys but had a chance to play with the slaves before they arrived. It worked great with the Nikon flash and I didn't have any misfires or lack of fire; although I was indoors and in a room with light colored walls so that would've helped the slaves.
- Recycle time: with fresh batteries the recycle time is ~3-4 seconds. With used up batteries the recycle time obviously increases to almost ~5-7 seconds. But I was firing them at full power when I could've probably decreased the power a bit and opened up the aperture a bit more.

Time will tell how good these guys are as I put them through their paces, but for now I don't see anything that would prevent me from recommending them to a friend.

Excellent speedlight for its price.

For people who use manual flash and don't want to put several hundred dollars on a branded TTL speedlight and not use the TTL function, it's the perfect bet. Of course it does not have all the built quality of a top Canon/Nikon unit, but you can buy SEVERAL YN-560 for the price of one Canon/Nikon flash. I'm buying my third unit, use them every week and did not have any problems so far.

One thing I love about it is the sound indicator it emits when the flash is fully charged and ready for a shot (it can be disabled). The other thing I like and use very often is its photocell. I can use only one radio trigger in one flash and trigger all the others via photocell. It works perfectly even outdoors in sunlight.

Another thing is that it remembers the settings used when you turn it off and on again.

The only complaint I have is that after a burst of consecutive high power shots in a very short period of time the flash emits a beep and locks itself to prevent overheating, and you have to wait a few minutes until it can be used again. That's why I gave it less stars on battery life and performance.

But with 1/8th power or below, it supports high-speed continuous shooting, with about 8 fps.

The metal hotshoe later introduced is very sturdy (back when I bought the first unit the hotshoe was made of plastic).

A good inexpensive flash. Powerful enough - guide number 58. Many steps adjust the flash output. Eight output levels and eight levels in each sublevel. Slightly flimsy construction seems to swivel his head, but is fixed in position. Very quickly recharged, even at full power, 1/8 power can take the series. Metal hot shoe, but uncomfortable latch. The battery cover looks thoroughly. Uncomfortable looks manual zoom, but not had to deal with outbreaks of hand. There are two modes of slave operation of the preflash slave and skipping pre-flash.