Yonguno flashes for Nikon?

[chuck]

<p>Yonguno flashes from China advertise themselves as Nikon I-TTL compatible, full featured, and cost roughtly 1/4 of comparable Nikon flashes. Does anyone have any experience with these flashes, in terms of performance and reliability?<br>

Yonguno catalogue shows the brand offers a large number of remote flash control accessories. But the catalogue seem to suggest Yonguno remote function is based on radio control. If I am not mistaken, Nikon I-TTL uses coded pre-flashes for remote flash control. So could one mix Yonguno flashes and Nikon flashes in the same set up? Can a Nikon flash command Yonguno flash and vice versa?<br>

I am particularly interested in Yonguno's ring flash, which is also advertised as I-TTL compatible. Does anyone have any experience with this? Can the ring flash function as a commander for other flashes, particularly Nikon SB-800s?<br>

Thanks</p>

<p> </p>

[Wouter Willemse]

<p>I've got two Yongnuo 568EX flashes, and they are as described. I cannot fully vouch for the reliability, I do not own them long enough and a sample of two is stastically rather meaningless. This model is fully iTTL compatible, CLS slave (not master!!), powerful, fairly easy menu and operation, it feels solid made. Given that I bought two for less than what my SB700 cost, I really cannot complain.<br /> While these do work in a mixed setup with Nikon flashes using CLS, I do have their radio remotes too (622TX controller and two 622N transceivers) - they work a lot nicer than Nikon CLS, also work fine over longer distances. The transceivers also work perfectly fine with Nikon flashes (at least with my SB700).<br /> No experience with the ring flash.</p>

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>You might also want to consider the Godox "Ving" V860N. This is fully i-TTL and CLS compatible (Master and Slave) and uses a Lithium Ion battery. I have 3 of them and they work well with equal power to an SB-910. Zoom head is limited to 24-105 mm + 14mm with diffuser, and there's no AA mode, but apart from that the feautures are pretty much the same, including support for Auto-FP synch. Godox also sell a compatible radio trigger kit, but I haven't tried it.</p>

<p>As with the previous poster, I can't comment on reliability since I haven't had them for very long. However the build quality feels OK, while the Li-Ion batteries provide a lightning fast recycle time of under 2 seconds.</p>

<p>Steer clear of the Meike SB-910 look-alike though. It has nowhere near the power of an SB-910, in fact its light output is pretty pathetic. Although it too is i-TTL and CLS compatible.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>"I am particularly interested in Yonguno's ring flash, which is also advertised as I-TTL compatible. Does anyone have any experience with this? Can the ring flash function as a commander for other flashes, particularly Nikon SB-800s?<br />Thanks"</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Chuck, i-TTL and CLS are two separate features. i-TTL is just Nikon's name for their Through The Lens flash exposure metering system, while CLS (Creative Lighting System) enables remote control of off-camera flash through Infra-Red "morse code". So a flash can be i-TTL compatible while not supporting CLS or remote triggering at all. If the advertising doesn't mention CLS, then chances are it doesn't support it.</p>

[wayne_f1]

<p>>>So a flash can be i-TTL compatible while not supporting CLS or remote triggering at all. If the advertising doesn't mention CLS, then chances are it doesn't support it.</p>

<p>Not good advice as worded.<br /> <br />It is a very common mistake for people to equate the term CLS (Creative Lighting System) with the commander wireless feature which is actually named AWL (Advanced Wireless Lighting). We have just come to know that when people say CLS, they probably mean AWL (commander).<br /> <br />But in fact, CLS is the name of Nikon's general flash communication system between flash and body, and that CLS communication does (can) include the features of iTTL, AWL, FV Lock, HSS, AF assist, etc, etc. Any iTTL flash is necessarily CLS in order to communicate and operate, but it might not offer every CLS feature, like AWL.</p>

<p>See these references:<br /> SB-800 manual, CLS, page 5<br /> SB-600 manual, CLS, page 5<br /> or http://support.nikonusa.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/9520/~/nikon-creative-lighting-system-%28cls%29</p>

<p>So the third party flash feature of compatibility with Nikon DSLR is the term iTTL. It either is, or it isn't.<br /><br /><br /> Manual flashes are not body brand specific, and only need the one center hot shoe pin or PC sync pin (or some form of slave) to work with any camera. But if they are going to show communication of f/stop or ISO numbers, they can add CLS to do it, and then are Nikon brand specific.</p>

<p> </p>

[rodeo_joe1]

<blockquote>

<p>"So the third party flash feature of compatibility with Nikon DSLR is the term iTTL. It either is, or it isn't."</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Not so. There are many third party flashes that implement the i-TTL (flash metering) subset of CLS, but do not support Auto-FP, FV lock, AWL or anything else. They may also act as an AWL slave but not commander, or support AWL but not Auto-FP or FV lock. So a 3rd party flash that describes itself as I-TTL compatible need only support Nikon's pre-flash metering protocol and nothing else. I believe that some of Nikon's Coolpix series cameras also support I-TTL, but no other part of the CLS system.</p>

<p>So I used the term CLS instead of AWL, big deal.</p>