So much for my 565EX and 540EZ bargain flashes..

My 565EX died on Sunday, but my two bargain 540EZ flashes arrived today from EBay.

The first one powers on, the screen is really dim, and even firing at 1:1 puts out barely 1:128, the pilot light goes red immediately, so it's obviously not charging up fully. There's also a strange chirruping sound.

The second one powers on, the screen looks fine, the power output looked fine but when I fired it a puff of smoke came out of the top near the bounce/wideangle card! Fired it again (what's the worse that could happen?) and it works, but stinks of burning, could just be full of dirt, but not sure I want to risk it!

*sigh* so my cheap 3 flash setup is now a 0 flash setup.

where did you buy it from? ebay or amazon?

thonee27 wrote in post #14316505
where did you buy it from? ebay or amazon?

ThePhotoGadget, who have been excellent throughout. It's a pain in the bum sending them back to China, but their communication/support has been excellent - even on a Sunday.

The person I got the 540EZ flashes off has also said he will replace them, so fingers crossed in a few weeks I might have a full set of flashes

I have been using 540ez for a long time. No issues. Buy from here on POTN or FM than eBay, IMHO.

bobbyz wrote in post #14318866
I have been using 540ez for a long time. No issues. Buy from here on POTN or FM than eBay, IMHO.

Then I'd pay 4x the price I only bid on old flashes etc if they're very cheap, not worth the risk otherwise.

SJRobbins wrote in post #14318957
Then I'd pay 4x the price I only bid on old flashes etc if they're very cheap, not worth the risk otherwise.

I like the old stuff, but I only do the 550 & 420EXs....

DHPHOTO66 wrote in post #14318984
I like the old stuff, but I only do the 550 & 420EXs....

Again, miles more than I paid, I got two for £35, and EZ or EX makes no difference to me as I'll be using them manual only on light stands anyway, so the cheaper the better to get more flashes

The guy says he's going to send out replacements today, and my 565EX is going in the post today, so fingers crossed it will all be sorted soon.

The little optical triggers I bought (SYK-5) work a treat though while I save some money for some Cactus triggers. Even hidden behind an umbrella and the onboard flash on minimum power they never missed a shot.

Yongnuo product is very unreliable, one of my 560II broke after 1 week. same as my friend's 560. If i ship back they told me to pay 2 ways shipping. FML.

ianlti wrote in post #14319099
Yongnuo product is very unreliable, one of my 560II broke after 1 week. same as my friend's 560. If i ship back they told me to pay 2 ways shipping. FML.

Buy from a better supplier then. Nobody is going to tell you they're as reliable as a Canon flash, but they're also very very cheap - worth rolling the dice on imo.

ianlti wrote in post #14319099
Yongnuo product is very unreliable, one of my 560II broke after 1 week. same as my friend's 560. If i ship back they told me to pay 2 ways shipping. FML.

I keep wondering why people recommend these flashes since the lifespan seems to be less than a year or two under normal use. Canon speedlites have a substantially better track record unless you abuse them or fry them with a flex tt5 and a 580exii

c2thew wrote in post #14321184
I keep wondering why people recommend these flashes since the lifespan seems to be less than a year or two under normal use. Canon speedlites have a substantially better track record unless you abuse them or fry them with a flex tt5 and a 580exii

Because a) that's nonsense, they have a higher failure rate in the first few months than they should (much higher!), but there have been plenty of people using them for years without trouble, they just seem to use their customers as QA and b) they're £50-100 per flash, compared to £200-400 per flash .. big difference!

I've got two 540ez's and two 420ez's, no problems.

The 420's were a trade on here for a 19-35 quantaray

ianlti wrote in post #14319099
Yongnuo product is very unreliable, one of my 560II broke after 1 week. same as my friend's 560. If i ship back they told me to pay 2 ways shipping. FML.

c2thew wrote in post #14321184
I keep wondering why people recommend these flashes since the lifespan seems to be less than a year or two under normal use. Canon speedlites have a substantially better track record unless you abuse them or fry them with a flex tt5 and a 580exii

I've had a YN 560 for about two years and a second YN 560 for about a year and a half. Zero problems, I use them with RF-603 triggers (also, no problems).

BTW, I also have two Sigma lenses that I'm happy with. Must have won the "Sigma lottery". I don't know why some people bash products by making broad statements like those quoted. I'd like to have all Canon equipment but can't justify some of the expense. I'm not a total cheapskate, though. I do have a 135L

SJRobbins wrote in post #14313551
My 565EX died on Sunday, but my two bargain 540EZ flashes arrived today from EBay.

The first one powers on, the screen is really dim, and even firing at 1:1 puts out barely 1:128, the pilot light goes red immediately, so it's obviously not charging up fully. There's also a strange chirruping sound.

The second one powers on, the screen looks fine, the power output looked fine but when I fired it a puff of smoke came out of the top near the bounce/wideangle card! Fired it again (what's the worse that could happen?) and it works, but stinks of burning, could just be full of dirt, but not sure I want to risk it!

*sigh* so my cheap 3 flash setup is now a 0 flash setup.

sorry to hear that. hope your replacement will work fine.

So, for anyone that wants an update to this story..

My 565EX is in China, should hopefully be back at PhotoGadget tomorrow.

My replacement for the 2 540EZs turned up today; unfortunately the guy had no 540EZs left, so he had to send me 2 550EX flashes instead, and they both work just fine Also the smoking 540EZ appears to be the freznel screen, so I've ordered a replacement for that (he didn't want the broken ones back) so hopefully that will be up and running too.

Assuming there's no issues with my replacement 565EX I've rather fallen on my feet with this one