The first flash, Yongnuo or 430ex ii?

I'm a student and a rather budget oriented one. I have a Canon 550D/T2i. I have a Sigma 17-50mm f2.8. I want a flash unit that can be on camera or off camera (portable). My budget is about $200 right now. (A little flexibility) I'm interested in dance photography (look up lindy hop), portraits, still life, and a few other things. Most of the stuff I would do would never be in a studio environment even though I would like to try that eventually. (No space and no money)

I'm thinking there's at least a couple options that I have:

A used $200 canon 430EX II or a new Yongnuo YN-560 II for $72ish. What would I lose by getting the Yongnuo over the canon? I would gain quite a bit of dough by buying the Yongnuo instead. Enough to actually buy some/a cheap light modifiers and maybe cheap radio triggers for sync/fire.

Ideas?

That particular YN is a manual flash. No ETTL. If this is going to be your only flash you really want one with the ETTL capability. There are YN flashes that have ETTL, but I'm not up on which models offer it. ETTL is particularly useful in situations where you have constantly changing lighting and camera to subject distance. In off camera use its less important, but can still be useful. Another feature you may want for dance is HSS (high speed sync). I would recommend the canon, but my experience with the newer YN's is almost nothing.

gonzogolf wrote in post #14956241
That particular YN is a manual flash. No ETTL. If this is going to be your only flash you really want one with the ETTL capability. There are YN flashes that have ETTL, but I'm not up on which models offer it. ETTL is particularly useful in situations where you have constantly changing lighting and camera to subject distance. In off camera use its less important, but can still be useful. Another feature you may want for dance is HSS (high speed sync). I would recommend the canon, but my experience with the newer YN's is almost nothing.

For some reason I was thinking that the Canon 430EX II didn't have HSS. And for some reason I thought that the YN-560 had ETTL. I know there are Yongnuo's that do have ETTL but are significantly more expensive. As well, I think they have one with HSS now? But, I think that one is more expensive than the Canon 430EX II.

Also, if I do use HSS at significant shutter speeds wouldn't that basically diminish any background lighting and the only thing being seen would be what the flash puts out? (Which isn't going to be fantastic looking?) The dancing will be indoors and quite low on available light unfortunately. However, HSS is nice.

And yeah, I need ETTL now that I think about it. Dancers change their distance from me a lot.

EDIT: Derp. But if I'm using the camera off-hand... then I need $400 in pocketwizards to get ETTL to work, yes?

TridenTBoy wrote in post #14956297
For some reason I was thinking that the Canon 430EX II didn't have HSS. And for some reason I thought that the YN-560 had ETTL. I know there are Yongnuo's that do have ETTL but are significantly more expensive. As well, I think they have one with HSS now? But, I think that one is more expensive than the Canon 430EX II.

Also, if I do use HSS at significant shutter speeds wouldn't that basically diminish any background lighting and the only thing being seen would be what the flash puts out? (Which isn't going to be fantastic looking?) The dancing will be indoors and quite low on available light unfortunately. However, HSS is nice.

And yeah, I need ETTL now that I think about it. Dancers change their distance from me a lot.

EDIT: Derp. But if I'm using the camera off-hand... then I need $400 in pocketwizards to get ETTL to work, yes?

If you are going to freeze motion of dancers you can use flash duration to stop motion but your flash needs to be about two stops more powerful than the ambient (meaning dark backgrounds) or you can use shutter speed and HSS which also diminishes power and gives dark backgrounds so one light isnt optimal for what you are doing. You can do ETTL of camera for an extra $50, www.flashzebra.com for a long ETTL cord.

There is quite a difference in pricing between the YN and the Canon. If there were a difference of say 30 to 50 bucks I might be doing some serious research. A difference of 72 to 200+......I have to ask myself why that is. Can any manufacturer make a comparable piece of equipment functionally and have the extended dependability for that much less? My degree is in electromechanical engineering and I've been involved in manufacturing processes for 40+ years.

I own a 430EXll. That's just my take on it.

Looking at the YN-622C's. About $100 for 2 transceivers. It has HSS and ETTL support too... Wowzers. I might go with that!

The YN-560 II doesn't have HSS or ETTL apparently, saea501. They have a much more expensive model that definitely has ETTL. I think I might just buy a used Canon 430EX II and the 2 YN-622C's. Close to $300 altogether, but it will work really nicely from what I can tell.

TridenTBoy wrote in post #14956509
The YN-560 II doesn't have HSS or ETTL apparently, saea501. They have a much more expensive model that definitely has ETTL. I think I might just buy a used Canon 430EX II and the 2 YN-622C's. Close to $300 altogether, but it will work really nicely from what I can tell.

right, but the cheap $50 Yongnuo models have ETTL (YN465, YN467, YN468, etc.) Of course they also have cheap manual flashes such as the YN460

saea501 wrote in post #14956484
There is quite a difference in pricing between the YN and the Canon. If there were a difference of say 30 to 50 bucks I might be doing some serious research. A difference of 72 to 200+......I have to ask myself why that is. Can any manufacturer make a comparable piece of equipment functionally and have the extended dependability for that much less? My degree is in electromechanical engineering and I've been involved in manufacturing processes for 40+ years.

I own a 430EXll. That's just my take on it.

my experience in manufacturing accounting leaves me to believe the Chinese flashes are being built with low cost labor and materials, damn those communists !

watt100 wrote in post #14956520
right, but the cheap $50 Yongnuo models have ETTL (YN465, YN467, YN468, etc.) Of course they also have cheap manual flashes such as the YN460

Oh yeah? Damn them commies! They're making me not want to buy name brand.

I have both. The 430 is a good flash for learning, and general applications. the ettl is nice and it's pretty accurate. If you need flash and don't want to keep messing with settings, it good. The 560's are powerful, and are good to use for multi-flash (manual) applications. These are awesome for someone that wants to get into this, but doesn't want to spend lots of cash (or can't spend lots of cash) on flashes. They're built well and I've not had any issues yet. With my cowboy studio triggers they are fun to mess with and give lots of useable light. For me not having hss is a bit of a bummer.

John37 wrote in post #14956681
I have both. The 430 is a good flash for learning, and general applications. the ettl is nice and it's pretty accurate. If you need flash and don't want to keep messing with settings, it good. The 560's are powerful, and are good to use for multi-flash (manual) applications. These are awesome for someone that wants to get into this, but doesn't want to spend lots of cash (or can't spend lots of cash) on flashes. They're built well and I've not had any issues yet. With my cowboy studio triggers they are fun to mess with and give lots of useable light. For me not having hss is a bit of a bummer.

I'm thinking of just buying a YN-468 II and a couple YN-622C's. It'll be about $200 altogether. (Price of a canon 430ex II used) I won't have HSS, but that's about it. Meanwhile, I can actually take my flash way off the camera easily and still use ETTL. I think that's a good option. I don't know if HSS is really going to do anything for me. I could borrow someones canon 580/430 when I get a chance and try HSS, but I think it will not give me the effect I'd like. I'm just thinking it will kill off all ambient light and I don't want that. It would be nice for some types of photography and possibly for some outdoors shots, but ... eh? We'll see. If all else fails, I have a cheap flash unit to use as a second light when I buy a Canon 430EX II or, god forbid, a 580EX II.

If you don't mind waiting a few weeks for shipping from Hong Kong, Yongnuo has the YN-568EX they just released a week or so back that's selling for $188 or so from their official store on eBay. It's their first flash to feature HSS. I pulled the trigger on one as an upgrade to my well loved/used YN-468 II.

I'll admit that at some point I'll likely upgrade to a couple of 600EX-RTs once I've learned more about using flashs and find myself in need of more features/power, but until then, I think this new one will do the trick for me.

Juvenall wrote in post #14957462
If you don't mind waiting a few weeks for shipping from Hong Kong, Yongnuo has the YN-568EX they just released a week or so back that's selling for $188 or so from their official store on eBay. It's their first flash to feature HSS. I pulled the trigger on one as an upgrade to my well loved/used YN-468 II.

I'll admit that at some point I'll likely upgrade to a couple of 600EX-RTs once I've learned more about using flashs and find myself in need of more features/power, but until then, I think this new one will do the trick for me.

I knew about that one. I decided to go ahead and purchase a couple YN-622C's for $83 and then buy a YN-468II for about $83.

I don't see the point of paying $180+ for the YN-568EX when it doesn't offer much more than the $200 used Canon 430EX II (Maybe a higher guide number and a couple extra features?). The canon can easily be resold and such. It's also just out of my budget at this point. I think I'll be happy with what I purchased because it'll have everything I need except HSS. And really, I don't think HSS is something I'll be crying over. Shooting at 1/200 or 1/250 should be plenty fine for me. (Especially for the dancer part. Go beyond 1/250 and **** is just gonna look weird because there will be no ambient light at all)

Any idea as to where to get a flash diffuser that will fit the YN468 well? Maybe some flash gels while I'm at it?

TridenTBoy wrote in post #14958113
I knew about that one. I decided to go ahead and purchase a couple YN-622C's for $83 and then buy a YN-468II for about $83.

I don't see the point of paying $180+ for the YN-568EX when it doesn't offer much more than the $200 used Canon 430EX II (Maybe a higher guide number and a couple extra features?). The canon can easily be resold and such. It's also just out of my budget at this point. I think I'll be happy with what I purchased because it'll have everything I need except HSS. And really, I don't think HSS is something I'll be crying over. Shooting at 1/200 or 1/250 should be plenty fine for me. (Especially for the dancer part. Go beyond 1/250 and **** is just gonna look weird because there will be no ambient light at all)

when you get the Yongnuo setup going, will you keep us updated on how you like it?

im considering Yongnuo over canon myself