Best value for money 3rd party ETTL flash?

So, my 430EX flash broke down and has lost its E-TTL functionality. I'm left with manual control only, which isn't too dramatic, but quite limiting.

I'm now looking for a new flash with E-TTL support. I'm not really pleased by Canon offering: it's expensive and did not prove reliable for me (my 430ex was very well taken cared of, seldom used, never dropped, but one day just decided to give up on E-TTL mode...)

Anyway, I'm looking for cheaper option that would still give me automatic E-TTL exposure. My main use will be to shoot handheld, off camera, via a TTL cord. I shoot portrait, one or two persons (half body or head shot), and close up / macro on small objects & plants.

Requirements are:

- E-TTL (when on camera / TTL cord)
- reliable (under moderate use)
- affordable (below USD 150, max USD 200)

I don't need HSS, neither a lot of power. My 430ex is plenty powerful enough and I rarely used it at full power. Wireless E-TTL would be nice, but not a must. Lighter/smaller is a plus since I'll be using it handheld.

I googled a bit and found these possible match:

- Nissin di622 II
- Yongnuo 565EX
- Yongnuo 468 II

Also found the Yongnuo 560EX, but E-TTL mode only works off camera (I need the opposite).

YN 468 II has the advantage of being cheaper, smaller, but do a bit less as well. The bigger YN and the Nissin are more powerful, do more stuff and are naturally more expensive. That I can read it from the specs, but do you guys have any hand on experience with these?

Or do you have better recommendation (don't blow my budget please )? Thanks.

I have a Nissin Di622 mkII, very satisfied, looking to get one more in fact. Very easy to use flash with lots of options to incorporate with other flashes. I also have a Di866 mkI which has been with me a long time and held up well. The only issue I have had with the 622 was once when I slid it off the hotshoe once it seemed to freeze up. Turned it on and off again and all was good.

Then there's also the Metz flashes that I have heard are supposed to have a bit better build quality, but I haven't used them.

Thanks jackerin.

I'm considering the di622ii more and more. I've read a lot of good things about it, and most people seems to be happy with it. On the other hand, the YN flashes have mix reviews, especially when it comes to reliability.

Haven't seen Metz flash around here, not very popular. I can get a new Nissin 622ii for just above USD 150 here, so that sounds like the best deal.

The Di622 II in manual only goes down to 1/32 power and in ttl can only do FEC of +/- 1.5 EV

The yn468ex II can not do wireless ettl.

The yn565ex had an issue with the capacitor in the early units but has since been corrected.

Personally I'd go with a yn568ex. Its the most expensive of the Yongnuo flashes but has had no major issues aside from an over exposure issue on some cameras while in HSS at 1/250. With it you get manual from 1/1-1/128, ettl FEC of +/-5ev, HSS (know you said it wasn't needed but still nice to have), wireless ETTl, and a swivel head that goes 180 in both directions (the other yongnuo's only do 180 in one direction and 90 in the other). The only thing its missing is a battery pack port......which honestly was a stupid omission by yongnuo since the yn565ex has one!

the Yongnuo YN-565EX It fits your needs perfect. Most of the bad capacitor units have worked themselves out of the supply chain. It has full e-ttl on camera, just can't be a master, only a slave off camera.

phreaknes wrote in post #15375357
the Yongnuo YN-565EX It fits your needs perfect. Most of the bad capacitor units have worked themselves out of the supply chain. It has full e-ttl on camera, just can't be a master, only a slave off camera.

Which Canon ETTL capable speedlites are masters off camera?
Master means its controlling other speedlites. That means its getting commands from the camera to complete the ETTL process. That means its connected to the camera. ETTL cable or its a slave responding to the master on camera.

gremlin75 wrote in post #15375241
The Di622 II in manual only goes down to 1/32 power and in ttl can only do FEC of +/- 1.5 EV

That's one of the cons for the Nissin. Though I read in a review that the 1/32 power can be further reduced from the camera menu via FEC. Not sure if I understood that right.

@jackerin: Can you confirm? Is the lowest power setting 1/32 - 1.5ev (so 1/96)?

Am I also right to think I can control this flash from my 60D camera menu?

gremlin75 wrote in post #15375241
The yn468ex II can not do wireless ettl.

Yep. I think I can live without that though. If I shoot wireless, I'm likely to do so at home/indoor, using my umbrella, and therefore manual usage is fine.

gremlin75 wrote in post #15375241
The yn565ex had an issue with the capacitor in the early units but has since been corrected.

I read similar stories of flash dying when fired at full power. I have to admit I do not feel very confident buying a YN after reading so many mixed reviews. YN also seems to come up with new version of their flash continuously, which give me the impression none of their offers are that good if they feel the need to continuously upgrade their models...

gremlin75 wrote in post #15375241
Personally I'd go with a yn568ex. Its the most expensive of the Yongnuo flashes but has had no major issues aside from an over exposure issue on some cameras while in HSS at 1/250. With it you get manual from 1/1-1/128, ettl FEC of +/-5ev, HSS (know you said it wasn't needed but still nice to have), wireless ETTl, and a swivel head that goes 180 in both directions (the other yongnuo's only do 180 in one direction and 90 in the other). The only thing its missing is a battery pack port......which honestly was a stupid omission by yongnuo since the yn565ex has one!

Yep, it's a great flash on paper. Just like most of their offerings: feature packed and inexpensive. I'm just having doubt about the quality. I'm not in a rush to buy a new speedlight (I plan to take "advantage" of my broken 430ex to learn manual flash), so I'll keep my options open. Will read more recent YN reviews to see if the quality improved.

dmward wrote in post #15375385
Which Canon ETTL capable speedlites are masters off camera?
Master means its controlling other speedlites. That means its getting commands from the camera to complete the ETTL process. That means its connected to the camera. ETTL cable or its a slave responding to the master on camera.

only Canon speedlites are off camera masters that I'm aware of.

If you've got a 60D, why use a cord? I'd just use canon's wireless slave mode. Canon 420EX can do that and they are under $100 used.

tkbslc wrote in post #15375633
If you've got a 60D, why use a cord? I'd just use canon's wireless slave mode. Canon 420EX can do that and they are under $100 used.

Because the speedlight may not trigger if I place it further back than the camera and/or cover it with a diffuser/mini softbox. I have to keep a line of sight between the flash and the camera. That's not always possible.

Also, I prefer to buy goods new to benefit from the warranty. Buying used is inconvenient to me.

Speaking of warranty, over here (Malaysia), Nissin flashes come with a 2-year warranty, Yongnuo's with only 6-month, and Canon's with 1-year.

And since Nissin flashes cost half the price of a Canon, that's effectively 4 years of warranty . I'll still wait for more reviews from YN first, but I'm liking Nissin more and more.

phreaknes wrote in post #15375576
only Canon speedlites are off camera masters that I'm aware of.

Only when they are on an ETTL cable. Otherwise no, except for the very limited hybrid triggering using Master and Manual.

Even on the YN-622C triggers, the off-camera master-capable flashes have wireless turned off.

cedm wrote in post #15375417
That's one of the cons for the Nissin. Though I read in a review that the 1/32 power can be further reduced from the camera menu via FEC. Not sure if I understood that right.

1/32 is it, it does not go any lower in manual. This is straight from nissin's site "The power level is provided from full power (G.No.44) down to 1/32nd power in 1.0Ev increments." So in manual you do not even get the third or half stops like you do with other flashes.

cedm wrote in post #15375417
Yep. I think I can live without that though. If I shoot wireless, I'm likely to do so at home/indoor, using my umbrella, and therefore manual usage is fine.

If thats the case then then the yn468ex II is a great choice. Its not as powerful as the 430ex II but it is small and light. I've had a yn468ex for a couple years, actually my friend owns it now, but it has never once failed in the approximately 2 years that myself and my friend have been using it.

cedm wrote in post #15375417
I read similar stories of flash dying when fired at full power. I have to admit I do not feel very confident buying a YN after reading so many mixed reviews. YN also seems to come up with new version of their flash continuously, which give me the impression none of their offers are that good if they feel the need to continuously upgrade their models...

Don't get me wrong, the early yn565ex's were utter crap! I when through two of them, both had the main board issues that would only fire the flash at full power while in ettl mode (it wasn't that it died when shooting at full power, just all ettl would do was fire and full power. Manual setting would still work fine though). Like I said this issue has since been fixed. The yn565ex has a thread here in the flash forum and since yongnuo fixed the board issues there have been no reported issues in there. I think the date code that is needed to be sure it's a fixed flash is 10/2011....you'll want to double check on that though, it may be 11/2011.

cedm wrote in post #15375417
Yep, it's a great flash on paper. Just like most of their offerings: feature packed and inexpensive. I'm just having doubt about the quality. I'm not in a rush to buy a new speedlight (I plan to take "advantage" of my broken 430ex to learn manual flash), so I'll keep my options open. Will read more recent YN reviews to see if the quality improved.

The yn568ex also has its own thread here in the flash forum. Like I said the only issue that has been noted is its over exposure in HSS with a SS of 1/250 on some cameras. A side from that there have ben no other issues noted, and lets be honest, this is the internet; People are more likely to complain about something that went wrong then to praise something for not breaking. So the fact that there have been nearly no complaints about the flash should speak volumes.

Yongnuo has really been upping their QC. Is there QC to canon standards? No, but there is only so much you can expect when a product is half or a third the price. I don't know what prices are like in Malaysia but here in the US the di622ex II is about $85 more then a yn565ex and about $140 more then a yn468ex II. So I could almost get a 565ex and a 468ex II for the same price as one 622ex II or I could get two 468ex II and still have some money left over. Like I said though, thats for me here in the US, the price difference in Malaysia might be closer

All are going to be good flashes.

The di622ex II is going to be the most powerful (its 1/10 a stop more powerfull then the yn565ex and 1 and 7/10's more powerful then the yn468 II), and comes with the longer warrenty for you. But it's the most expensive of the options you listed, is limited when it comes to manual power control and has a limited FEC range in ettl.

The yn565ex is nearly the same power as the di622ex II, is cheaper, has the battery pack port, has a wider range of manual control's, and has a wider range of FEC in ettl. But it has a bad rep due to the main board issues with the early models.

The yn468 II is the cheapest of the options you listed, has a wider range of manual setting, has a wider range of FEC in ettl mode, is small and light. But It is the least powerful of the options and doesn't offer ettl slave capabilities


speedlights.net has review's for the di622ex II. yn565ex, and yn468ex (mark I more mark II, but only thing that changed was the battery door and pc sync port)

cedm wrote in post #15375417
That's one of the cons for the Nissin. Though I read in a review that the 1/32 power can be further reduced from the camera menu via FEC. Not sure if I understood that right.

@jackerin: Can you confirm? Is the lowest power setting 1/32 - 1.5ev (so 1/96)?

The FEC only works with the flash in TTL mode, if the flash is set to manual mode 1/32 then that is what it will fire at regardless of the camera settings. In TTL mode it works just as expected, with the flash adjusting to the camera settings.

So the 1/32 minimum would only be a problem when shooting manual flash, and then it's very easy to additionally vary the flash effect by adjusting distance or diffusing material in front of the flash head.

Thanks for your input Gremlin, I really appreciate that.

Price wise, all the options mentioned are pretty close to each other. For once the price in Malaysia aren't that much over the US ones. Nissins are actually even cheaper here.

To give you an idea, converted into USD, this is how much each option costs here:

- YN 468 II: $115
- Nissin di622 II: $155
- YN 565EX: $165
- YN 568EX: $185

And for sake of comparison, the Canon 430EX II sells for $325.

I could honestly fit any of the YN in my budget. They all are reasonably priced.

I'm starting to think wireless E-TTL is a must have, so I'm getting less interested in the 468 now. I would probably be better off with the 565ex or 568ex model. I'll keep an eye on the forum and reviews. If I'm getting a Yongnuo, I'll make sure to get a recent batch.