YongNuo YN685 C Radio Slave Flash

CliveyBoy wrote in post #17709160
At last the YN685 Speedlite has been released. Price: around US$110-120.

Well that was a lot faster then I expected after the announced delay. Hopefully the QC didn't suffer more to speed up the release!!

Looking forward to see reviews.

Ah! Careless me! I believed a listing (hkyongnuiphotoequipme​nt). Ordered 14 Sep. "Shipped" 15th. Tracking says will leave HKPost on 18th.

Meking advise me that they have stock to ship.

Looking forward to your review Clive. If it measures up to it's advertising the 685 will solve a couple issues for me. I'll be ordering two (maybe 3) and have a 430 and 568 for sale. I really appreciate all the work you've put into Yongnuo products. Thanks.......

My YN685 has arrived! I will not be reviewing it as a flash; my interest is specifically how it integrates with the 622 system, and to some extent the 560 system.

There are several aspects that need examining further... in due course.

CliveyBoy wrote in post #17718074
My YN685 has arrived! I will not be reviewing it as a flash; my interest is specifically how it integrates with the 622 system, and to some extent the 560 system.

There are several aspects that need examining further... in due course.

Looking forward to your review. I've given up on trying to get the 622C-TX to manually control my 430 EX flash. It just won't do it despite numerous attempts and re-reads of the TOYUG. The YN685 might be a good alternative to go along with my 580 EX II.

Added 1 October 2015: FIXED - The problem was caused by manufacturing residue on the bridging contacts inside the hatch. A thorough clean and a 3-second recharge after a 1:1 pop was achieved. I can now confirm the "Ultrafast recycle" claim.

"Always start with the power supply" said my electronics servicing boss.

YN says on its web page "Ultrafast Charging Recycle System .... 3 seconds when the output is set to maximum. 4~5 seconds ...without using fresh batteries."

What I see is seriously not like that!

Cells are tested under a 27ohm load. NiMH are Powerex 2700MaH (by far the best for the job, IMO). The charger is the Powerex/Maha MH-C9000. Alkalines are a locally-branded Chinese product with very good performance.

I used a battery pack (Pixel) to warm up the capacitor in the 685, firing several shots. Then disconnected the Pixel.

Freshly-charged NiMH at 1.3x volts each - 12 seconds after a 1/1 shot.

With the Pixel added, just under 2 seconds.

Removed Pixel, inserted new Alkalines - 8 seconds.

Took NiMH and inserted into 580EX II. 8 seconds, and 1.2 seconds with Pixel.

So, I find the YN claim to be unsupportable, and the 685 usable ONLY WITH a battery pack. Did they change the electronics? Does mine have a fault?

YN test with Alkaline revised - Manual says NiMH.

And don't try to say "I got mine unopened from Costco's dump bin (expired shelf life). It's not price, it's performance.

CliveyBoy wrote in post #17720574
What I see is seriously not like that!
Freshly-charged NiMH at 1.3x volts each - 12 seconds after a 1/1 shot.

With the Pixel added, just under 2 seconds.

Removed Pixel, inserted new Alkalines - 8 seconds.

Took NiMH and inserted into 580EX II. 8 seconds, and 1.2 seconds with Pixel.

Foot.
Gun.
BANG.
Ouch - looks like a severe self-inflicted injury by Yongnuo. Based on just this single unit of course. Really wouldn't inspire me to order one though.
Reminds me of what my House Master used to put on school reports - "Could do better"! (For several decades, I've consoled myself with the thought that 'Of course he could do better - he's the teacher and I'm just the pupil' )

The sad thing for me is that a while back we had a channel to discuss this sort of problem with YN before going public. That channel has been dammed, and it is missed.

As Mr Whortle chortles, it is only one unit, and the testing is cursory.

CliveyBoy wrote in post #17720574
...
Freshly-charged NiMH at 1.3x volts each - 12 seconds after a 1/1 shot.

With the Pixel added, just under 2 seconds.

Removed Pixel, inserted new Alkalines - 8 seconds.

Took NiMH and inserted into 580EX II. 8 seconds, and 1.2 seconds with Pixel.

So, I find the YN claim to be unsupportable, and the 685 usable ONLY WITH a battery pack. Did they change the electronics? Does mine have a fault?...

Good news is it seems as though yours has a fault!

I've only had 10 minutes to test mine, but I put in the first set of Eneloops I could find in my drawer and tested. On 1/1, full power, shots the recycle time seems to be 3 to 4 seconds. Exactly

Sorry, can't seem to edit my post above and had posted before I'd finished typing.

Exactly as per the YN spec on the website.

Hope you manage to swap your flash for a good one. Let me know any other tests I can do. I will give the flash a proper workout soon. I'll also have a go with the Pixel TD-381 attached.

First impressions of this flash are really good!

Thanks for your report. I'll check a little further, but expect to return the unit.

PhilClubman wrote in post #17725921
I've only had 10 minutes to test mine, but I put in the first set of Eneloops I could find in my drawer and tested. On 1/1, full power, shots the recycle time seems to be 3 to 4 seconds. Exactly

Good to hear your recycle time is more in line with the specs.

Good to hear the recycle is what we expect. Out of curiousity, does the YN-685 have any optical slave modes at all? Or is it solely a radio slave?

It has no optical slave modes.

Manual: "Trigger mode: Set-top, wireless off-camera". (Wireless means radio, not Canon optical code, nor S1/S1 simple optical trigger.)

Behind the front red lens - "wireless trigger sensor (= receiver aerial) / Remote indicator / AF-assist beam emitter".

Think I spoke too soon. I've had a chance to test the flash really briefly and it seems the metering is badly under exposing. Does anyone else have have a copy that they can test and tell me if it's just mine?