Off Camera Flash

[Brettmc20]

I recently purchased a YN560II Flash Light for my Canon 550D off ebay and it hasnt arrived. Its been a month with no contact from the seller and i paid express postage form China.
Is the flash reasonable to use with my camera / easy to use? i dont understand the ETTL/ TTL / ITTL (no idead) or maybe should i put in for a 565ex


I already have the Wireless flash remotes.

[Mark L]

You might get some answers if to post the questions here http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/forumdisplay.php?103-Flash-Strobist
:confused013

[AVALANCHE]

There isn't much to understand with TTL (through the lens) other than it automatically calculates the amount of flash required before the shot is taken going by your current camera settings.

You might find it a lot more understandable learning manual flash and with plenty of trial and error...it's not as scary as it sounds either!

[Wobbles]

Hi Brett,
if you purchased from the seller that you've posted the links to, I wouldn't panic just yet.. has a pretty good feedback score with high sales volume. Things can take 4-6 weeks coming from China even with 'express' postage (usually not worth the $'s btw) could just be held up in customs to.

I have a fair bit of Yongnuo gear and have found it very good for the price. The YN560II is a versatile and powerful unit, excellent for off camera 'strobist' off camera flash (OCF) work.
As noted above TTL stands for Through The Lens metering i.e. when you press the shutter button the camera fires off a pre-flash and meters the scene "through the lens" adjusts the flash power accordingly and then fires the flash again and takes the actual image (all happens in milliseconds so you can't see it). ETTL is Canon version iTTL is Nikon.

Which flash triggers did you get? 602, 603 or 622? ETTL will only work off-camera with the 622's anyway. While ETTL can be useful in some situations eg. with constantly changing ambient light. Most people (including 'pros') shoot OCF in Manual as it's easier to set up and get constant repeatability particularly studio type shoot. That said, one big advantage of the 622 and YN565EX combination with most newer Canon cameras (your 550D included) is that you can control the flash remotely from the on camera flash menu (power level, zoom, group, etc.)! This is particularly useful if the flash is 8 feet up in the air on a stand or inside a softbox. Also you can set an ETTL flash to manual but not the other way around. ;)

BTW the second link for the 565 is for a Nikon version! If you are going that way ensure you pick a Canon unit.

Cheers
John

[Grumby]

Firstly - I hope that your flash has now arrived!
As others have said, the TTL mode will pretty much remove the need for you to think about any other flash settings, and most often will give you a reasonably well balanced image, but as also already noted - TTL is only available when the flash is on the camera, or linked via some fairly advanced (and costly) wireless remotes. If you've gone for a YN flash (as I did), then I wonder if that may be because of your budget (as it was with me), in which case, it is more likely you have some more basic wireless remotes - I went for Cactus v5 remotes myself. My intention however was that this would force me to learn how to use the flash in manual mode. There are many websites that will help you acquire that knowledge - probably the best known being Strobist.com. Once you have got used to navigating through the modes on your flash, you might find experimenting with off-camera flash in manual mode quite rewarding (if a little expensive on batteries while you are experimenting).
Best of luck...
Grum.

[trueblue]

I recommend learn to use your flash in manual mode. Like stated above it is not that hard to learn just a few hours reading and then trial and error. I try not to avoid auto functions on the flash and camera where possible.