YongNuo Speed Lite YN-460
Bought this used YN-460 with a very cheap price at the local second hand market recently to try it with our Fujifilm HS10.
When we bought this item, we only get the flash and nothing else - no accessories, no diffuser and no soft board for that light bouncing thingy... just the flash in good working condition and that's about it...
I'm not really an expert photographer and I don't know much about using the external flash technique my self - I saw other people have it and use it - so I thought, let's try it and see the result and maybe I can do more practice to improve my skills in the future.
One of my main concern about choosing the external flash for Fujifilm HS10 is certainly the trigger voltage.
Fujifilm HS10 can take maximum 50V only. Below is a list of maximum voltage for several camera models from Fujifilm. I got the information from http://www.fujifilm.ca/x2161.xml
S602, FX6900 and FX4900 = 350V
S9100, S9000, S20Pro and S7000 = 250V
S100fs and S200EXR = 40V
S1Pro and S2Pro = 250V
S3Pro = 40V
S5Pro = 250V (*Use only Nikon Speedlights)
HS-10 = 50V
The trigger voltage for YongNuo Speed Lite YN-460 and Speed Lite YN-460 II is around 3.3V measured accordingly using Voltage Meter by the Speedlights.net
Additionally, many other external flashes that offer a manual mode will work with the Fuji HS10 as well, I can give 2 example - Vivitar 285HV and Metz 36 C2 - as for other models, I'm not sure but the most important key element is that the external flash must be operated in full manual mode and the trigger voltage not exceeding 50V.
Fujifilm HS10 hot shoe is not compatible with TTL Flash - that means if you use the Automatic settings on your camera the external flash wont work.
Though I'm not entirely sure about it but I think the Nissin Di866 may have the chance to work with Fujifilm HS10 because the Di866 have this Manual Mode on it but you still need to check the trigger voltage of this Di866 - if it's lower than 50V then you should be able to use it. Make sure you choose the Di866 for Nikon because in the past external flash for Nikon made by Nissin is compatible for Fujifilm camera. Again, check the trigger voltage - very important.
The external flash can only be used in the Program Mode (P), Aperture Priority Mode (A), Shutter Priority Mode (S), Manual Mode (M) and maybe the Custom Mode (C).
Eventually I only like to use Manual Mode (M) and all of my testing in this review is just using the Manual Mode (M). I haven't try using this external flash on P,A,S and C Mode but for fun sake I do try it on the "SR Auto" Mode and it doesn't work.
So now, let's have a look at this used YN-460 that we got recently...
No box no nothing.... straight away the external flash itself:
The control panel.... you need to press and hold for 2 seconds to Switch ON/OFF the power. It's kind of funny to read that wording "Digital Auto Flash" while eventually you can't use it in the "Auto Mode"
You can adjust the power level accordingly to suit your need, some people might use the term Full, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, and 1/64 - but I just use a simple term of Level 1,2,3,4,5,6 and 7 - 1 is low power and 7 is full power.
As you can see in the photo below, there are 7 LED to show the power indicator.
You can increase/decrease the power accordingly form Level 1 to Level 7.
This is at Level 2
This is now at Level 5
This is at Level 7 (Full Power)
Going straight to the flash power test, below is the photo for each of the power level.
All shots were taken in my office at around almost 7pm in a very low light or almost dark condition with the following settings on my camera;
- Manual Mode
- F/2.8
- 1/100 sec.
- ISO 100
- Focal Length 4mm
And I made that flash position to stand at 45 degrees and I put a white name card as a temporary soft board for light bouncing thingy...
Power Level 1 - not much difference, that's how dark the room is...
Power Level 2 - a little better, at least we can see something...
Power Level 3 - More improvement...
Power Level 4 - and more improvement...
Power Level 5 - another improvement...
Power Level 6 - Getting better...
Power Level 7 - Full Power, wow... not bad
And this is the same photo taken using the internal camera flash surely at full power.
Another test in the dark toilet - with YN-460
With the internal camera flash...
On top of that you can switch the mode from M (Manual, I guess) into S1 and S2 (Slave, I guess) but the flash didn't work at these 2 modes.... maybe there are some other settings on my camera that I need to do or alter but at this point I don't know what or where is it... will figure it out next time... Most important is that it works on Manual Mode and I think I'm happy with that.
The photo below is taken using the crappy camera of my mobile phone but I guess it's enough to show the external flash mounted on my Fujifilm HS10.
I'm not an expert but from my observation, if you use this external flash, you can do some adjustment to your flash and you can experiment several type of techniques (in which I need to learn and practice first) and surely it offer a more promising perspective than using the internal camera flash.
Overall, if you are a photographer or "strobists" on a small budget (or maybe you just feel stingy to spend more money) - and especially if you use Fujifilm HS10, S100fs and S200EXR, this YongNuo Speed Lite YN-460 model is a great choice.
But since this is an old model now and you can consider it as historical junk and most probably it's not easy to find this model now but in fact you should go for the more updated version, YongNuo Speed Lite YN-460 II (a.k.a Mark II).
This item caters your need for manual operation in a decent quality package at a very cheap price.
The size is almost the same as the SB-600 from Nikon.
However, you wont get a zoom feature on the flash head, and there is no PC port either, but then again this item is cheap - so we can't complain much about it.
If you interested to buy this item, the easiest is by searching YN 460 II in E-Bay and try to find the seller with this name = hkyongnuophotoequipment or you can try to visit this link to go directly to the seller's E-Bay store - if they suddenly change or remove the link, don't blame me, go search your self = YN 460 II - and you should get it...
As at today I saw they sell this YN 460 II with the price of around USD 50.00 or about SGD 78.00 with free shipping.
I might buy another one someday - at the moment, since this old used unit that I have is still in good working condition, I rather use this one till it's totally screwed up before finally getting the YN 460 II or maybe taking the other better model that have Manual Mode on it though I also don't mind to get Metz 36 C2 next time.
end
When we bought this item, we only get the flash and nothing else - no accessories, no diffuser and no soft board for that light bouncing thingy... just the flash in good working condition and that's about it...
I'm not really an expert photographer and I don't know much about using the external flash technique my self - I saw other people have it and use it - so I thought, let's try it and see the result and maybe I can do more practice to improve my skills in the future.
One of my main concern about choosing the external flash for Fujifilm HS10 is certainly the trigger voltage.
Fujifilm HS10 can take maximum 50V only. Below is a list of maximum voltage for several camera models from Fujifilm. I got the information from http://www.fujifilm.ca/x2161.xml
S602, FX6900 and FX4900 = 350V
S9100, S9000, S20Pro and S7000 = 250V
S100fs and S200EXR = 40V
S1Pro and S2Pro = 250V
S3Pro = 40V
S5Pro = 250V (*Use only Nikon Speedlights)
HS-10 = 50V
The trigger voltage for YongNuo Speed Lite YN-460 and Speed Lite YN-460 II is around 3.3V measured accordingly using Voltage Meter by the Speedlights.net
Additionally, many other external flashes that offer a manual mode will work with the Fuji HS10 as well, I can give 2 example - Vivitar 285HV and Metz 36 C2 - as for other models, I'm not sure but the most important key element is that the external flash must be operated in full manual mode and the trigger voltage not exceeding 50V.
Fujifilm HS10 hot shoe is not compatible with TTL Flash - that means if you use the Automatic settings on your camera the external flash wont work.
Though I'm not entirely sure about it but I think the Nissin Di866 may have the chance to work with Fujifilm HS10 because the Di866 have this Manual Mode on it but you still need to check the trigger voltage of this Di866 - if it's lower than 50V then you should be able to use it. Make sure you choose the Di866 for Nikon because in the past external flash for Nikon made by Nissin is compatible for Fujifilm camera. Again, check the trigger voltage - very important.
The external flash can only be used in the Program Mode (P), Aperture Priority Mode (A), Shutter Priority Mode (S), Manual Mode (M) and maybe the Custom Mode (C).
Eventually I only like to use Manual Mode (M) and all of my testing in this review is just using the Manual Mode (M). I haven't try using this external flash on P,A,S and C Mode but for fun sake I do try it on the "SR Auto" Mode and it doesn't work.
So now, let's have a look at this used YN-460 that we got recently...
No box no nothing.... straight away the external flash itself:
The control panel.... you need to press and hold for 2 seconds to Switch ON/OFF the power. It's kind of funny to read that wording "Digital Auto Flash" while eventually you can't use it in the "Auto Mode"
You can adjust the power level accordingly to suit your need, some people might use the term Full, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, and 1/64 - but I just use a simple term of Level 1,2,3,4,5,6 and 7 - 1 is low power and 7 is full power.
As you can see in the photo below, there are 7 LED to show the power indicator.
You can increase/decrease the power accordingly form Level 1 to Level 7.
This is at Level 2
This is now at Level 5
This is at Level 7 (Full Power)
Going straight to the flash power test, below is the photo for each of the power level.
All shots were taken in my office at around almost 7pm in a very low light or almost dark condition with the following settings on my camera;
- Manual Mode
- F/2.8
- 1/100 sec.
- ISO 100
- Focal Length 4mm
And I made that flash position to stand at 45 degrees and I put a white name card as a temporary soft board for light bouncing thingy...
Power Level 1 - not much difference, that's how dark the room is...
Power Level 2 - a little better, at least we can see something...
Power Level 3 - More improvement...
Power Level 4 - and more improvement...
Power Level 5 - another improvement...
Power Level 6 - Getting better...
Power Level 7 - Full Power, wow... not bad
And this is the same photo taken using the internal camera flash surely at full power.
Another test in the dark toilet - with YN-460
With the internal camera flash...
On top of that you can switch the mode from M (Manual, I guess) into S1 and S2 (Slave, I guess) but the flash didn't work at these 2 modes.... maybe there are some other settings on my camera that I need to do or alter but at this point I don't know what or where is it... will figure it out next time... Most important is that it works on Manual Mode and I think I'm happy with that.
The photo below is taken using the crappy camera of my mobile phone but I guess it's enough to show the external flash mounted on my Fujifilm HS10.
I'm not an expert but from my observation, if you use this external flash, you can do some adjustment to your flash and you can experiment several type of techniques (in which I need to learn and practice first) and surely it offer a more promising perspective than using the internal camera flash.
Overall, if you are a photographer or "strobists" on a small budget (or maybe you just feel stingy to spend more money) - and especially if you use Fujifilm HS10, S100fs and S200EXR, this YongNuo Speed Lite YN-460 model is a great choice.
But since this is an old model now and you can consider it as historical junk and most probably it's not easy to find this model now but in fact you should go for the more updated version, YongNuo Speed Lite YN-460 II (a.k.a Mark II).
This item caters your need for manual operation in a decent quality package at a very cheap price.
The size is almost the same as the SB-600 from Nikon.
However, you wont get a zoom feature on the flash head, and there is no PC port either, but then again this item is cheap - so we can't complain much about it.
If you interested to buy this item, the easiest is by searching YN 460 II in E-Bay and try to find the seller with this name = hkyongnuophotoequipment or you can try to visit this link to go directly to the seller's E-Bay store - if they suddenly change or remove the link, don't blame me, go search your self = YN 460 II - and you should get it...
As at today I saw they sell this YN 460 II with the price of around USD 50.00 or about SGD 78.00 with free shipping.
I might buy another one someday - at the moment, since this old used unit that I have is still in good working condition, I rather use this one till it's totally screwed up before finally getting the YN 460 II or maybe taking the other better model that have Manual Mode on it though I also don't mind to get Metz 36 C2 next time.
end
Recently bought a yn460 and it also will not work in s1 or s2. Did you ever figure out why?
ReplyDeleteSchroedert, sorry I don't know what is the reason either. It's interesting to note that this YN-460 Flash can work in all modes (including Automatic and Scene modes) of my other camera, Panasonic LX3 (using the "M" mode on the flash as both the "S1" and "S2" modes doesn't work either on the LX3). With my Fujifilm HS10 however, it will only work in the P,A,S,M modes.
ReplyDeleteHello, I've been trying to buy an external flash for my HS10, but I've found that YN-460, yn-460ii and 560 have some quality control problems.. How long have you had yours?? Have you ever had any problems with it? I've also found a different brand, which is the ALZO manual speedlight (amazon). Do you think it may work with the HS10?
ReplyDeleteHow long have you had this flash? Have you hade any problems with it? There is another good brand (ALZO Manual Speedlight), but I don't know if the HS10 is compatible with it!!
ReplyDeleteI've been using it since July 2010 and in fact till today, though eventually I also bought another 1, brand new, as a spare if this one die in the future.
ReplyDeleteI have no problem with this flash, it's cheap and it can do the job.
Apart from this cheap flash, I also own a more powerful top of the line "Canon 580EX II" and I really understand the power and the speed of the more expensive model, but then again, this YN-460 does not aim to compete with that expensive flash from Canon.
The power is not as "strong" as those expensive flash from Canon, Nissin etc. but then again, this is cheap. You need to increase the ISO to get "almost" the same result that the Canon 580EX II can deliver.
The recycle time also is not as fast as "strong" as those expensive flash from Canon, Nissin etc. but then again, this is cheap. Nothing much you can do on this though. If you don't use it on "Full Power", it should be "quite fast".
With some good knowledge of photography basic (things like ISO and all that) and with lot's of practice or testing, I'm sure one can make the best use of this flash.
Remember this is a flash for strobist on a tight budget... if you can afford better, then by all means forget about this cheap flash.
About the ALZO manual speedlight u see from Amazon, it is basically the same Yong Nuo YN-460 exactly. The just change the name to ALZO so that they can sell it to European and American market as the name "Yong Nuo" sounds to "Chinese" while the name "ALZO" is kind of not "Chinese" at all... something like that.
And I'm pretty sure it is compatible with your Fujifilm HS10.
I really thank you for your reply. Now, I want to buy the YN-460ii, but I've just read in the product description that this flash is not compatible with the HS11 (hs10)!!! Do you think this is true?? I read this in Amazon! =(
ReplyDeleteIt's compatible, YN-460II is the newer model of YN-460, they have the same low trigger voltage so it is safe for your camera. The only thing is that you can only use it in the camera shooting mode of P,A,S and M only... the same as the YN-460 anyway... Good luck. If you bought from E-Bay it is cheaper than Amazon, I guess...
ReplyDeletehttp://cgi.ebay.com.sg/Yongnuo-Flash-Speedlite-YN-460-II-Metal-Hot-Shoe-/180680166988?pt=Digital_Camera_Flashes&hash=item2a11608e4c
Anyway, it's up to you where you want to buy it, I have no authority to say that you should buy from here or there, it's your money, your rights.
Good luck.