Review YN04-II Triggers

jgs001

Brian Cox
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John
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I bought a set of these from FITP this week. and got a chance to try them out. I have to say that the wireless triggers really provide a lot more flexibility than using a hotshoe mounted flash as an optical trigger (but I bet you knew that ;)).

Anyway, first impressions... they are small and lightweight, easy to fit and use, this is a good thing. They come with a set of batteries, which as they are not the average, run of the mill, battery is a good thing, as these are ones I don't have in the house. The receiver base seem a little wobbly with the flash fitted, but it's working fine either on the AS19 or fitted on a tripod. Once all hooked up, press the activation button on the receiver, the led starts blinking, to show it's powered up, press the button on the transmitter test fires the system. This works with either just the single flash, of fires both if you have a flash mounted on the transmitter hotshoe also. Again, a good thing.

I've got a long way to go to work this stuff out, but here's a test shot, using them with a single flash.

IMG_3518.jpg


I know it's rather rubbish, but as I said I have a long way to go.

I maybe missing something, but the receiver doesn't seem to go to sleep when you're finished, but rather remains active, flashing away. I can't help but wonder if this isn't a bit wasteful on the battery. The docs do indicate that the transmitter battery has a number of firings, but the receiver battery has a quoted standby time... I may need to leave it active for longer to see what happens. I've opted for a workaround, of removing the battery when done to preserve it's life, and this works fine.

Considering how little these units cost, I think they are excellent value for money, and for someone like me on a tight budget are a great way to get into wireless off camera flash.
 
I've been having a play during lunch and I can't work out why things feel a little wobbly. The fittings all feel perfectly good and strong, the same goes for the flash and tripod I've been mounting them on. When all mounted together they feel wobbly.. not too worry... they're fine.
 
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