Yongnuo YN-460

[Skoropada]

I have recently bought (on an impulse) a Yongnuo YN-460 speelight, with the idea of using it as a slave unit to my Sony HVL-F42AM.

But, I haven't been able to get a consistent operation out of it.
I also tried it mounted on my Canon G12, but it didn't fire.

Has any of you used one of these flashed on a Sony system?

I'm looking forward to your comments.

Thanks!

[Skoropada]

I believe that no one has experience with this kind of flash...

[inkista]

I have a YN-560, but I use it with Canon gear, and you specifically asked for Sony experiences.

With the YN-460, have you checked the batteries? Does it fire if the test button is pushed? Are you waiting long enough for the recycle (i.e., until the light goes green) before firing again. And how are you triggering it?

Also, is the 460? or the 460 II?

[Skoropada]

Originally Posted by inkista

I have a YN-560, but I use it with Canon gear, and you specifically asked for Sony experiences.

With the YN-460, have you checked the batteries? Does it fire if the test button is pushed? Are you waiting long enough for the recycle (i.e., until the light goes green) before firing again. And how are you triggering it?

Also, is the 460? or the 460 II?

I recon that the combination of these flashed with Sony equipment may be rare...

I don't have my YN-460 here, but I'm almost sure that it is the YN-460 II (with the photocell behind the red plastic)

I'm trying to use the built-in optical slave in S1 or S2 mode.
I've tested it with new batteries in both modes without pushing it in regards of the recycle time.

I believe that Sony's pre-flash is not that plain, specially if you are trying to fire a Sony flash in wireless mode.

What I have observed is that the YN-460 fires before the shutter is open.

[inkista]

Originally Posted by Skoropada

I believe that Sony's pre-flash is not that plain, specially if you are trying to fire a Sony flash in wireless mode.

What I have observed is that the YN-460 fires before the shutter is open.

Ok, I think I know what's going on here.

When you have the HVL-F42AM on the hotshoe, are you trying to use Sony's proprietary wireless signalling to "master" the YN-460 II? This has been known to fail utterly with Canon's eTTL and Nikon's CLS signalling as well, because this kind of signalling uses light bursts kind of like Morse code: there are multiple pre-flashes.

The YN optical slave modes are really really simple. S1 fires on the first flash burst it sees, and S2 fires on the second one it sees. If you're trying to use a wireless eTTL scheme, this is probably too early in either mode.

Put the on-hotshoe flash into Manual mode, take it out of any master/slave (or, in Nikon terminology commander) mode. This should eliminate all the pre-flashes and allow the YN-460 II to synch in S1 mode.

While you can mix TTL and manual flash in the same setup, it tends to get kind of complicated and frustrating. It's always best to either go all-TTL, or all-Manual.

[Skoropada]

Thanks Inkista!

I believe that I'll have to find another way to use that flash, or change it for a Sony proprietary flash.

PS: I use the on-camera flash as commander, as the Alpha line has that built function. I tried to block the commander from the YN-460 letting the HVL-42 trigger it, but it didn't work either.

[inkista]

Same deal. If you can put the pop-up flash into Manual mode, it should work (but chances are Sony's like Canon was: no Manual mode for pop-up flashes. Sigh.) Or just go with radio triggers. It's pretty much what we all end up doing in the end, when we mix our TTL and manual speedlights. Lowest common denominator. I started out with a Canon 580EX, added a 430EX and ST-E2, realized this was getting super-expensive, and then added an SB-26 and YN-560 and Yongnuo RF-602s.

Now, in terms of using the YN-460 II with the G12, I've found that my YN-560, if my S95 is in M mode, will pop with S1, but if I'm in Av or P mode, I have to use S2. There's a primitive form of TTL going on, with a preflash. I wouldn't be surprised if the Gs are doing this, too (although my G9 was definitely preflash-free). You may also want to turn off red-eye reduction, as that could be adding an additional preflash.

[Skoropada]

Thanks for the tips Inkista!

I'll see what I can do...