jblazar Loc: Sunnyvale, CA

Most of the specs are the same but the Yongnuo lacks high speed sync. I am a beginner at this and wonder how important HSS is. Anyone care to educate me?

Thanks.

EnglishBrenda Loc: Kent, England

I don't know but see Sippy jug 104's post of today where he is using HSS in a similar set up using 2 lights. He may be able to answer your question.

Mark Sturtevant Loc: Grand Blanc, MI

HSS is a specialty setting that is a potential solution for certain difficult photography situations. Normally, a camera will limit your shutter speed to 1/200 or 1/250 of a second if you use a flash. The reasons for that are explained in the link below. But HSS lets you override that and use the flash at very high shutter speeds like 1/4000 of a sec. The applications of HSS are:
1. Freeze movement while also illuminating a scene with the flash. For example, a kids' soccer game, or a flying insect.
2. Taking a picture with a wide aperture (to get super soft background), while also using the flash to fill in shadows. The faster shutter speeds allowed under HSS lets you not overexpose the scene.

Here is an article explaining HSS: https://fstoppers.com/originals/demystifying-high-speed-sync-68527 You can find a lot more online.

HSS is a nice feature, but situations needing it don't come up every day (at least in my opinion. Yours may differ).
Another pro for HSS: A flash with this feature will likely be a better quality overall & a longer lasting flash. It will cost more, though.
Con for using HSS: it is a heavy drain on batteries, and if you use it a lot during a session your flash can overheat and shut down. Sometimes an overheated flash will not turn on again. This is according to various comments in reviews on Amazon.

What to buy? I am not sure what to tell you. I have a Canon flash and a couple cheaper Chinese flashes. The Canon's build quality is superb and this flash should last a long time. Canon will have great customer support. There is a better resale value. But if one of my Chinese flashes breaks I can buy two more b4 I get up to the cost of the Canon.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

I use HSS for backlit humming birds. The morning or afternoon sun from behind them plus the HSS flash to light the near side results in a shot that looks like bright sun without any major harsh shadows but when focused correctly great feather details and depending on the SS I pick the wings are frozen or nearly frozen instead of just a blur. The same also applies to birds in dim light with flash to allow higher SS. I use a Yongnuo yn600, the first model, not the current second model.
Two examples:
1. coming in to land, wings at high speed so still blurred quite a bit.
2. on the perch, looking at another bird diving down to drive this bird away, wings are at lower speed for balance so "almost" sharp

80D 100-400L mk 2 @ 170, 1/1600 @ f/8.0, ISO 800 HSS flash with back light from setting sun hand held

(Download)

80D 100-400L mk 2 @ 400, 1/1600 @ f/8.0, ISO 800 HSS flash with back light from setting sun hand held

(Download)

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Mark and other responding here are spot-on in their assessment of high-speed sync flash. I am currently using it as a work-around for my 200mm macro lens and the need to have a faster shutter speed to avoid blur and softness. If it weren't for the 200mm lens, I would have no need for a faster shutter speed with my flash. It is a battery life-sucker so be prepared to use rechargeable batteries or buy stock in your favorite battery manufacturer for you will go through them.

My passion is finding insects and spiders in the field. I hunt for them in the thickets and bogs and the shooting conditions vary from shot to shot due to the habitat and the shadows casted by the thick leaves and the little critters playing hide-and-seek with me.

I've tried several flash modifiers both bought and do-it-yourself which work good for my shorter lenses but much so for the longer one (both in physical length and focal distance). I found the lens mounted dual flash to be a great solution for me with my present style of shooting. I am using the Meike Macro Dual Flash system which is RF controlled so I can remove the two (or more) flashes and stage them remote and fire them up quite a distance away from the camera. I paid $300 for the system which I believe to be a fair price compared to the Nikon equivalent system.

In summary, high-speed sync has its uses however they are not for your everyday needs. YouTube has many tutorials on high-speed sync and when its applicable and if that fits your style then its an important feature, if not it's a feature that will go unused and you may wish you had made a different choice and I don't believe you can go wrong with manufacturer brand accessories for compatibility and support. Enjoy your quest - sippyjug.

jblazar Loc: Sunnyvale, CA

Thanks very much for all your replies. I've ordered the Yongnuo to try it, but will look into the Meike. I may just end up biting the bullet and getting the Canon.

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Whatever it is that you get, I'm sure you will enjoy it and good flash techniques will take your images to another level. Light is light so it comes down to a matter of how you apply it to the subject. It's part science and a large part art. There are about as many lighting techniques and modifiers as there are people that use flash photography.

Here's a link to the UHH True Macro Photography section that shows many pictures contributed by members of their macro camera and flash setups https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-32754-1.html

The Yongnuo is a great flash system and the Canon is an excellent flash system. One takes two AAA batteries and the other takes four AA batteries and the Canon is about a quarter pound heavier. List prices however are quite different between the two.

I look forward to seeing your posted images when your new flash system arrives.

jblazar Loc: Sunnyvale, CA

Thanks, Sippyjug.

Now I've looked up the Meike system you mentioned. It does have HSS and the heads are not wired, so they can be removed and placed wherever you want. Sounds ideal and it gets god reviews.

jblazar Loc: Sunnyvale, CA

Perhaps more information will get me more input. I'm going to Madagascar where there are lots of interesting insects and reptiles, as well as lemurs. Is a twin-arm flash to ungainly to use while walking through a forest?

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

What I really like about the Meike Dual Flash system is that you can add additional remote flashes so you can have more than two. You can also place your regular speedlight flash on the hot shoe that is on top of the transmitter so you would have it plus the two that come with it. The fact that the flash heads can be set up remotely is a big plus too. You can actually have someone hold one or both on the subject as you take the picture. One more item is that you can use them remotely with umbrellas or softboxes so they make good portrait flashes as well.

With other flash systems where the flash heads are tethered to the unit, you are limited to what can be done so they essentially are used like a ring flash unit. Even the ones that have flexible arms are limited to specific macro use.

I found the Meike to be more flexible for me than the Nikon version. Also, in my case, the Nikon version had special size batteries that were uncommon where the Meike uses two AAA in each flash head and two AA in the transmitter. When used on low power (1/8th or so) the AAA batteries are good for about 500 flashes and the AA batteries of the transmitter draw almost no power at all so they last quite a long time. I use rechargeable 2500 milliamp batteries in my system and I shoot nearly 80 or more shots about every day.

Mark Sturtevant Loc: Grand Blanc, MI

I have the most ungainly twin head flash possible: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IYIYBTK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 , made more so with two largeish diffusers on each flash head. It definitely can bump into plants in a dense forest, and the diffusers easily get knocked out of line by that and by my handling. But I manage. I am not sure if this is a real concern, but could flash heads that are simply clipped to the the lens be knocked off by clawing branches?
Madagascar sounds awesome. Wish I could go! Share pictures with us, please.

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Mark, the Laowa is a very good flash system and the ability to manipulate the flash heads independently allow for a lot of lighting flexibility. Another nice feature is the illumination light that is also adjustable to light the subject for better focus when looking through a live view with a narrow aperture.

Laowa makes very well built products. I have the Laowa 60mm f2.8 super macro and it is quite well made, all steel construction and it has a great degree of precision in its adjustment travel. It's a manual lens so looking through it a 2X magnification at f11 is quite dark so the illumination light on the Laowa lighting system is a great feature to have.

The Meike system has illumination in the flash heads and in the transmitter so they can be used to light the subject but not with the flexibility of the Laowa. The Meike flash heads attach to a ring that affixes to a threaded adaptor that screws into the lenses filter threads so they quite securely mounted. The flash heads pivot toward and away from the lens independently and they click into their positions and you can add more heads if you care to have more than two. You can also use a speedlight in the hot shoe that is on top of the transmitter with a light modifier if you want to have light coming down from the top and from both sides as well. One more feature is that you have four channels and three groups to assign different flashes with modes and power settings to create an array of flash combinations. Because I regularly hunt for insects in thick weeded areas sometimes as tall as me the heads can get bumped inward or outward but I always check when I'm ready to shoot.

The Laowa system may look like it is from another world with its three long arms coming out of it however it is a fantastic setup for macro photography and it is surely worth serious consideration.

martinfisherphoto Loc: Lake Placid Florida

If your using the flash for macro photography then there's no need for HSS, I own and use the yongnuo flashes for macro. If you look on line you will also find yongnuo offers HSS flashes as well. I use the HSS models for wildlife and birding.