strobemonkey's blog: Yongnuo RF-602 Review

I just received my new Yongnuo RF-602 Flash/Camera Trigger today.
First set came with 1 Transmitter, 1 Receiver, and 2 cables, one for triggering the camera and another for triggering studio strobes which can also be used for triggering any flash that accepts 3.5mm jack using the supplied 6.35mm to 2.5mm adapter. The 2 extra receivers came with their own boxes with no cables included.

The Transmitter has a metal shoe that looks like my 580EX II and 430EX II's. It has 5 contacts though I'm not sure if they are all active. The PC sync port is a screw-lock type. The push button has two steps, half press and full press. Battery door is better and easily accessible which is located at the back of the transmitter and uses CR2 battery. It has no On/Off switch. Underneath the transmitter lies the 4 channel selector.

The Receiver has a metal hotshoe mount, the back has a proprietary port for connecting both included cables for camera and flash triggering. At the bottom of the receiver lies a plastic foot which has 1/4" screw mount and allows mounting on a flash stand or tripod. This receiver uses x2 AAA batteries and can be easily accessed by sliding the battery cover. On/Off switch and 4-channel selector are both at the top of the receiver.

First impression - WOW! Both Transmitter and all Receivers look well built. They feel solid to the touch, and no misaligned gaps/joints, battery compartments are secure and tight not like the Cactus V2s.

Flaws - as seen in the pictures below, the on/off switch on the receiver can be obstructed by the mounted flash. As a result, one has to unmount the flash to switch the receiver on or off. They should have moved the switch further at the front or swapped places where the word "Yongnuo" is. . The receiver's foot should also have a lock so it won't slip off when mounted on another hot shoe or cold shoe or flash stand.

The Transmitter's battery door is not removable, instead its retained by two little plastic recess on each side of the door on one end. This is a fragile part of the Transmitter. The door should have been made fully removable just like the one on the Receiver.

As mentioned earlier, the set came with a Receiver to strobe cord which is 6.35mm I think with a 6.35mm to 3.5mm reducer. It should have been the other way around. And I can't find any cord with a direct 3.5mm jack. I'm stuck with the cumbersome cord with reducer to use with my modded flash. This is also why I hate the proprietary yongnuo connector. If they used stereo jack, it would be easier to DIY. It's all about money ey! I wouldn't mind paying a few more quid if they used stereo jack.

To me, these are just minor shortcomings of the RF-602 considering its price tag. And as long as it syncs to my camera's maximum flash sync speed (non HSS of course) which was not possible with my then sold Cactus V2s, maintain long triggering range (shame on you PW Flex!!!), and hopefully doesn't go kaput after a few months as some people report, I'm very much content with my purchase.

Above: 430EX II mounted on RF-602 Receiver

Above: 580EX II mounted on RF-602 Receiver

Above: RF-602 Receiver mounted on flash stand

Tests with my 580EX II, 430EX II, (battered) Sigma 500 DG Super, and Yongnuo YN462. They all fire and am happy to say, I can get the maximum advertised triggering speed of 1/250s on a Canon 50D without banding !!! I've never experienced any misfiring or missed fire with the 100+ shots I took. Wake up function also works with both 580EX II and 430EX II.

Testing my 580EX II mounted on the receiver's hotshoe, I can trigger it as far as 150 paces. With my 430EX II, I can go as far as 200+ paces - I've ran out of space. When I try to trigger them together, they both fire upto 150 paces, when I exceed that, the 430EX II won't fire. That's weird isn't it? It should be the 580EX II that shouldn't fire. What's even weird is when I try to trigger my 500DG Super with any of my Canon flashes, it fires but it's out of sync - it fires late (and I've already swapped the receivers around just to make sure one of them's not the culprit). But when I trigger it on its own, its ok and I can go as far as 200 paces. Another weird behaviour of my 500DG Super when used with RF-602 receiver is it fires just like when set to stroboscopic mode when I use slow shutter speed.

So far I'm happy with my new set! Comparing it with my then modded Cactus V2s, the new RF-602 is an upgrade in every respect!