622n like a boss. I use 8 of them in weddings. I sold all 4 of my nikon flashes. im rocking chinese gear and couldnt be happier. with sucfh great aftermarket gear available at 1/5 the price, momma didnt raise no dummy
Yes, the cheap flash units changed the way I work. Having a whole herd of powerful flash units opens lots of opportunities that required big power supplies and strobes before. There are some differences between my SB900s and my Yongnuo 568ex flash;
1] zoom focusing extends to field of view of 200 mm on the SB900 and 105mm on the Chinese units.
2] The 568ex for $90-99 has thicker plastic case than the $600 Nikon
3] Full pop Recycle time is a little faster on the SB900 than 568ex
4] HSS, high speed sync is not available on all cheap flash and it is simple to use on the SB900 series and 568ex Yongnuo
Related to:
1], beam focusing using any sort of indirect or modified light is irrelevant. I don't have any change in my shooting because I modify the light usually, and direct beam projecting a long distance is not advised since red eye becomes a frequent problem. With the RF controllers getting the flash up close and personal to the subject and using local modifiers is by far the best solution
2] I have a number of flash modifiers like softboxes, snoots etc and all require clamping onto the body of the flash head. Tightening the clamp to the head of the Nikon makes me nervous because the thinner plastic gives a bit so more pressure it need to hold it in place unless using Gaffer's tape. The 568ex case is thick and rigid and clamps securely without give.
3] Using flash closer to the subject when using the RF controllers naturally requires a lot less flash power so 1/2 power flash requires zero recycle time. A set of batteries in an event ends up lasting 400-600 flash shots when using practical power levels, even with diffusers.
4] The cheaper manual flash units are all someone needs for remote triggering. TTL is not a desirable mode with multiple lights or where modifiers are used, manual is easy and gives what you want. But if you need high speed shutter, to darken a daylight scene with shallow DOF...very useful....HSS is not available on all lower end flash that might not be TTL. So before buying the $40 version of the flash, make sure it has High Speed Sync function. IF you want shallow DOF in higher ambient light, HSS is a very useful tool. HSS works a lot better with remote flash than camera mounted because the lower output power of HSS is fine when the flash can be placed close to the subject and is much more restricted from further away like when camera shoe mounted.
A general note to beginners: If someone is new to flash/strobe photography, exposure might seem like a mystery in TTL mode where it becomes sort of automatic. For most photography other than flash snap shots, more creative control is desired so get used to manual flash settings and to do that be sure to read up on the Exposure Triad. Once you understand the relationship between speed, aperture and sensitivity, all photography gets simpler to get the shots exactly as you envision them before taking the capture. After a good understanding of exposure, experiment without a model, with a dummy head( a $4 wig styling styrofoam head from a beauty shop supply company works great for practice before making a model nervous by not appearing to be fully in control of the results. Get in the habit of visualizing how the shot will look before you set the lights and camera and figure out why it doesn't. You did not understand the exposure and camera point of view if your imagination before taking the shot is different than seeing the results. Get in that habit and your improvement with augmented light will be rapid and setting up shots will be fast and effective.