Review of Yongnuo RF-602 remote flash trigger / shutter release

Bought this based on the recommendation of some folks here.

This is a 2.4GHz RF remote flash trigger in which the transmitter sits in the hotshoe and the receiver sits on a stand or bracket with a speedlight atop. It also comes with a cable to trigger a studio flash with either 1/8" or 1/4" female plugs. Another feature is that it can work as a wireless shutter trigger with the OEM-specific purchase option. In my case, I bought the canon version which is pictured with a RS-80N3 cable. This cable connects the receiver to the wired shutter adapter and then the transmitter acts as a remote/wireless shutter release.

Using it in this mode with a manual flash and my Canon 5d MK II worked well. Very reliable and able to work over distances. (Longest I tested was 20' away).

Unfortunate its shortcomings outweigh its benefits.

First of all, it did not come with the RS-80N3 adapter cable even though this is pictured in the ad. Secondly, it does not trigger the shutter on my 5d. When you press the transmitter button half way, the autofocus is activated but when you press the trigger all the way, the red LED blinks on the receiver but the shutter does not fire. An additional thing to note is that there is no thumb-wheel to tighten the trigger or receiver to a hotshoe so it just sits loose in the hotshoe.

Then on top of everything else, when I hooked up the receiver to my studio flash, it would not fire. NOTE - A studio flash sync is not a sophisticated device. It simply requires the two leads to momentarily short. You can even trigger a studio flash with a push-pin across a 1/4" guitar cable! But...It doesn't work on this unit.

As they say...Back in the box it goes.

just got an email back from yongnuo. They asked me to try the remote shutter trigger with the lens in MF mode. It does fire the shutter in that mode when you press the transmitter button half/way but does not fire shutter with lens set to AF mode.

I asked them if they wanted to send me a RF-603 to try. Maybe being a newer unit will have updated firmware? Who knows at this point?

My experience using the 602s with my Nikon gear has been all positive. Sorry you've not had good luck.

Yes, you have been unlucky.

I've moved on now, but my RF-602s have been flawless with my 7D for over 2 yrs now. Mine was a very early batch - does your Tx say 602 or 600? They should fire your 5D or multiple speedlites (your sync speed may suffer slightly) but to fire both simultaneously you need two separate RF links on different channels.

Hope the replacement set work as they should. I'm definitely keeping my sets as back up and as RF shutter releases. Good luck.

yeah , they now don't ship the 602TX anymore, but the 600TX. I have both and the only difference that I can see is that the 600 doesn't have a sync port. They both trigger the 602RX.

But the only problem I had in the past was the battery on the 602TX , it doesn't sit tight enough. One way to fix it is to push the terminals closer to eachother or sliding a piece of tape or something. But still once in a while I have to re-sit the battery.

ScratchDisk said:

Yes, you have been unlucky.

I've moved on now, but my RF-602s have been flawless with my 7D for over 2 yrs now. Mine was a very early batch - does your Tx say 602 or 600? They should fire your 5D or multiple speedlites (your sync speed may suffer slightly) but to fire both simultaneously you need two separate RF links on different channels.

Hope the replacement set work as they should. I'm definitely keeping my sets as back up and as RF shutter releases. Good luck.

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Mine says 602. Incidentally, I heard back from yongnuo. They told me to try the remote shutter with lens in MF mode. It works in that mode. Seems that with the lens in MF mode, the shutter will fire but not in AF mode.

Additionally, they told me that my studio flash (Alien Bees and Photogenic) are not compatible with 602. That was a shocker as firing a studio flash is a matter of shorting the two leads together. You can do it with a screwdriver.

Actually the cheaper cowboystudio units worked better though they didn't have all the features. I think it's time to save up for the phottix odin unit.

I'd consider the cybersync . they are good. also they can sync to the max sync of your camera, while the RF602 will only sync at lower shutter speed.

Sorry to hear of your issues.

I’ve had 4 of the Nikon version 603s for a couple of weeks now and they seem to do everything properly. AF and triggering of the camera (Nikon D300) from remote, as well as proper triggering of my ABs.

I’ve been very satisfied with them so far.

-Suntan

Will update with a mini review next week.

mystic-bright said:

I'd consider the cybersync . they are good. also they can sync to the max sync of your camera, while the RF602 will only sync at lower shutter speed.

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Depends on the camera.

I have the 603s and a D300. I can sync at the max speed (1/250) with my SB600 speedlight. But it has a little bit of shutter veiling with my AB monolights at 1/250.

At 1/200 the ABs sync fine.

-Suntan

Good choice!
Can't remember if I pointed you to this before:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/strobist/discuss/72157628093126883/?search=odin
.. good review & lots of info in the thread too. Cheers, Donald

Suntan said:

I have the 603s and a D300. I can sync at the max speed (1/250) with my SB600 speedlight. But it has a little bit of shutter veiling with my AB monolights at 1/250.

At 1/200 the ABs sync fine.

Click to expand...

could you please check if your D300 set at 1/320 (max sync) can sync at 1/250 with the 603 and the AB with no shadow at the bottom of the pic?
thanks

I have two RF-602TX triggers and six RF-602RX receivers and the only problem I have ever run into was that when the batteries of the receiver gets too low they spontaneously start repeatedly triggering my studio strobe like a strobe light. Once I change the batteries they are fine.

I have used one receiver with a LS-O2/C3 cable as a remote trigger for my Canon 7D and it works flawlessly.

There are different RF-602's for Canon and Nikon so be sure to buy the correct ones. Different cameras, even from the same manufacturer, aslo have different trigger connections so be sure to buy the appropriate cable.

The RF-602's are some of the best budget photo equipment I have bought.

Sailor Blue said:

I have two RF-602TX triggers and six RF-602RX receivers and the only problem I have ever run into was that when the batteries of the receiver gets too low they spontaneously start repeatedly triggering my studio strobe like a strobe light. Once I change the batteries they are fine.

I have used one receiver with a LS-O2/C3 cable as a remote trigger for my Canon 7D and it works flawlessly.

There are different RF-602's for Canon and Nikon so be sure to buy the correct ones. Different cameras, even from the same manufacturer, aslo have different trigger connections so be sure to buy the appropriate cable.

The RF-602's are some of the best budget photo equipment I have bought.

Click to expand...

I had the right ones. As I mentioned, it didn't include the canon remote as advertised but after buying one it didn't work with the 5d. I suspect they haven't tested it with all camera combinations. The firing of a slave flash is an extremely simple thing. Not rocket science. It's merely shorting 2 wires together. Polarity does not matter.

Not having a thumbwheel tightening mechanism is a big issue though. Frankly, the $22 cowboy studio remote seems like a better product though it is not an expensive piece of equipment either.

I'm awaiting the Phottix Odin currently.

Yes, I've seen that. Tough job shooting those underwear models.

got a reply in another forum from someone who had exactly the same problem. A wire in the external din connector was miswired. This might explain why it couldn't perform the shutter release or external flash trigger but could still activate autofocus. I wondered why it needed 3 leads for triggering an external flash but what he explained was that one lead is neutral and the other is focus and the other is shutter. For flash sync, the wiring would simply short the two leads but if the leads were backwards, it wouldn't fire the sync.

Member said:

I'm awaiting the Phottix Odin currently.

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I'm waiting for the Nikon version.

Member said:

Jack A. Zucker wrote:

The firing of a slave flash is an extremely simple thing. Not rocket science. It's merely shorting 2 wires together. Polarity does not matter.

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That is normally true but I believe I have read that the AB's are a bit different. Normally there is one hot and one ground connector on the flash and you are correct, all you have to do is short these out and you ground out the hot lead, reducing the voltage to zero, and the flash fires. If I remember correctly the AB's don't ground out, they just drop the voltage on the hot pen slightly, never allowing it to go to zero. If this is true, that could be why the RF-602's don't work with AB's.

Member said:

Not having a thumbwheel tightening mechanism is a big issue though. Frankly, the $22 cowboy studio remote seems like a better product though it is not an expensive piece of equipment either.

I'm awaiting the Phottix Odin currently.

Click to expand...

I agree with you that some sort of locking mechanism to secure the transmitter to the camera hot shoe would be good, but I have never had a problem with mine falling out regardless of camera movement or position. If I use a receiver as a remote trigger for my camera I attach it to the tripod with a Velcro strip, not to the camera hot shoe. With the camera on a tripod I don't see how the receiver could fall out of the hot shoe in any case.

Give us a review of the Odin once you get used to it.