Welcome to our ultimate Yongnuo 565EX II Review that we have decided after publishing a number of reviews of various Yongnuo flash units and seeing positive feedback for them. We have noticed a number of people reaching out for advice on the 565EX II so we decided to feature it as our next flash unit to help any of our readers thinking of picking it up.
We know that our readers come from a large range of backgrounds and we have been featuring more high end, professional photography and videography accessories so we want to feature something for our entry level readers. Thankfully, the Yongnuo 565EX is very budget friendly while also providing some great performance and functionality too. This makes it a great entry level flash head for any photographer just getting started on their journey without having to spend too much cash while still being able to get some decent performance.
The Yongnuo 565EX has managed to earn itself a solid reputation within the community over the years due to its very low price tag, decent build quality, and solid performance for its price point. It’s easy to use system also help to push it further ahead of the competing flash units at this price point in the market helping it stay as popular as it is.
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User Interface And Control System
As the Yongnuo 565EX is more of an entry-level flash head that may be the very first flash unit its users may use, Yongnuo has made the control system and navigation menu as quick and easy to learn and use as possible. Thankfully, they have done a great job of implementing this into the flash and the system has received a ton of positive feedback from the community due to its ease of use.
As you can see in the image above, the 565EX II is controlled via the tried and tested directional pad with supporting buttons system. This allows you to easily navigate the menu and tweak any of the flashes settings that you need to change very quickly. Not only does this allow you to prep the flash unit prior to your photography session quickly but it also ensures that you are able to further customize the performance of the flash unit mid-session without wasting time to ensure you are getting the performance you require.
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The actual navigation menu on the Yongnuo 565EX has been specifically designed to have the options that users are more likely to need to tweak at the start of its navigation path too. This helps to save time and make it even easier to get to the commonly tweaked options and set them as required.
The 565EX II uses the standard hot shoe mounting system to allow you to mount and unmount the flash unit from your camera body of choice too. Any of our experienced readers will definatley be familiar with the system but if this is potentially your first ever flash head then the hot shoe mounting system is very easy to use and it or very similar variations of it are used on all modern camera bodies.
Now, the only downside of the control system on the Yongnuo 565EX is that the buttons do have that cheap feel to it. On the flipside of that, Yongnuo has had to do something to keep the costs of the 565EX II as low as possible and we doubt the vast majority of photographers are going to care if the buttons on their flash unit feel cheap. That said, the buttons still get their job done and are responsive to touch while also working well in both cold and wet conditions too.
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Performance And Functionality
Although though the Yongnuo 565EX comes with a low price tag, one of its best features is its excellent performance and functionality. As you would expect it offers a number of flash modes such as TTL flash, manual mode, multi mode, and guide number settings. In addition to this, the flash unit also supports various slave modes with full S1 and S2 support.
The flash Speedlite can also be wirelessly triggered across Four channels via a number of different wireless flash triggers that support the ST E2 formats. As you would expect the Yongnuo 565EX also supports manual flashing via the set-top on your camera body.
Unlike some of the other entry level flash units on the market right now the 565EX II also supports full FEC, FEB, rear-curtain sync, FE lock, aperture preview modeling light, and Canon camera menu support. Keep in mind that the Canon camera menu support will depend on you using a compatible Canon camera body with the correct back end technology but the vast majority of modern Canon cameras come with it as standard.
The actual head of the flash can be vertically rotated between Seven and Ninety degrees while also being able to horizontally rotated between Zero and Two Hundred and Seventy degrees. This allows you to easily bounce or tilt the flash as required to ensure that you get optimal lighting on your subject at all times. Speaking of optimal lighting, the 565EX II has a color temperature of 5600k to keep the emitted light as close to natural light as possible while keeping the price tag low.
One feature that is missing from the 565EX II is that it has a fixed Three-second flash recycle time rather than a variable recycle time. Again though, this is common on entry-level flash units as variable recycle times also require better power, flash technology, and heat dissipation that drive the price of the flash unit up. For an entry-level or hobbyist photographer, we feel that the Three Second recycle time on the 565EX II will be fine anyway but we just wanted to make our readers aware.
When it comes to customizing the output of the 565EX II to meet your needs the flash unit supports 8 levels of output control (1/128~1/1) while also offering 29 levels of fine tuning. This should let you tweak the performance of the flash to get exactly what you require out of it each time without issue.
When it comes to battery life, the average number of flash activations seems to be around Two Hundred activations per set of fully charged batteries. Keep in mind that this will depend on the settings you use on your flash unit as well as the quality of batteries that you use with the flash. If you are planning on using your 565EX II for paid event photography gigs then you may want to pick up an external battery power pack. Using an external power pack rather than batteries can keep the flash unit powered for a longer duration and many more actual flash activations.
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Build Quality
As we touched on earlier in the article, the Yongnuo 565EX does have the cheap feel to it but this is very common in the entry-level flash unit market. That said though, although the plastic used on the case of the flash does feel cheap, it is petty lightweight while also robust at the same time. It definatley does the job of protecting the flash from any bumps or knocks coming its way during use without taking damage.
The battery housing door is also solid unlike some other cheaper flash units whos door tends to randomly open during use causing your batteries to fall out. The door on the Yongnuo 565EX uses the regular slide to click locking mechanism ensuring that the batteries will stay in place during use while also allowing you to quickly and easily open the door when needed to swap the batteries out for a fresh set.
The joining unit that joins the base and head of the flash together is excellent quality for a flash unit at this price tag. It allows you to tilt and rotate the head of the flash as required without it feeling like it will just drop off in your hand. Once you have altered the angle of the head the joint also holds it in place firmly too.
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The final point that we want to make about the Yongnuo 565EXs build quality is regarding its hot shoe mount. Thankfully, Yongnuo has used a metal hot shoe connector on the flash rather than a cheap plastic one like some other brands do on their cheaper models. The metal hot shoe mounts are much better as they hold their shape indefinitely whereas the plastic ones warp and can end up getting stuck on your camera body.
We know it is only a tiny little thing but a metal hot shoe mount should always be prioritized when it comes to flash units. Once the plastic ones have warped in shape they become a total nightmare to use but thankfully this is not an issue with the Yongnuo 565EX.
In all honesty, for its price point in the market, we feel that Yongnuo has done an excellent job with the 565EX II. Yes, it does feel a little cheap but other than that, everything is solid. The case is robust, the joint unit is solid, the hot shoe is metal, and the overall flash unit is pretty lightweight. For this price tag, we don’t think you can go wrong in all honesty.
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FAQs
Question – Is the Yongnuo 565EX compatible with the Canon E-TTL system?
Answer – Yes, it is fully compatible with E-TTL from Canon but keeps in mind that this depends on if your camera offers the functionality too.
Question – What flash units is the Yongnuo 565EX compatible with?
Answer – At the time of writing, the 565EX II will work with the following Canon cameras:-
- 5D Mark II
- 5D Mark III
- 50D
- 450D
- 500D
- 550D
- 600D
- 650D
- 700D
- 100D
- 1000D
- 1100D
Keep in mind though, this is at the time of writing and new camera bodies are coming out all the time with a high chance of working with the 565EX II.
Question – Does the Yongnuo 565EX support HSS?
Answer – No, just like the vast majority of entry-level flash units on the market right now, the 565EX II does not support HSS.
Third Party Reports
Our Verdict
That brings our Yongnuo 565EX II Review to an end and for its low price tag, we feel the 565EX II is an excellent flash unit that will definatley help improve your flash photography image quality without you having to break the bank. This makes it ideal if you are an entry level, amateur or hobbyist or even if you are more experiences but on a tight budget and wanting to keep your costs low.
We feel that adding the 565EX II to your collection of camera accessories will be a great investment and let you get some great experience in flash photography to help build you portfolio up. In the day of social media and Instagram, your visible portfolio can make or break your career as a photographer. The 565EX II will help provide you with some excellent image quality in your photographs and showcase your work in the best possible light to help build your reputation.
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Image Licensing
Shared under Creative Commons – https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
Kah Wai Sin – Bella Again – https://flic.kr/p/8Yhdzj
dallashangerphoto – Bekah Timm – https://flic.kr/p/8rXMCh
Igor Menezes Fotógrafo – 15 Anos – Daniele Dias – https://flic.kr/p/jCG2E8
