Time to toss the Manual triggers? Maybe not quite， but the new YongNuo YN-622C are certainly going to shake things up， at least for Canon speedlite users.

The original YN RF-602 triggers were a breakthrough for budget reliable triggers， and the YN-622C looking set to do the same for Remote Manual， TTL and HSS triggers. We are already seeing listings as low as $82 a pair shipped! That’s less than a respectable quality set of manual-only triggers like the Phottix Strato II.

If you use speedlites at all， the convenience of remote control from the camera is really hard to overlook at this price， even if it’s just for the remote Manual control. TTL and HSS may be just a bonus.

The YN-622C allow full Remote Manual Power Control， as well as HSS， and ETTL from the Canon camera flash control menu (requires camera with flash control menu and compatible flashes).

They are similar to the existing Pixel Kings but with a few major advantages， they allow ETTL Ratios， and they have a pass through style hotshoe on top which allows flash on camera use in ETTL or Manual. Not to mention a focus assist light that works quite well. As well as being transceivers which allows for back up transmitter units. And build is as good if not better than the Kings， all this for a considerably lower price.

YongNuo also have the advantage of having a bunch of their own inexpensive compatible flash units， even a new HSS version the YN-568ex already selling at $185 and lower.

The one ever looming omission though is the lack of USB port for firmware updates， but YongNuo have left this off intentionally to attain the very low price point. Once user feedback has proven any bugs are out of the system this may hardly be an issue. It does put a question mark over long term compatibility with future cameras etc， but the 622C are priced to make the most of now.

I checked with the YN engineer and there has only been one issue reported so far in the functioning， a lack of compatibility with 1D series cameras. That has already been resolved and beta test units sent out， new units should be in stores through this month (September 2012). But be sure to check with the seller though first if you do need 1D series compatibility.

How well do they work –

UPDATE  oct 2012 - Its still early days but there are quite a lot of units in peoples hands now and all user reports have been very good so far. The 622c have been exceeding many owners expectations， and no bugs reported that I am aware of.  Without a USB port there is a lot riding on this so I still wouldn’t like to make any 100% definitive calls until we here more user feedback still， with different gear and camera settings etc， but so far the 622c are looking very good.

So far all indications are very good， everything seems to be working as advertised. No misfires or random fires and range is similar to the Pixel Kings around 50-60 meters (or more sometimes)， which is generally a lot more than enough.

I had one small issue from the start where the camera would not go over x-sync without a HSS flash attached， but a quick email to the YN engineer solved that in no time with a quick factory reset of the triggers， and no problems since. Note – If you ever do have an issue， or suspect lack of compatibility with a camera or flash etc try the Factory Reset.

The convenience of remote Manual control capability alone is really great for the price， then the ETTL and HSS are very handy too. The AF assist light is also something I have been campaigning for for a long time， and it does a pretty decent job.

The only issues I noticed otherwise were the test fire button is not so easy to feel for on the side of the case， and you can easily bump the channel button instead putting the Tx off channel accidentally. I’m going to stick something onto the test button just so its raised a little and I can feel where it is easily.

The other thing is the locking rings  are far too small (similar to the Kings and many Pixel products) and it can be hard to tighten and loosen on the camera sometimes. The 622C case is also flat on top which is not friendly to locking ring access on the pass through shoe either. That seems ok with most flash units， but placing a Pixel trigger on top for example， which also has a tiny locking ring as well， is almost impossible to access (at least with my big fingers).