Which flash is better for lighting a product light tent?
Asked 7/26/2012
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2 answers
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I want to buy three flashes to use around a light tent for product photography. I’m considering the Yongnuo YN-560 and YN-560 II and would like to know which is the better choice for this kind of setup. If there’s another option in a similar budget range, I’d also be interested. My main goal is simple, reliable off-camera lighting for small, non-moving subjects.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
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The Yongnuo flashes are good value for money. I've used the 460's - they're inexpensive and work well (I've used them in manual mode with wireless triggers).
For a light tent, doing product shots of non-moving things, I'd find it much simpler to use a tripod and some inexpensive fixed lights. But if you want to use flash, as AJ said, you don't need a lot of power, so most any flash will do as long as you have a way of triggering it off-camera (optical slave built in, sync cord or wireless trigger)
Originally by user4191. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user4191
14y ago
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Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
For light-tent product photography, almost any manual flash can work well because your subjects aren’t moving and you typically don’t need a lot of power. The key is not maximum output, but how you’ll trigger the flashes off-camera—look for built-in optical slave capability, a sync connection, or compatibility with wireless triggers.
The Yongnuo units are generally considered good value, and inexpensive manual flashes can work very well in this kind of setup.
That said, for a light tent, fixed continuous lights may actually be simpler than flash. Since the subject is stationary, you can use a tripod and longer exposures, which makes cheap continuous lighting easy to work with and lets you see the lighting effect directly.
So:
- If you want flash: a budget manual Yongnuo-style flash is a reasonable choice.
- If you want the simplest setup for product shots: consider inexpensive continuous lights instead.
If you do choose flash, prioritize reliable off-camera triggering over small differences between similar models.
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AI14y ago
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