Firstly I need to give a big thank you to then guys at FLASH HAVOC for spreading the word however I thought I ought to expand on their posting and provide a step by step guide as to why this firmware update is so fantastic.

I am a big fan of the Yongnuo flashes and triggers as I believe they provide an equivalent product to the Canon/Nikon flashes and triggers but for a fraction of the price. To that end I have 3 YN560-IIIs and had been triggering them quite happily with RF603 C3 triggers. The only slight bugbear was that I had to adjust the output of each flash by altering the setting on the control panel of each flash individually.

Then the YN560-TX flash controller was launched and this allows me to control each flash from the controller individually. In fact coupled with 2 RF603 C3 triggers it allows me to also remote fire my 1Ds Mark 3 or 5D mark 3 as well using the supplied cable which attaches between the trigger and the remote release port on the cameras. (Note there are 2 different types of cable depending upon the model of camera so check which version of the trigger you order!)

As I already had some Canon EX flashes I had also invested in some YN622C triggers and a YN622C-TX controller which again allows me to control the flashes off camera.

So why did the 1.02 firmware upgrade get me so excited that I had to write this blog post?

What the firmware upgrade has done is to allow the YN560-TX to control ETTL flashes via the YN622C-TX enabling manual control of these flashes in combination with the YN560 IIIs. Therefore extending the usefulness of the YN622c triggers.

Installing the firmware is relatively straight forward. One tip is that the HongKong Yongnuo website is the best for this (It is in English) and at the time of writing the firmware was up to v1.06.

• You will need to download and install the trigger updater program first.
• Then download the zip file and extract it to your computer.
• Using the installer program flow the instructions and install the firmware via a mini usb cable which connects your computer to the port on the side of the YN622-TX.

Manual control of Canon EXII flash via Yongnuo YN560-TXA great firmware update to the YN622C-TX allows manual control of EX II TTL flashes using the YN560-TX controller

The photo above shows the set up I used to do the test.

From left to right. 

1. 5d mark iii with RF603 C3 in hot shoe and trigger cable connected to remote shutter release port.
2. YN560-TX in the hot shoe of another RF603 which allows me to fire the camera and flashes remotely whilst still being able to alter all the flashes separately from the trigger controller.
3. YN560-III synced to the YN560-TX and set to group A. Note power set to 1/64 +0.7 on controller also shows on rear panel of flash.
4. YN622-TX displays function 06 and 560 which indicates this is the function for the 560 controller. It is set to ON and in this state the light below the on/off toggle switch is permanently lit. Note: set like this it is not possible to change any other setting without turning this function off.
5. Canon 580EX II in the hot shoe of a YN622C trigger. The trigger was set to channel B and note the rear display shows Manual mode and 1/16 power as does channel B on the YN560-TX.

This configuration allows me to fire the shutter and flashes remotely and also alter the flash outputs without having to touch the camera or flashes.

You can also remove the YN560-TX from the RF603 and install it in the hot shoe of the RF603 on the camera's hot shoe if you wish.

Yongnuo YN622-TX firmware v1.02Yongnuo YN622-TX showing function 06 set to ON allowing control of 580EXii in manual mode from YN560-TX (not in shot)

All in all a great little upgrade making the YN622s usable as flash triggers in conjunction with the YN560-TX.

Please let me know how you get on with playing with these and if there are any other configurations that work via the comments.

Wishing you all a happy New Year for 2015