Anyone here using YN-300/YN-300II's for weddings?

[Dave Partington]

Al, here's a (hopefully not too complicated) graph of relative LED power output when running on batteries over a 2 hour period, measured at 8ft with a lux meter.

Sorry it doesn't include every LED made, only the ones I'd tested at the time I made this graph about 8 months ago.

Where only the model number is shown (e.g. YN600 or YN300) then this is the original daylight only model.

Where I state a colour temperature (3200,4350, 5500) it's the mark II variable temperature model.

3200K and 5500K only use half the LEDs, so 100% means those (half) LEDs at full power.

4350K uses all LEDs on the light (300 or 600 depending on the model), so 100% means both banks at 100%.

For reference, the 528C (the variable colour version) (not shown) comes in just BELOW the YN-300 II at around 100 lux no matter what temperature you select (it uses an onboard colour dial).

The 528S is a spot light version and is almost as bright as the YN600 but has a much narrower beam of light and is not suitable to covering an entire dance floor. The huge drop off in power (to zero) is where this light decided it couldn't maintain output after the battery depleted on contrast to how the Yongnuo just gets rapidly dimmer.

The 528W (not shown) comes in just above the YN300 (mk I) and is a wide beam version 5500K only.

The red blobs show where the fan was running on the two YN600 models.

If Mark says he only needs 15% power from his YN600s (is this right Mark?) then you should have no trouble with the power from the YN300. However, 15% really isn't that bright so I'm wondering how light/dark Mark's venues are.

[Mark Von Lanken]

Hi Dave,

My YN300 IIs came with remotes. Did your YN300 not include a remote?

Yes, that right, I use two YN600s on light stands near the speaker system to add light on the dance floor for the special dances, toasts and tosses, I run them between 15-30%, depending on the size of the dance floor and the general brightness of the room. Once the party dancing starts, I dim them down, depending on the conditions to 5-10%.

One other thing to consider is the low light abilities of the camera. I shoot with Canon 5D Mk3s with either 2.8 or 4.0 lenses, so they generally perform better in low light than video cameras.

[Dave Partington]

Originally Posted by Mark Von Lanken

Hi Dave,

My YN300 IIs came with remotes. Did your YN300 not include a remote?

Mark, you're right - the YN300 came with remotes too - bit of a brain drain there while I was thinking about other lights I have. Sorry for the confusion - I've updated the post to remove that bit!

At 30% you're likely to be able to run for 2-3 hours solid with no real variation in performance. It's just for some reason the YN600 units can't sustain full power on battery alone. the YN300s are fine, which is odd given that the YN600 is only running 300 LEDs of each battery!

[Al Wong]

Originally Posted by Dave Partington

Al, here's a (hopefully not too complicated) graph of relative LED power output when running on batteries over a 2 hour period, measured at 8ft with a lux meter.

Sorry it doesn't include every LED made, only the ones I'd tested at the time I made this graph about 8 months ago.

Where only the model number is shown (e.g. YN600 or YN300) then this is the original daylight only model.

Where I state a colour temperature (3200,4350, 5500) it's the mark II variable temperature model.

3200K and 5500K only use half the LEDs, so 100% means those (half) LEDs at full power.

4350K uses all LEDs on the light (300 or 600 depending on the model), so 100% means both banks at 100%.

For reference, the 528C (the variable colour version) (not shown) comes in just BELOW the YN-300 II at around 100 lux no matter what temperature you select (it uses an onboard colour dial).

The 528S is a spot light version and is almost as bright as the YN600 but has a much narrower beam of light and is not suitable to covering an entire dance floor. The huge drop off in power (to zero) is where this light decided it couldn't maintain output after the battery depleted on contrast to how the Yongnuo just gets rapidly dimmer.

The 528W (not shown) comes in just above the YN300 (mk I) and is a wide beam version 5500K only.

The red blobs show where the fan was running on the two YN600 models.

If Mark says he only needs 15% power from his YN600s (is this right Mark?) then you should have no trouble with the power from the YN300. However, 15% really isn't that bright so I'm wondering how light/dark Mark's venues are.

Thanks again for such a detailed response, Dave! I think I have made up my mind, and going with 3 YN300II's.