The combination of transmitters to fire AND control Canon 430EX III-RT and Yongnuo YN-560 IV

Question

I'm having a hard time figuring out how to expand my flash system which is currently very modest - it only consists of Canon 430EX III-RT flash.

I'm planning to buy 2 Yongnuo YN-560 IV flashes and some receivers/transmitters. The question is: which receivers/transmitters do I need to control the power and fire all 3 flashes off-camera at the same time?

I spend some time investigating the differences between devices and I think I should consider some of these:

• Yongnuo YN560-TX (can control and fire YN-560 IV but cannot fire 430EX III-RT?)
• Yongnuo YN560-TX II (can control and fire YN-560 IV but cannot fire 430EX III-RT?)
• Yongnuo RF-602 (cannot be used to change power)
• Yongnuo RF-603 (does not support groups, cannot be used to change power)
• Yongnuo RF-605 (cannot be used to change power)
• Yongnuo YN-E3-RT (can control and fire 430EX III-RT but cannot fire YN-560 IV?)
• Yongnuo YN-E3-RX (a receiver-only trigger for the Canon RT system)

Most of the answers on the internet seem to be outdated (before these two flashes were released) or don't address this particular setup.

I've also read that a flash cannot be a slave and master at the same time.

What is currently relevant for me:

• to be able to fire and control Canon 430EX III-RT power
• to be able to fire and control Yongnuo YN-560 IV power

What is currently irrelevant for me:

• E-TTL support
• HSS support
• 2nd curtain
• remote shutter

What is currently undesired for me:

• optical triggering
• having a flash unit mounted on hot shoe

The setup I found which is the closest to desired is:

• RF-603 mounted with 430EX III-RT
• YN560-TX mounted on camera's hot shoe to trigger RF-603 and both YN-560 IV

But it does not allow me to control Canon 430EX III-RT power.

Answer 1

I'm planning to buy 2 Yongnuo YN-560 IV flashes and some receivers/transmitters.

You need to decide which triggering system you want to use and then commit to dealing with its limitations. Here are your choices:

• Use optical triggering with the 430EX II-RT and the YN560-IV, in which case you only need an optical master unit to trigger everything.

• Use Yongnuo's radio triggers, and accept the limitations that has for controlling your 430EX II-RT.

• Use Canon's radio triggering system, and either choose a receiver for the YN560-IV that works with the RT system, or choose a different flash that works with the RT system.

What you can't do is mix Yongnuo's simple radio triggers with Canon's much more complete radio system. The reason the YN-E3-RT can't fire the YN-560 IV is that the former is a transmitter compatible with Canon's RT system, and the latter has a receiver that's part of Yongnuo's system.

If it were me, I'd pick Canon's RT system, even if I were choosing Yongnuo products. For example, you could buy two YN600EX-RT II and a YN-E3-RT, and then you'd have a system that doesn't need any separate triggers and which gives you full control over power settings for each unit. Or, if you really want to go with the YN560EX-IV, you could trigger that with a YN-E3-RX. But since the cost of those two together is nearly as much as that of a much more capable YN600EX-RT II, that doesn't seem like a great option.

If you choose Yongnuo's radio system, then you need to accept the fact that the RF-603 can't control power on the 430EX II-RT. Consider replacing the 430EX II-RT with a third YN560EX-IV, and throw in a YN560-TX, and you've got a three-flash system with radio triggering and control over power for each one.