Wireless flash triggers

Johnboy2978 · Nov 22, 2007

I'd like to have the mobility of not being tethered to my strobes. It was never an issue until the last wedding I shot and the 15' sync cord barely got me far enough back to get everyone in frame with my wide angle lens.

If money were no issue I'd go for the pocket wizards of course, but it is, so I won't.

Anyone use these or something similar?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Digital-Wireles...ryZ30084QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD4VQQcmdZViewItem

Are they reliable and dependable?

Mike_E · Nov 22, 2007

Hi, I got mine cheaper.

The only trouble I have had out of mine is when I first got them (one transmitter and three receivers) one of the receivers needed a contact reshaped to make contact with the battery. (be sure to remove the plastic from the battery

)

I do not use mine with a stand connected to the hot shoe on the receiver fearing that the part is too flimsy so instead I lash the flash to the top of the stand using ball bungees all-a strobist.

I haven't tested just how far they reach but they will go 35 feet/behind a wall which is plenty far enough for me.

I say give them a shot, for the price you can hardly go wrong especially if you get a spare.

BTW the transmitter will connect via PC cable to a flash meter if you use one.

mike

FidelCastrovich · Nov 23, 2007

I've got this trigger as well, and i'm pretty happy with it. Very happy, in fact. At first they would misfire quite a lot, but since i replaced the battery and played around with the channels, they seem to be working really well.
When i get another flash or two, i'm definitely going to buy more slave triggers.

Deadeye008 · Nov 23, 2007

I bought a trigger and 2 recievers like these for under $45. One of the recievers didn't work right so they are sending me a new one. The other functioned well. I had to mod it a little to make it work with my 430EX but now it works great. I also added and extended antenna to my trigger and I can fire the flashes from about 175 ft away. Definitley worth a shot.

nossie · Nov 23, 2007

Mike_E said:
Hi, I got mine cheaper.

The only trouble I have had out of mine is when I first got them (one transmitter and three receivers) one of the receivers needed a contact reshaped to make contact with the battery. (be sure to remove the plastic from the battery )

mike

What did you get and where did you get it. I'm thinking of buying some today.

Digital Matt · Nov 23, 2007

Money is an issue for me, but I still went for pocket wizards. I don't want to have any worries about unreliability on a job. Also, with my Sekonic meter, I can meter wirelessly, which is huge.

I started with two transceivers, which are about $185 each. It's enough to trigger one light and let the rest act as slaves. I'm adding another transceiver when I can and slowly building. In my opinion they are worth their price.

nossie · Nov 23, 2007

Digital Matt said:
Money is an issue for me, but I still went for pocket wizards. I don't want to have any worries about unreliability on a job. Also, with my Sekonic meter, I can meter wirelessly, which is huge.

I started with two transceivers, which are about $185 each. It's enough to trigger one light and let the rest act as slaves. I'm adding another transceiver when I can and slowly building. In my opinion they are worth their price.

Can they be used with a 580ex and a 430ex?

Digital Matt · Nov 23, 2007

nossie said:
Can they be used with a 580ex and a 430ex?

Yes, but you need an additional piece to make the connection. You need this adapter to give you a female sync port on the flash:

http://www.adorama.com/FAPCHSA.html

and then you can also purchase this: http://www.adorama.com/LTUSH.html

to use your speedlight on a light stand with an umbrella. I do this all the time for outdoor shoots with a Promaster 7500.

If you intend to use small flashes, consider purchasing old Nikon speed lights, because they have a sync port right on the flash, which means you don't have to buy the additional connector.

Big Mike · Nov 23, 2007

I have a cheap 'ebay' trigger. It works well enough on my older flash units or to trigger my Alienbees but it doens't work well with my Canon flash.

I have used it at weddings but not for anything too important. I do plan to get something more reliable like Pocket Wizards.

nossie · Nov 23, 2007

Digital Matt said:
Yes, but you need an additional piece to make the connection. You need this adapter to give you a female sync port on the flash:

http://www.adorama.com/FAPCHSA.html

and then you can also purchase this: http://www.adorama.com/LTUSH.html

to use your speedlight on a light stand with an umbrella. I do this all the time for outdoor shoots with a Promaster 7500.

If you intend to use small flashes, consider purchasing old Nikon speed lights, because they have a sync port right on the flash, which means you don't have to buy the additional connector.

Great now you're being really helpful thanks. No one to blame but me for not being clear.

Later this year I intend to buy the Bowens Gemini 500/500/500 kit but right now I'm stuck to do a small portrait job for my sister (3 kids) that she wants printed before Xmas to give as a gift.

I have the 580ex now and that's it. I want to do a cheapo lots of gaffa tape setup just to get those shots done. So I'm thinking the 580ex bounced off some white card, and another flash on the other side doing the same thing for fill. It might just be enough!

So I need some kind of remoter trigger system, maybe a cheapo will do? or maybe something far more substantial like the Pocket Wizards? I also need the a 2nd flash, since I'm a canon man I never look at Nikon kit so I'll look about on eBay for old Nikon speedlights, any other ideas from what I've written there?

Thanks again.

Digital Matt · Nov 23, 2007

If you are working indoors, most flashes will have no trouble being used as optical slaves (firing when they see another flash). In this case you can use any brand flash that has a slave mode. I would also make sure that any flash you get has manual power settings so you can control the output as well. Old Nikon SB-24s can be had for $30-40 probably.

For a cheap setup, bouncing into a large white card is a good substitute for a softbox. Another large white card for fill will work nicely. The closer you have the fill cards, the softer the light.

As for a remote triggering system, it's up to you on how much you want to spend. If you buy that adapter I linked to, you can just use a sync cord from your camera's pc socket (if it doesn't have one, you'll need another hotshoe/pc adapter), but having wires all over the place tends to get messy, hence the want for wireless.

BAB · Nov 23, 2007

Digital Matt said:
Money is an issue for me, but I still went for pocket wizards. I don't want to have any worries about unreliability on a job. Also, with my Sekonic meter, I can meter wirelessly, which is huge.

I started with two transceivers, which are about $185 each. It's enough to trigger one light and let the rest act as slaves. I'm adding another transceiver when I can and slowly building. In my opinion they are worth their price.

I agree, you did the right thing. You pay for what you get and I have seen too many "cheap" units fail or work erratically, to be comfortable using them in a paid assignment, especially a wedding.

DeepSpring · Nov 23, 2007

Elinchrom EL-Skyport!!!!!!!

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...m_19360_EL_Skyport_Universal_Radio_Slave.html

These are a GREAT product. I have been using them for a few months and they have not failed me yet. The range is good and they are very small.

You can buy thsi hotshoe adaptor and plug it right into any flash
http://flashzebra.com/wizardcables/hotshoe.shtml

If you have any question about anything just e-mail the guy who owns flash zebra. He has helped me with several things and I have ordered a few things from him. He's a great guy and very knowledgeable.

Here are a few discussions about them on the canon forum
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=397992
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=397418&page=3