There are actually a number of wireless triggering options out there. Most of them, however, are geared for the studio only and are not much good outdoors in creative lighting environments.
The current contenders in my book either need a jack input or a hot shoe that connects to cable, and are...
Radio Popper Jr - Still a prommised unit that hasn't been seen yet but my hopes are pinned on this one for a good balance between distance, reliability and cost. Tollerance of high and low voltage strobes is not known to me. Their last blog post was the 6th of October so who knows what is happening there.
They initially reported a price of US$25 per unit, but no one knows for sure. They have previously been quoted as revising that figure to between US$50 to US$75 so much will be found out when they finally get the JR to the market. They have already achieved manufacturer independent TTL transmission wirelessly with the RP1 so these guys know their technology. At £120 for each transmitter or receiver, they are specialist units as they convert the master strobes signals in to wireless and play them back optically to remote units. The P1 isn't just something you can sling on a flash. Also, they're not yet available abroad because of wireless frequency issues.
A promised range of over 1,000 feet for the Jr is also very attractive. I'm just sitting and watching.
Cybersyncs - A good all rounder that includes mains in-line in its receiver range. Good distance for the price but the price for people outside the US is prohibitive. Tollerance of high and low voltage strobes is not known to me.
The Cybersync is here and costs US$60 for a transmitter and US$70 for a receiver either mains or battery. A set of transmitter and three receiver is thus £180 basic but if you're abroad then you can add a 10% surcharge to that (minimum of US$25) the 60-Day Absolute Satisfaction Guarantee will not be offered and the customer is responsible for shipping charges on faulty goods even if they are within warantee. To my mind, that is a load of bullshit. Also, there are no notes on voltage requirements for the mains receiver so be wary of buying that in the states and having it shipped over.
The Cybersync team are also working on a system which will control the flash power from the transmitter, based on group ... so who knows what will happen to the more basic unit in the near future. Also, their power button has been reported as being way too easy to press while it is in the camera bag and will easily run the battery down.
Gadget Infinity 16 channel (RD616) - The cheapest but the most reliable of the cheapest is here. Although I've had some units fail, the overall cost of ownership is low and it accepts modifications to overcome the low fire voltage issue and is also fully tollerant of high voltage shoes. Some receivers don't accept the mods, but at the cost it is an acceptable loss. It also has the transmitter mod which takes it to around 300 feet which, again, fails to work on about one in three transmitters in my experience.
A transmitter and three receivers will set you back £37 and a little bit of soldering work to overcome the low trigger voltage problem plus installing an ariel to increase the triggering range from 50 feet to 300. The whole article on the modifications is here and the breakout mods are here for the transmitter and here for the receivers. At that price it is easy to afford extras to cover the units that won't take to the modifications.
There is also a mains in-line version of the 16 channel in the range.
The 4 channel versions are reported as taking the strobe too high out of the brolly centre, the mounting system being weak and it being difficult to modify to handle low voltage strobes. Another complaint levelled at the 4 channel V2 is that the receiver takes non-standard batteries and many people are reporting doing "AA" mods to the case.
Others
Pocket Wizards are out of the running due to the cost factor and the range of tranceivers that now don't work with each other both for version and frequency issues - care has to be exercised in buying them. Some PW models do, however, also trigger the camera wirelessly. The PW II is retailing in the UK for £150 per tranceiver, so a transmitter and three receivers is going to cost you £600. The transmission range is said to be around 1,600 feet.
If you don't need distance then there are plenty of models out there with battery and mains in-line receivers and some are much cheaper than others ... but I would certainly ask the question over the voltage and polarity issues so that there is come back should you later find a strobe model that you have problems with. Also, most of the other models out there that are at a reasonable price come in at around the 50 feet mark and as I haven't seen the electronics in there, who knows whether that range can be extended ... so personally I've shyed off them. Again, fine in the studio but in a creative environment, an outdoor shoot or event, or even in an indoor building shoot with receivers hidden behind corners or shooting in from another room ... to my mind, that just isn't enough transmission power.
Post a Comment