Wireless Trigger?

[james048a]

Hi, let me first say im new to this site. I just upgraded from a canon 10d to a 40d and have a 580exII flash with a Turbo 2x2 battery.

I have been wanting to do portait photography, and have been doing indoor Ballroom dancing photos this past year. I'm on a buget like most people, and picked up a pair of Used Photogenic StudioMax III 320w/s light kit. It had everything i need for a studio lights. My question is and i have search the site for the speedotron wireless triggers but could not find much info. All i was able to find was talk about ebay stuff witch i want to stay away. I like getting my stuff from B&H, Adorama, or local shops. This is the unit i am looking at get 2 sets plus an extra reciever. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=WishList.jsp&A=details&Q=&sku=310638&is=REG
Would this be good for a start out beginner kit?

Thanks for any feed back and insite you may have.
I look forward to reading and postsing more here since im a canon user.

James

[GerBee]

They look fine. B&H is a great company.

But if your budget is tight, the Chinese in-line radio triggers are 'seemingly' more reliable than the hot-shoe, battery operated versions. They are not as regulated and adding more afterwards may not work together so buying an extra receiver, if you choose this route, might be recommended.

I'd wait for a user report though before purchase.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=WishList.jsp&A=details&Q=&sku=310638&is=REG
Would this be good for a start out beginner kit?

[james048a]

Hi, thanks for the input. I been doing some research and i thik im going with (2) Elinchrom EL Skyport Universal kit. As i need 2 transmitters and 2 Receivers. One transmitter on the camera and the other to use with my Seniko lightmeter. I dont like corders ;)
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=WishList.jsp&A=details&Q=&sku=505381&is=REG
There were some good reviews of this and its only $70 more then the one i listed above.

[azpix]

Elinchrom EL Skyport Universal kit. As i need 2 transmitters and 2 Receivers. .

you will not be disappointed

[bigjon0107]

you will not be disappointed

I agree, i ordered the same thing. The first set you mentioned has a range of 80 feet...not to good, and not really usable if you want to strobe a sports game or event.

[rhys]

Hi, let me first say im new to this site. I just upgraded from a canon 10d to a 40d and have a 580exII flash with a Turbo 2x2 battery.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=WishList.jsp&A=details&Q=&sku=310638&is=REG
Would this be good for a start out beginner kit?

James

This looks suspiciously like the wireless flash triggers from ebay. They work for some but don't for others. Mine didn't although I gather there are some enthusiastic proponents that were lucky enough to get a working set. Flash Zebra has some and reckons on a 20% failure rate.


Go for something better - you won't regret the money.

[nadtz]

Before you order 2 transmitters see if you can plug a sync cable into a transmitter, I do this with my ebay triggers so I only need 1 transmitter, though if you want hte 2nd no worries!

[Village_Idiot]

Every one that I see using the Elinchrom triggers really likes them.

[canonrap]

Back here in Blighty I too am looking at some radio triggers & receivers, as opposed to optical (though I could be tempted to mix and match if views are that they are just as good). The main thing is that I don't want to be triggering other flashguns from a camera mounted flashgun.

I've seen the following on eBay (RF604 & RD604). What do you think?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=330199855377&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=014

Also, there are these (RF04 & PT04):

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=330200794352&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=014

Are both of the above similar?

They'll be hooked up to either a Canon 40D or G7. I haven't decided on the Flash guns yet, but the Sunpak 383 looks a popular choice?

I'd really appreciate your help and views...

Thanks.

[GerBee]

They are similar but different. The top one here is designed for Studio style strobes.

RF04 & PT04 are designed for slipping on a hot shoe of the camera and slipping a flash on the receiver ~ no leads required.

One is better off getting a set as it is posted by a few that adding other receivers later may not work, the radio frequency may be different, even though it should not be.

RF04 & PT04 I've a set of four of these ~ they are delicate but have worked fine for me. There is a ton of info on them, both here and on Stobists site, search brings up a bunch of stuff including mods to extend range and so forth, they are cheap enough to be disposable and they certainly allow one to experiment with radio to see if it's for them.





I've seen the following on eBay (RF604 & RD604). What do you think?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=330199855377&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=014

Also, there are these (RF04 & PT04):

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=330200794352&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=014

Are both of the above similar?
Thanks.

[rhys]

Dang! I finally managed to get that pT04 and RF04 to work. It seems I have to stand about 15 feet away from them in order to get them to work without firing the flash spontaneously. Now that's some serious RF noise! Are there any mods to make them work in a practical setting? My normal distance from my flashgun is normally 5 - 8 feet for a remote firing.

[Village_Idiot]

Dang! I finally managed to get that pT04 and RF04 to work. It seems I have to stand about 15 feet away from them in order to get them to work without firing the flash spontaneously. Now that's some serious RF noise! Are there any mods to make them work in a practical setting? My normal distance from my flashgun is normally 5 - 8 feet for a remote firing.

Yeah, there is that. Some people have reported malfunctions within 10 feet, but haven't heard anything about that big of a distance.

On strobist, you can find an antenna mod that looks easy and requires very minimal soldering skills. Like on a scale of one to ten, a rating of Helen Keller would probably still work good enough.

I don't kow if it'll fix your range problem though. I know $190 would fix it :D

[rhys]

Yeah, there is that. Some people have reported malfunctions within 10 feet, but haven't heard anything about that big of a distance.

On strobist, you can find an antenna mod that looks easy and requires very minimal soldering skills. Like on a scale of one to ten, a rating of Helen Keller would probably still work good enough.

I don't kow if it'll fix your range problem though. I know $190 would fix it :D

Ooh I went for the STE-2 and got ETTL flash control :D

[GerBee]

Plus ~~~ Radio Poppers should be launching in the USA this January. It's a Radio transport protocol that carries the ETTL info normally transmitted by IR in a radio wave ~ exciting.

It is promising the benefits of radio and the ease of use of ETTL/iTTL :)


Ooh I went for the STE-2 and got ETTL flash control :D

[mmahoney]

Plus ~~~ Radio Poppers should be launching in the USA this January.

This January? .. as in this current month 2008? .. they musta moved scheduled production up a lot.

What I've seen on their website still shows indefinite delivery dates (like it has for the past year or so). Am I looking in the wrong place?
Thanks,
Mike

[simwells]

This January? .. as in this current month 2008? .. they musta moved scheduled production up a lot.

What I've seen on their website still shows indefinite delivery dates (like it has for the past year or so). Am I looking in the wrong place?
Thanks,
Mike

The website currently says units ship january 2008

[mmahoney]

The website currently says units ship january 2008

Sounds exciting .. I can't find anything more current than the "update in December" page.

Can you post a link the shipping this month page for me?
Thanks,
Mike

[simwells]

it says orders open in december, ships january 2008! pretty clearly on the homepage

http://www.radiopopper.com/

[mmahoney]

it says orders open in december, ships january 2008! pretty clearly on the homepage

http://www.radiopopper.com/

Oh yeah .. hide it on the homepage :o:o. I never thought of looking there:o

I'll be ordering a set !!
Thanks,
Mike

[rhys]

Hmm $25 a set too... Tempting!

[simwells]

Hmm $25 a set too... Tempting!

Those ones arent out for another 6 months though

[rhys]

Well... I'll stick with my ste-2 for the moment.

[Village_Idiot]

Well... I'll stick with my ste-2 for the moment.

If you want something cheap(er) that works well, the Elinchrom Skyports always get good reviews.

[rhys]

If you want something cheap(er) that works well, the Elinchrom Skyports always get good reviews.

My STE-2 works quite well...

Here're two shots I did for my stepson's science project...

[Vortex99]

My STE-2 works quite well...

Here're two shots I did for my stepson's science project...

Nice shots, but what the heck was the project on?

[Village_Idiot]

As long as you're not doing a lot outside or if you don't want to do anything out of LOS, it'll work fine. I've got some ideas that I want to try that will make these expensive arse PW's worth it, I hope.

The Popper Jr.s are going to be a hit if they're reliable and have range. The only large downside I can see to these is if they're single channel. If that's the case, they'll be a chore to use if you're at an event with other people using them. Most of the times though, events like that have people working together, it'll just be a pain controlling what flashes you want to fire.

Edit: You have something to use as a diffuser? Umbrella or something?

[rhys]

Nice shots, but what the heck was the project on?

I'm not really sure right now but it was something to do with the effect of various solutions on chalk.

We filled the tumblers with fluids - coke, alcohol, water, orange juice and vinegar. Then we added food colouring. Then left the chalk in for 1 hour, 1 day, 3 days, 5 days.

After 1 hour the results were this (look atta da picture).

The alcohol had soaked all the way through the core of the chalk. The others hadn't done as much with water doing the least.

We expect the coke and the vinegar will begin to erode the surface of the chalk left in the solutions.

[Vortex99]

I'm not really sure right now but it was something to do with the effect of various solutions on chalk.

We filled the tumblers with fluids - coke, alcohol, water, orange juice and vinegar. Then we added food colouring. Then left the chalk in for 1 hour, 1 day, 3 days, 5 days.

After 1 hour the results were this (look atta da picture).

The alcohol had soaked all the way through the core of the chalk. The others hadn't done as much with water doing the least.

We expect the coke and the vinegar will begin to erode the surface of the chalk left in the solutions.


Thanks, interesting as well!

[rhys]

If anybody's interested, the setup was two flashes - a 420EX and a 430EX set about two feet from the glasses, off to each side and in front.

[james048a]

Well i made the plung, this morning i orders the Elinchrom Skyport Uni. kit with an extra receiver. Plus i added some colored gels and scissor clips to mount flash high.

Thanks for all your input and knowledge