First shoot with Cactus Triggers

[SnlpeR]

my poverty wizards came in a few days ago and wanted to try it out with some flashes i had
total of 4 flashes

580EX II
540EZ (borrowed from my friend)
Vivitar 728 junk that works
and i cant remember the other one...friend gave it to me coz it broke...shoe mount broke...and the thing just never turned on
i just happend to fix it and make it work

i sorta did the antenna mod to the trigger by coiling up a 6" wire inside the housing
i didnt solder it tho coz my antenna and stuff is still in transit

seemed to work fine outdoors with no misfires...except while waiting for the flashes to recharge

anyways...enough with the words and onto the pics!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v712/SnlpeR2/IMG_4800.jpg

went out to shoot my friends 2000 Civic Si
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v712/SnlpeR2/Juans%20Civic/IMG_5419.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v712/SnlpeR2/Juans%20Civic/IMG_5369.jpg


THE REST HERE! http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=477546

[chabooky386]

Not bad at all good start i have to say!

[turbodude]

i was thinking of buying 3 540ez's how is the power?

[DocFrankenstein]

LOL

These are awesome. I like em.

Should've turned the lights on in the last shot though.

[Alexajlex]

Nice stuff..

Only comment I have is regarding the car color.
The factory color is Milano Red (unless it is a respray) but in the pics it looks like candy apple red (still looks good).

[Tumeg]

AMAZING!

May I ask one thing though, where did you buy those cactus triggers?? I would really be interested in a few,

[lowcrust]

Awesome! Maybe try and get the light inside the car to spread a little more though?

The so called eBay triggers can be found on.... ehm... eBay. Look for a seller called Gadget Infinity.

[SnlpeR]

i really wanted to gel the inside of the car
but i couldnt find anything i could have used....besides a green sprite bottle i coulda cut up

the car is painted some raspberry pearl color

i bought the cactus triggers directly from gadget infinity
great people
took a week to get to me

still waiting from my stands and umbrellas to come in from b&h

[SnlpeR]

hmm
weird thing..
i tried to replace the 23A battery that came with the transmitter with an Energizer A23 battery

and the thing dont work
whats the difference between a 23A battery and an A23?
old battery works when i put it back

the energizer is brand new


edit: nvrmd...i think the retarted battery is just dead
but brand new...from kmart
time for a return

[lowcrust]

Sure you didn't miss to break off the plastic wrap? If so you wouldn't have been the first... *whistles quietly*

[SnlpeR]

lol i read the precautions beforehand on this site

but im referring to the new energizers
*double checks to see if theres plastic wrap*
lol...theres none

[David B12]

Try the Energizer with the cover off. If it works, it's time to grind out some of the top cover for clearance. It may be pushing the battery down causing it to lose contact.

[Psychobiker]

New batteries are key to getting htese things reliable

[lowcrust]

I was really skeptical of the use of the so-called battery mod on these things, but having recently used these a bit more (and away from home as well) I'm now eager to get it done on all my receivers. I wasn't aware of how much juice they need.

[Mark1]

What is the difference between the V2 and the V2s ?

[lowcrust]

V2s supposedly improves compatibility with certain models, like the 430EX. When I swapped my V2 to V2s I noticed a slight improvement with my 430 but still got far-from-acceptable performance.

[Spaced_K]

V2s supposedly improves compatibility with certain models, like the 430EX. When I swapped my V2 to V2s I noticed a slight improvement with my 430 but still got far-from-acceptable performance.

I found that my Cactus with my 430 is shocking. About 1 in 5 is working. Might just try a new battery as they are quite cheap.
Alhough the performace is enough to make me "need" an upgrade. Shoudl really get a 580 anyhoo. :lol:

[Albert Street]

I have a pair of these and I must admit, I'm not a fan. They just aren't nearly reliable enough. I haven't heard of the battery mod though so I'll definitely be looking into that.

But if you're on a budget (like me) an awesome alternative to Pocket Wizards are the Elinchrom Skyports. The price falls in between ebay slaves and Pocket Wizards. I'll definitely be picking these up in not to long.

[turbodude]

I use cactus and they are super relaible. except with my 430ex in which i have sold.

[SnlpeR]

did the mod
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2226/2391699125_8a201a8032_o.jpg

so far 80ft with the original battery in the receiver
i changed the transmitter battery a while back

[Mark1]

Where do you find how to do the mods??

[SnlpeR]

theres a whole bunch in the strobist site

heres the one i followed
http://jeremykuster.blogspot.com/2007/10/gi-cactus-v2s-modification-tutorial.html

i did the coiled wire onto the antenna tho