Pixel Knight TR-332 Radio E-TTL Trigger

pixelhkXX wrote in post #9954903
This is jack who is a sales from pixel .Appreciate Caliv spend time for write the review.

About sales question ,can directly let me know!

Welcome to the forum. I think that you'll find that company reps are very much appreciated on here. I look forward to seeing you around.

lukeap69 wrote in post #9955271
The HSS is good enough reason (for me) to consider these triggers. However, I may wait for more development if and when TTL can be used for more than one group (speedlite).

If each group can have the ability to set the FEC (still TTL), then this will function like Nikon CLS which IMO is better than ratios

The Knights are controlled by the camera's capacities, and only a sub-set at that. Canon has not provided a means to set FEC on different groups of flash, so the Knights cannot intercept those settings. E-TTL and FEC are functions of the camera body - "through the lens" and interpreted by camera firmware.

The Knight Groups are a different matter, and are designed to handle flashes with and without remote control. In Manual mode, they are basically simple triggers.

lukeap69 wrote in post #9955275
Hey Jack

How about giving special discounts for POTNers.

In all seriousness Jack has actually previously indicated he would like to arrange group discounts or similar!

So you may be in luck, but unless you can translate to Chinese better than an electronic translator it may not be easy to arrange something. You might well earn that discount

CliveyBoy wrote in post #9958492
The Knights are controlled by the camera's capacities, and only a sub-set at that. Canon has not provided a means to set FEC on different groups of flash, so the Knights cannot intercept those settings. E-TTL and FEC are functions of the camera body - "through the lens" and interpreted by camera firmware.

The Knight Groups are a different matter, and are designed to handle flashes with and without remote control. In Manual mode, they are basically simple triggers.

I see. How about HSS, is it possible to have HSS for all the groups?

elv wrote in post #9960364
In all seriousness Jack has actually previously indicated he would like to arrange group discounts or similar!

So you may be in luck, but unless you can translate to Chinese better than an electronic translator it may not be easy to arrange something. You might well earn that discount

Aha! I have a chinese photographer friend handy for the translation...

Thanks for the review!!

I was just on the pixel website, it says it can support studio lights through pc sockets to achieve shutter speed upto 1/8000 sec.
http://www.pixelhk.com​/en/proview.asp?P_ID=1​575

I was wondering if you had to chance to try these on studio strobes to achieve hss.

black419 wrote in post #10029432
....I was wondering if you had to chance to try these on studio strobes to achieve hss.

AFAIK, HHS is a one-trick-pony using your Canon body and you Canon Speedlight...Or your Nikon Body and Your Nikon Speedlite.

ASAIK, Flashes like (say) Vivatar speedlights or your studio strobes cannot be used for HSS ............

Austen.

black419 wrote in post #10029432
I was wondering if you had to chance to try these on studio strobes to achieve hss.

Hopefully, soon.

I expect Pixel hypersync to work on strobes, as it does with shoe-flashes. HSS is specifically a Canon technology, and the Pixel Knights uses it when Speedlites are connected.

Hyper Sync is a trick that relies on the fact that the camera sends a pre-sync signal. The trigger uses this to pre-fire the monolight. Thus, the shutter slit traveling across the sensor uses the tail of the monolight flash as the light source.

The net result is a higher than nominal sync flash exposure but at a greatly reduced power.

The Pixel spec referring to 1/8000 is referring to the ability HSS or Hyper Sync to trigger a flash at any nominal shutter speed. Whether there will be enough light from the Speedlite (HSS) or from the monolight (hyper sync) to properly expose the subject is another matter.

dmward wrote in post #10033031
Whether there will be enough light from the Speedlite (HSS) or from the monolight (hyper sync) to properly expose the subject is another matter.

When the configuration allows, the Knight-implemented HSS on Speedlites is entirely usable up to 1/8000th - little difference than an on-camera flash.

Again, with a different configuration Knight hypersync - on speedlites - is fine up to 1/500th in our tests. However, the hypersync timings are based on studio strobes, which we are yet to test.

I expect that it would be useable. The point is that when the speedlite is strobing to support HSS, there is less total light output and that effectively lowers the GN. Just as the Hyper Sync "magic" reduces the effective Ws output of a monolight to less than 50%.

One can still get a proper exposure, just have to be aware of and work within the limitations.

dmward wrote in post #10034055
I expect that it would be useable. The point is that when the speedlite is strobing to support HSS, there is less total light output and that effectively lowers the GN. Just as the Hyper Sync "magic" reduces the effective Ws output of a monolight to less than 50%.

One can still get a proper exposure, just have to be aware of and work within the limitations.

Quite so, lad.

My point is that, for those who know how to use it, both HSS and Hypersync are available when using the Knights.

dmward wrote in post #10033031
Hyper Sync is a trick that relies on the fact that the camera sends a pre-sync signal. The trigger uses this to pre-fire the monolight. Thus, the shutter slit traveling across the sensor uses the tail of the monolight flash as the light source.

Thus it would be better to use this trick with say a Calumet Genesis strobe that is supposed to have a fairly long flash duration (more tail left) than a comparable AlienBee.

PIXEL'S KNIGHT TR-332 WIRELESS E-TTL II FLASH TRIGGER FOR CANON - PART 2
21 April 2010

The first test units did not have the latest firmware, and I had to wait for replacements, which were sent promptly. It has taken time to learn how the triggers can be used; the Product Manual gives few clues!

In Part 1, Transmitter (TX) and Receiver (RX) are used. In fact, both the "Controller" Knight and the "Remote" Knight are operating as radio transceivers - two-way communication. Because these terms better represent the reality, they are used in Part 2.

RELIABILITY
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I observed nothing to suggest that the 580EX II interfered with the Knight's radio signal, but this problem can vary from flash to flash. Some radio triggers experience EMF interference, but they use a different frequency band than the Knights.

In the early stages, there was a good number of failures (mis-fires, full-fires, weird EXIF data). Testing and examination of the images and data showed that they may all be due to a user-interrupted Refresh transmission.

When a change is made on a Knight or a flash, there is no transmission. On 1/2-shutter, there is a steady stream for less than a second, followed by a slow blip. The evidence is that the initial stream can be interrupted and a shot taken, ready or not. The stream seems to be a complete re-send of the settings. This would explain the different stages interrupted as revealed by image and EXIF. A little user attention has removed all the misfires, and reliability since has been high. However, a delay before full-shutter may be unrealistic in some situations.

When the “Quick Control Panel” is called on the camera's LCD, the Knight goes into continuous transmission, and continues until the panel disappears. Changes in settings (TV, AV, ISO, EC, FEC etc) are transmitted immediately, just as with the lens zoom.

The Knight controller wakes and resets when the camera wakes from standby (eg 1/2-shutter).

RANGE
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Tested at 55m (180ft), with a portion of a building in between. No sign of hesitation or no-fire.

THE CONTROLLER
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The Controller has five groups, each of which can be set to Off, TTL or Manual power level.

Setting a group to Off can be useful to enable various combinations in a multiple light setup, or to kill a single remote light for ambient-only shots.

TTL can be used with EX Speedlites. Camera-set FEC, HSS and Hypersync is functional.

Power level 1/1 to 1/128 can remotely set the power level on Mark II Speedlites from the Controller on the camera.

Non-compatible speedlights and studio strobes can be triggered by any setting on the Controller, with power levels set manually on the flash or strobe. Hypersync will be available only in TTL mode.

The modes can be mixed.

HSS and HYPERSYNC
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The Knight Controler sets the camera to High Speed Synchronisation (HSS),with the viewfinder showing the lightnin-bolt-H icon. The Controller usually needs to be in TTL mode for HSS or Hypersync to be available. However, setting the Controller to M 1/8 caused a Mark II Speedlite to switch to that mode, but retain HSS capability.

Setting a 580EX II to M 1/1 and HSS, using an EOS 50D, I found:

1. Placing the Speedlite on the Knight Remote shoe, with the Controller group set to TTL, will produce standard Canon HSS lighting.

2. Connecting the Speedlite to the Knight Remote by PC-sync cord, with the Controller Group set to TTL, will produce Pixel's Hypersync. It is fully usable at 1/320th and 1/400th. At 1/500th a small curtain shadow was evident, but care with framing will make a usable shot.

3. Keeping the Speedlite connected by PC-sync cord, but changing the Controller Group to M 1/1, will produce typical unusable shutter shadow above x-sync speed.

Hypersync can also be used with studio strobes. Pixel claims that studio strobes can be sync'd up to 1/8000th, but no strobes were tested.

USING ONE REMOTE
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The simplest setup is to set the Controller Group A to TTL (the default), and place an EX Speedlite on the Remote, also set to Group A (default). The flash can then be used off-camera with FEC and HSS fully operational.

The Speedlite can also be set to Manual and a power level, and triggered by the Controller in TTL.

Two flashes can be fired with just one Remote. A Dumb flash (simple trigger with centre pin and rail) can be mounted on a Knight Remote, and another flash connected through the PC-sync port. They both fire in sync up to X-sync. (No HSS.)

However, if ttl-capable flash is mounted on the Knight Remote shoe and another flash is connected through the Knight's PC-sync port, 1/2-shutter will cause the flash connected by the cord to rapid-fire and risk burn-out.

USING TWO OR MORE REMOTES
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
A 550EX was mounted on a Knight Remote as Key light, in ETTL. A gelled 550EX Backlight was mounted on an adapter shoe and connected to another Remote in Manual 1/1 by PC-sync cable. This gave good exposures, including up to 1/4000th. FEC worked as expected on the Key light. This configuration could be useful to light up a room at an event, with ETTL controlling subject exposures.

There are more configurations possible; their behaviours can be explored by others. Circumstances prevent futher testing at this time. Apologies for that.

FLASH EXPOSURE COMPENSATION
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The Knights enable FEC of +/- 2 stops, but only for Speedlites in ETTL, and only when it is set on the camera. Whether the Knights handle +/- 3 stops of 1D series bodies, or +/- 5 stops of the 7D, is unknown.

CHANGING SETTINGS
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Changing settings on the Knight Controller is like setting a watch - sequences of button presses. However, the button press sequence is not convenient, and may require that the camera be set down on a table so that both hands can be used to manipulate the buttons on top. If the Controller case had been moulded with a right-angle foot, we would be able to see what is going on from the back of the camera where photographers usually live, and button access would be easier.

For testing purposes, the Controller was mounted on an OC-E2 cable and positioned below the camera for easy thumb access. It also let me observe the LED transmission traffic to learn what was happening.

AUTO ZOOM FOR SENSOR SIZE
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This Canon facility is solely for an on-camera Speedlite. It is designed to match the flash beam with the lens's field of view, which cannot be done if the Speedlite is off-camera. It does not matter to the Knights which way this Custom function is set.

FOCUS ASSIST
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
When the focus assist light was needed, a significant red tinge in-shot was observed. The easiest solution is to use a torch for focussing.

BATTERY LOW INDICATOR
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The Product Manual and the Packaging both say "100 hours" standby. That would be my experience, having to replace the Controller's battery during testing. The listed claims of 500 or 1000 hours standby seem optimistic.

I have noticed a much shorter camera battery life - about half normal service. I suspect that all the extra traffic through the hotshoe to the Knight Controller may be causing this.

CONCLUSION
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The price is mid-level, and is matched by a mid-level feature set. These include FEC, HSS, E-TTL and Hypersync.

The Group settings provide for considerable freedom and creativity, and possibly hassle as you discover what works. Pixel could be more helpful with information.

Overall, an inpressive feature set, although not quite as advertised. I like the Knights, and the added capabilities over YongNuo RF-602 Triggers. I am buying a third Knight Remote, and will sell my set of GadgetInfinity 16-channel units.

My YongNuo RF-602s will be kept, partly for shutter control, partly for backup. Tests indicate that although both brands use the 2.4GHz band, they co-habit quite happily.

are there any plans to implement 2nd curtain?

yes, i DO want a miracle.

thanks for the excellent write up. i have been watching these closely.

-ken