Reliable prosumer radio triggers?

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VilleK
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p.1 #1 · Reliable prosumer radio triggers?

I've been quite satisfied with the Nikon's CLS lightning control but it has started to let me down every now and then. It's really nice to be able to tune the flash power from the camera but the IR signal sometimes restricts the light and camera positioning.

What kind of radio triggers you would recommend for me? I'd like them to be as reliable as possible and a good build quality would be nice and I don't need any TTL functionality. I know that the Pocket Wizards with the Zone controller would be the best option, but I think I cannot afford that much. I'm not looking the cheapest ones but something that would cost approximately 1/3 of the PWs or less (prosumer radio triggers). I would use them with D700 and 3x SB-600 flash units.

I've been thinking of getting 4x Aputure Trigmaster Plus transceivers. Do you you think they are worth buying? I would get a suitable set for my flashes for less than $300.

Edited on Aug 24, 2012 at 06:40 AM · View previous versions

Aug 23, 2012 at 09:43 PM

swoop
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p.1 #2 · Reliable prosumer radio triggers?

I use microsyncs. Not very popular around here but they have been flawless for me. Range is about 150'. I understand pocketwizards will fire across a stadium, but my lights and I are usually in the sa me room. The big selling point for me is that its really compact, and there's no on/of f switch, they're always ready.

Aug 24, 2012 at 04:33 AM

jshalvorsen
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p.1 #3 · Reliable prosumer radio triggers?

I'd skip the cheapo systems, and go for a solution where you can adjust the light directly from camera/transmitter. The Phottix Odin are perfect for use with speedlights, gives a "one man manual light setup" a whole new dimension of efficiency + it supports TTL functionality wich can be really useful in some shooting conditions.

Aug 24, 2012 at 10:50 AM

pr4photos
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p.1 #4 · Reliable prosumer radio triggers?

If you want manual only the Yongnuo RF602s can't be beaten. I have a few and they have never let me down. Brilliant bit of kit for the price £20 delivered from China. Seems like the next step up is TTL triggers and they start at £300 - forget the £100 TTL Pixel triggers - they are rubbish

Aug 24, 2012 at 02:06 PM

BugLightGeek
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p.1 #5 · Reliable prosumer radio triggers?

I also love my RF-602s.

Aug 24, 2012 at 03:07 PM

cordellwillis
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p.1 #6 · Reliable prosumer radio triggers?

Except for the Phottix Odin, the IR systems mention thus far are the only ones that are in the area of 1/3 the cost of PW. Keep in mind though that you cannot control the output from camera; you can only trigger them. The Phottix Odins can be adjusted from camera position.

The only other system that I believe can be adjusted from camera is the RadioPopper JrX with the "Cube". I don't know if the price is low enough for you.

You also should decide if you want to have a flash on camera at all times or not with any of the systems you decide to buy into.

Cordell

Aug 24, 2012 at 03:37 PM

VilleK
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p.1 #7 · Reliable prosumer radio triggers?

Thanks for the replies everyone!

I think I can afford only manual triggers. I don't care about the TTL-metering but the ability to tune the flash power from the camera would be nice. It seems that feature is missing from the products of my price range. And I definitely want radio triggers since D700 can be used for IR triggering.

Phottix Odin -system looks really nice but it's a bit too pricey and I couldn't find directly from where I live.

I know where to get Yongnuos and I also stumbled upon a model called RF603. Those are transceivers so they can be used as a receiver and a transmitter which is the same as with the Aputure Trigmaster Plus system. They are a lot cheaper and they have the same functionality (under 100EUR while the Aputure system would cost about 220EUR).

I'm going to check out the RadioPopper JrX system.

Edit
It seems that RadioPopper doesn't have JrX system available in Europe.

Aug 24, 2012 at 09:54 PM

ravisrajan
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p.1 #8 · Reliable prosumer radio triggers?

I am very happy with manual transcever. Cactus V5. I got them from MPEX.com. Here is thier link. You can also directly purchase from gadgetinfinity.com also.
http://mpex.com/cactus-v5-radio-slave-set.html

For review: http://www.flickr.com/groups/strobist/discuss/72157625637331217/

Aug 24, 2012 at 10:16 PM

400d
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p.1 #9 · Reliable prosumer radio triggers?

The Phottix Strato II is great, I have moved from PW MultiMax to them.

Aug 24, 2012 at 11:15 PM

sic0048
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p.1 #10 · Reliable prosumer radio triggers?

If you are getting "dumb" wireless triggers, then personally I would buy the cheapest option that had a good reputation. Something like the Cactus 5 or Phottix Stratos II would work fine IMHO. There is no need to spend $100 a unit when you can spend $35-50 a unit and get the exact same functionality.

The Cactus 5 units are cheaper, but the Phottix units will work with the Odin system if you think there is a chance that you would ever get those triggers. Then you could slowly transition from the Stratos system to the Odin system without having to replace all the receivers at once.

Aug 25, 2012 at 02:44 AM

Greggbhill
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p.1 #11 · Reliable prosumer radio triggers?

Phottix Strato II have been very reliable for me, and as sic0048 mentioned, they work with my Odin too.

Aug 25, 2012 at 04:59 AM

Steve-Adoria
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p.1 #12 · Reliable prosumer radio triggers?

I have a couple of Phottix Odin TTL triggers for event work and a couple of Strato ii triggers for manual speedlights.
As Strato ii can be triggered from an Odin controller but are much cheaper, it is quite cost effective where you have non-ttl lights.
I'm about to get a few more Strato II receivers and a Strato ii controller for the home Studio as I'd prefer to have a fully manual setup in studio where I'll use a light meter for fine tuning.
F.y.i. I just get my phottix gear shipped from a Hong Kong supplier (Pasm Workshop) to Australia. It only takes a few days and prices seem to be better than Amazon or EBay.

Aug 25, 2012 at 01:19 PM

jzucker
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p.1 #13 · Reliable prosumer radio triggers?

the does not allow you to adjust power. I don't know of any other than the TTL tranceivers which have that feature. It seems that once you do the engineering to decode adjusting power, it's trivial to implement wireless TTL so I doubt you'll see many tranceivers that offer only power adjustment.

If you're looking for a system which allows power adjustment and is manual you should look into elinchrom

Aug 25, 2012 at 09:05 PM

VilleK
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p.1 #14 · Reliable prosumer radio triggers?

I ended up buying Aputure Trigmaster Plus transceivers. I will post some comments after I've used them a bit.

Aug 29, 2012 at 04:20 PM

jshalvorsen
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p.1 #15 · Reliable prosumer radio triggers?

Congratulations! Wireless flash is so much fun, and incredibly useful

Have fun!

Aug 30, 2012 at 04:24 PM

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