AnthonyRay Offline Upload & Sell: Off
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Did somebody say off brand?
You know, PW are fantastic, as are RadioPoppers. I'd wager 80% of the folks here will say go this way.
And, I'd love to buy the "they're 100% reliable" trope, they are. But, so are the crappy cheap Chinese knock offs. In fact, I bought some cheap crappy Chinese knock offs with the full intention of buying whatever the new PW or RP product was once I figured out if they were for me or not. That was 3 years ago.
I purchased the Aputure Trigmaster Plus triggers - and love them. I've got 3 now. You will want to get the "tranceiver" type, which are both receiver and transmitter. This used to be new, this used to be expensive. Times change in the blink of an eye! TTL used to be impossible too!
When it comes to flash use, you should decide if you want to be fully manual, or go with TTL. Manual isn't nearly as scary as it sounds - and Syl Arena leans towards learning manual first.
Anyway, I'm not going to push any brand, because I believe they're all good. Look for the configuration of the trigger - and think about how you're going to use it. Some are upright, some lay flat and allow you to put a flash on top of them if it's in your camera's hot shoe. PW's don't, and the trigmaster is a similar layout to the PW.
Look at this link for a writeup on most current models - you'll get loads of information and ideas. Triggers are the first 2 links, Manual and then TTL: http://flashhavoc.com/gear-guides/ They go from PW to cheap Chinese knock-offs of cheap Chinese knock-offs! (say that 5 times fast)
If I were to make a living on these things, I'd go with the PW or RP if they did what you want. Oh wait, I sorta do make a living on these things! Oh well - it's all about your comfort level, your budget and what they need to do! While PW and RP will probably give you unparalleled customer service, you can also throw away a $50 set of triggers and get whatever's new. Because, that's what you'll have to do! Honestly, if you're only ever going to trigger your camera, then it's a waste of money to go with a system implementing technology you don't need. Good luck!
[edit] BTW, there is no "lag time" on any trigger set I'm aware of. In fact, it's more instant than the optical trigger for flash, which is pretty instant. My trigmasters have been tested at over way 150 yards, direct line of course so I could see how far it was! I use them mostly for interior shooting, so I'll place a flash and umbrella in a different room or down a hallway or upstairs or whatever, to light up those rooms that would otherwise tend to look like caves. And, more to your interest I gather, I also use them for night shots of a home which I then paint together in layers. With the camera on a tripod I walk around the house with one trigger and a flash with a trigger, painting the house with triggered flash and also triggering the camera at the same time (3 total triggers). So in this case I'm typically 50-200 feet or more away from the camera. With my triggers (and most I would imagine) depress the big button halfway just like a shutter button to focus. After that you can just fire away.
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