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Archive 2014 · Seeking Wireless Remote Advice

  
 
John Caldwell
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Seeking Wireless Remote Advice


What would you suggest as a wireless means of triggering a body, such as a 1Dx, via wireless means, please? The immediate need would be to trigger the shutter only, a single shot at a time. Distances between camera and the physical remote are short - less than 100 feet, and the line of sight between camera and remote is uninterrupted. I'm open to any system you suggest. The most important property of the signal chain is lack of time lag between the remote trigger and shutter.

Many thanks,

John-




Mar 09, 2014 at 03:08 PM
onesickpuppy
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Seeking Wireless Remote Advice


Well...I guess I'll jump in first......

I use the pocket wizards...Plus III

You would need two, one to transmit, and one to receive...plus the canon trigger cable.
You could even use the cheaper version...Plus X

I'm sure someone else will offer an off brand unit....but I have solid experience with the PW's
as they offer solid performance and distance.
And..if you ever need to, can use to trigger flashes



Mar 09, 2014 at 03:40 PM
AnthonyRay
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Seeking Wireless Remote Advice


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.



Mar 09, 2014 at 04:09 PM
Paulthelefty
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Seeking Wireless Remote Advice


I will throw in my experience as well...

I purchased a pair of the yongnuo rf602 when they first came out. They have been very good to me. I am not terribly hard on my equipment, but I have used them quite a bit as strobe triggers and some as a shutter trigger. The most grueling test (not terribly so, but...) was as a remote shutter for a camera sitting next to a flamethrower during a football pre-game. Worked perfectly! I have never had misfires that could not be attributed to something besides the triggers themselves (mostly operator error!). I have no reservations about using them for any gig, although again, my gigs are not that much of a challenge. No strobing gyms or anything like that, although I suspect these could handle it. Something to note for shutter triggers: I know some of the pocketwizards do not have a half-press. My rf602s do have it and it works great. Nothing like waiting for ten minutes to get a shot, and then realize your camera went to sleep, and you can't wake it up! I suppose you just fire the shutter and it wakes it up, but I don't know since I have never had to deal with that.

I do not recommend the rf603s, a buddy tried these and they were not up to the same buld quality as my rf602s. Lots of broken connectors and recessed pins. I have heard good things about the rf622s, but nothing firsthand. Paul Buff cyber syncs work well, but I don't know if they can be adapted as a shutter trigger.

Whatever you choose, make sure to test it thoroughly before any big shoots.

Cheers,
Paul



Mar 09, 2014 at 04:58 PM
jchin
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Seeking Wireless Remote Advice


+1 on the Yongnuo RF602s


Mar 09, 2014 at 05:13 PM
mikethevilla
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Seeking Wireless Remote Advice


+1 on the Yongnuo 602s.

Like others, I initially bought them as a temporary step until I could afford PWs. 4 years later and I still have them. I AM exceptionally hard on my equipment, and I've broken a couple along the way, but at $30/pair, I'm not too worried about it.

I spent a year shooting weddings side by side a photographer who used pocket wizards for years, and after that season he sold his pocket wizard setup and picked up Yonguos. The range and reliability was that much better on the Yonguos. Not that the Pocket Wizards are bad (obviously there's a reason they're so loved), but there was a noticeable difference in performance between the two - in favor of the Yonguos.

And, if you specify the proper Yonguo kit, it'll come with the proper cord to trigger your camera. Just make sure you get a Canon one for the 1D.

Pocket Wizard Plus (x2) - $200
Canon Sync Cable - $30

Yonguo 602 set with cable included - $30



Mar 09, 2014 at 05:19 PM
John Caldwell
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Seeking Wireless Remote Advice


Thanks to all. To be clear: We're talking about a remote device, Pocket Wizard or otherwise, to trigger the shutter on the Canon camera?

I should have said up front: I use the Phottix Odin system for triggering off-camera flashes. Do you think these systems can coexist, meaning the shutter triggering system, and the flash triggering system (Odin)?

Many thanks to all,

John Caldwell



Mar 09, 2014 at 06:29 PM
AnthonyRay
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Seeking Wireless Remote Advice


John Caldwell wrote:
Thanks to all. To be clear: We're talking about a remote device, Pocket Wizard or otherwise, to trigger the shutter on the Canon camera?

I should have said up front: I use the Phottix Odin system for triggering off-camera flashes. Do you think these systems can coexist, meaning the shutter triggering system, and the flash triggering system (Odin)?

Many thanks to all,

John Caldwell


Yeah, I think we're all clear (I'm speaking for everyone else as usual), but the primary purpose of these things is flash. That's probably why the YF-602's would make a lot more sense than the YN-622, because why would you need TTL? But somebody else needs to chime in here - the 602's were were superseded by the 603 - and I think that the 602 doesn't wake the camera from sleep in the shutter mode. I'd check that. Also, there is a transmitter and receiver, they're not tranceivers - which I think for your purposes is fine.

However - coexisting with an Odin system? Hmm, how exactly would they be used? In fact, how - yikes! Um, ouch! That made my brain hurt a little. If you were using them both at the same time, one would need to be attached to your camera's hot shoe, the other would need to be hooked to the PC port. I'd think the YN would be on the hot shoe to trigger your camera, and the Phottix would be hooked to the PC port to trigger your flash. Funny guy!

So I don't know why it wouldn't work - but I could also see why it wouldn't. It's entirely possible your camera would get brain freeze like I just did - it would assume that whatever is hooked to your hot-shoe would be the flash (the Yongnuos), and ignore the PC port (the Odins)? I'm not sure if the YF-602 set comes with the cables you'd need, or if they even will accept cables in case you needed to reverse this. But for $35 what the heck. I'd give it a spin and find out! As long as the frequencies are different you won't be hitting any issues in that regard. Otherwise, check that link I sent for specs. I can say the trigmasters accept all cable types and come with a bunch of cables (good ones too!) if it's an issue. I'm sure the newer Yongnuos come with all necessary cables and ports.

I'll be interested to hear if anybody else has done this. I've even done optical flash triggering using the trigmaster for shutter control, but not a different trigger system.



Mar 10, 2014 at 12:45 AM
docsmiles17
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Seeking Wireless Remote Advice


John Caldwell wrote:
Thanks to all. To be clear: We're talking about a remote device, Pocket Wizard or otherwise, to trigger the shutter on the Canon camera?

I should have said up front: I use the Phottix Odin system for triggering off-camera flashes. Do you think these systems can coexist, meaning the shutter triggering system, and the flash triggering system (Odin)?

Many thanks to all,

John Caldwell


Well, I use the Vello shutterboss system for wireless shutter control as my needs are very simple and used only on occasion and have been happy with it and no need to upgrade to the PW III system or equivalent. It also allows me to use the PW TT1 or TT5 wireless flash trigger with it.

A quick search online with the Phottix system does not say what it is compatible with nor what it can work beside. The Vello will not work with the Phottix transmitter as it does not have a hot shoe on it so if you want to use both wireless shutter and flash triggers, you may not be able to use the Phottix system.

Hope this helps.



Mar 10, 2014 at 01:51 AM
jason.alabama
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Seeking Wireless Remote Advice


John,

Why not stick to the phottix and use the stratos II? I use this on my old 1Ds and it works fine. And they are compatible with the Odin (but manual only, although they have pass through TTL).

Jason



Mar 10, 2014 at 11:14 AM
Herb
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Seeking Wireless Remote Advice


CamRanger for me......works great. I can see on my iPhone or handheld device what the photo will be and I can see if afterwards if I want to.....perfect! No second thought.

By the way, I do use it with my 1Dx....





Photo 1. Set up







Photo 2. Close up







Photo 3. Photo taken with CamRanger




Mar 10, 2014 at 01:07 PM
John Caldwell
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Seeking Wireless Remote Advice


Again, I thank all who are participating and educating me. Jason, I had no idea that the Phottix Stratos product offered this functionality, so thank you for pointing me in that direction.

And Herb, regarding the CamRanger app: Could you please comment on the time lag you experience when triggering the shutter from your iPhone? Thank you for the lovely in-context shots, Herb.

A friend suggests that I'd not likely experience any problem using the Odin system alongside the PocketWizard. It's his belief that I would assign light triggering and shutter triggering to two different radio channels, and avoid conflicts in this way. I'm hoping for a call back from the tech at Mamiya America (PW parent company).

There is another wrinkle, possibly: This work has to be done tethered, to make matters more complex. In this way, the camera's USB port is spoken for.

Again thanks to all who have shown interest here.

John Caldwell



Mar 10, 2014 at 01:17 PM
Wildcats_Fans
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Seeking Wireless Remote Advice


Yongnuo make a specific remote shutter release that is cheap and works great


Mar 10, 2014 at 01:37 PM
gwaww
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Seeking Wireless Remote Advice


Tethered? That makes the distance relatively short. If you are physically tethered why not use Canon's software that comes with your camera?


Mar 10, 2014 at 01:56 PM
John Caldwell
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Seeking Wireless Remote Advice


Sorry, I was not clear. The camera is tethered by way of 6 foot USB cable to a laptop running Lightroom for the purpose of monitoring image capture. The remote shutter release must be wireless, and able to operate at 50 to 75 feet from the camera.

My point in mentioning the tethered capture was to point out that the camera's USB port is spoken for, meaning it is by the USB port that Lightroom Tethered Capture is running.



Mar 10, 2014 at 02:02 PM
gwaww
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Seeking Wireless Remote Advice


Also, your profile doesn't list what flash equipment you have, but certain Canon flash units sitting on your hotshoe can trigger your 1DX's shutter from another flash without the flash going off.


Mar 10, 2014 at 02:05 PM
gwaww
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Seeking Wireless Remote Advice


I believe an ST E2 on your camera and a 270EX II in hand will work (optically). Or a 600EX RT on camera and a STE3 RT (Canon or Yongnuo) in hand. (Radio)


Mar 10, 2014 at 02:11 PM
Paulthelefty
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Seeking Wireless Remote Advice


Anthony got me second guessing, so I grabbed my 602s to test: yes, a half press will wake the camera up. It uses the trigger port, just like a wired trigger.

Cheers,
Paul



Mar 10, 2014 at 02:21 PM
Herb
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Seeking Wireless Remote Advice




John Caldwell wrote:
Again, I thank all who are participating and educating me. Jason, I had no idea that the Phottix Stratos product offered this functionality, so thank you for pointing me in that direction.

And Herb, regarding the CamRanger app: Could you please comment on the time lag you experience when triggering the shutter from your iPhone? Thank you for the lovely in-context shots, Herb.

A friend suggests that I'd not likely experience any problem using the Odin system alongside the PocketWizard. It's his belief that I would assign light triggering and shutter triggering to two different radio channels, and avoid conflicts in
...Show moreeasier to answer the question is there a shutter lag. I would say no. If the camera is already focused, there is no shutter lag. If the camera is not focused, then like any DSLR there is a lag until sharpness is obtained before the shutter will fire. If you have it focused already, you can set the camera via remote into manual focus mode and that eliminates one source of lag you can have.

You haven't told us what you are trying to photograph......so what is it?



Mar 10, 2014 at 04:29 PM
John Caldwell
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Seeking Wireless Remote Advice


Herb and others, I thank you for your interest. The work that calls for the remote shutter trigger is a portrait project involving dog agility. These are posed portraits in the sense that the agility exercises are not within a formal test or competition, but are done in an agility studio with artificial light. Below or examples of images where the shutter remote would be very helpful. Five lights (Canon 580ex II speed lights) are in use, each associated with its own modifier. Triggering is done by the Odin system. Because I prefer the appearance of the portrait at f4.5 or so, and because these consumer flashes really don't really offer a short enough flash duration to freeze the dog's motion when they're close to full power, the camera focus has to be pretty accurate. I'm pre-focusing, and not allowing focus during the actual shot.

Where the remote comes in is that I'm having a hard time judging the perfect shutter instant when I'm viewing the dogs' jumps from the camera location. What I'd like is to be be alongside the physical jump rather than with the camera, judging the dog's trajectory, and releasing the shutter from that vantage point. Most of the shots are at either 135mm or 200mm, so I need to be some 20-35 feet from the camera location - hence the wireless request.

http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/87879474/Photography/Images/2014/20140306_Barb_Levenson_Training_Center/_81W5711.jpg

http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/87879474/Photography/Images/2014/20140306_Barb_Levenson_Training_Center/_81W5726.jpg

http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/87879474/Photography/Images/2014/20140306_Barb_Levenson_Training_Center/_81W5759.jpg

I elected to go with the PocketWizard III transceivers for the shutter release. Since some number of my collaborators use the PocketWizard system, that felt like the most practical solution. I believe there will be no conflict between the Odin system and the PW, as the radio channels won't overlap, and the PW shutter trigger occupies neither the camera's USB port nor hotshoe.

I wish there was a PocketWizard system that allowed control of light output within zone, like the Odin system does offer, as the whole system could then be done with PocketWizards, instead of the hybrid I'm going to be trying here. But I suspect the bulky nature will be workable. I promise to report what I find, in terms of Odin-PW compatibility, in the next week or so.

Many thanks to all,

John Caldwell



Mar 11, 2014 at 01:10 PM
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