An IndieGoGo project called FlashQ seeks to make wireless flash triggers small in size and stylish to look at. The FlashQ is a 2.4Ghz wireless trigger and receiver system that mounts to a camera’s hotshoe and a flash’s hotshoe adapter. The compact device is aimed at owners of mirrorless cameras and other small camera bodies.
The FlashQ has two buttons and a single tricolor LED to control all of its functionality, and uses automatic channel selection to quickly pair up to eight receivers at a time, allowing for multiple flash solutions. There’s even a output connector that allows the device to trigger a flash or even a strobe pack over PC connector.
Thanks to the use of radio spectrum instead of infrared (as is the standard on many manufacturer specific wireless flash systems) the devices don't require line-of-sight to trigger properly. There are limits though - the FlashQ doesn't support TTL functionality and sync speed is limited to 1/250 sec.
For a $39 pledge backers will receive one transmitter and one receiver in a choice of colors, $55 gets one transmitter and two receivers and a $125 option is available whereby the company will inscribe the device with the customer’s signature.
As of this writing the project has received nearly 90% of its funding goal of $25,000. Check out FlashQ's IndieGoGo page to learn more.
Just received my device. Nicely designed but does not work on the Fujifilm X-Pro1. Flash control is blanked out on menu when attached. Also does not fire with supplied sync cable.
Old comment, but I'll reply anyway. This IS wireless. Just without TTL. It's less expensive than most wireless triggers and it's small, so I think it can be useful as either a small device to carry around for those who don't care for TTL or a backup to leave in the camera bag in case you forget your main wireless trigger.
I pledged 55$ Looks interesting enough! Small size is definitely a bonus here. It also looks like battery life is 100k fires. That sounds over reaching, maybe, but if its 1-2k I will be happy. :-)
Now I hope they will make a future TTL version. That would be awesome. Probably very complicated cause of all the brands, and because many prefer to shoot manual when off camera.
My only complaint about these triggers is that the cold "foot" of the receiver is very loose and will not stay put in a typical flash stand bracket that comes with your flash. You pretty much have to use the 3/8 thread to mount it on something.
The transmitter is not a problems because my camera hot shoe has little spring arms that help engage the foot and the transmitter foot also has a spring loaded "ground" that engages the side of the hotshoe.
Rats! Struck out again. U must go thru paypal. I will never again - very bad past experience. Wanted the "1st ever ordered" monogramed kit. Oh well ---- I'll survive.
Too bad they don't make these USB rechargeable. There are so many players in this market that there is surely room for one more. I don't know how they'll compete against the Chinese stuff that's out there already though.
My experience with inexpensively made consumer products from China is that the soldered internal rechargeable batteries are unreliable. They crap out within months and turns the device into a pretty paperweight. A pity when the rest of the product is well designed and constructed. Being able to insert fresh batteries from a known source is so much better.
This is the epitome of form mattering more than function.
When you can get more functionality from kits already available on the market for less money and that use decent sized, readily available batteries (AAA) it says that people care about the looks of the thing more than the practicality.
You can get a wireless flash trigger on Amazon (2 triggers and 1 transmitter) for $20. These work great on my Canon. However, the FlashQ pics suggest they work with the GF1, which these $20 units on Amazon have trouble with firing consistantly. If you only shoot with one, it's not much of a problem, but if you have multiple flash units and you need both firing, it's a pain. Maybe it's not a bad deal.
errr.. cool concept, but, no to kickstarter. most of them fail and for the successful ones, the originators sell off to the highest bidder, keeping all the profits (e.g. Oculus) and leaving the backers with half-@$$ dev products.
let me know when there is a product that i can buy.
Speaking from personal experience or do you have some data to back up that claim? Personally, I've participated in half a dozen successful Kickstarts, but I go for more reasonable projects and not stuff that's more far out like Oculus. My Meenova microUSB OTG reader, the Clearshot card sized phone stand, and even Tim Schaffer's new game all seemed to have far better prospects from the start.
I was actually skeptic of Pebble, one of their bigger success stories, because of the complexity of project. Any time you're investing in software PLUS hardware development you're putting a lot of faith on campaign. I actually didn't jump on the Pebble, almost bought one later tho. Bug A Salt (salt gun for insects) and MrSpeakers Alpha Dogs were other successful campaigns I kept my eye on.
The thing that a lot of those have in common is that they were either for very simple very mechanical products (Bug A Salt, Clearshot, Meenova, even the Alpha Dogs), or they had a relatively small team behind them with a proven track record (Tim Schaefer). MrSpeakers already had a successful business modifying planar magnetic headphones by hand, the campaign was simply to get funds for 3D printing more precise and better engineered cups.
I'd say there's a lot of highly successful campaigns that resulted in a clever and original product. I don't have any numbers on the overall success rate, I think people definitely get sucked in by the hype surrounding more ambitious campaigns tho. Things like Pebble and Oculus are a 50/50 shot at best IMO. Pebble itself might not even survive the Android Wear onslaught.
Oh and on topic, this seems like a reasonable campaign tho I'd have to take a closer look. The other thing people don't pay attention to is how much engineering and prototyping has been done before the campaign. A lot of campaigns are started on dreams and ideas, I wouldn't bother with that. If the people behind the product already have working prototypes or designs and just need help with manufacturing, that's a different story.
Most of the ones I've invested in fall in the latter category (ClearShot, Pressy, etc). There were Oculus prototypes out there but c'mon, it was obvious that thing had a long way to go.
Oh yeah, forgot to mention Pressy on the first post, another very mechanical doodad. Haven't received it yet but they're on track for shipping this month, one more relatively simple product that just needed manufacturing funds.
That's not been my experience with crowd-sourcing at all Jogger. 95% positive experiences here. Which is actually possibly higher than my positive experiences with established companies ...
Looks like it would be a pita battery wise. I like my AA powered receivers. They also hold the flash very nice and securely on a light stand/tripod... not sure these would do the same.
Nice concept but for me it looks like the downsides outweigh the very slight size benefit.
What did she actually say? Her English is so hard to understand that it nearly made me stop looking at the video.
Although the idea by itself is nice. Its never a good idea to hold a camera in one hand while holding a flash in the other. You'll loose a lot of stability even though the flash freezes your movement.
Also not of much use to those photographers that don't understand how to operate a flash in manual mode. Many will get horrible results by using these simple wireless hotshoes as their flash will overpower the subject they want to photograph.
For those that know how to use this little cube its a nicely designed simple wireless flash trigger.
Still I would like to have seen a quarter inch screwhole in the receiver so I could attach the flash to a studio lightpole, or monopod.
Edit: I see now that an 1/4 inch screwhole adapter is available, but is it seperate, or do you get it standard with the kit?
I think you should temper your tone a bit Mr Peevee!!
I was never trying to be rude. I am not a native English speaker myself, to then understand what she is trying to say in English might be just a littlebit harder if English is not your mother tongue.
Now WHO is the redneck here? Certainly NOT me American dominator!
hey now, the people in Redneckistan have a long and celebrated history of understanding all accents... it's the city folk who can't seem to understand the thick hill folk dialects
@Zeischen, Who do you think that buy most of these little point and shoot camera's? How many of those people do you think are skilled enough to understand that this device is limited to manual flash only?
I think you are overestimating the skills of the people that buy these point en shoot camera's.
I hope for you that I am wrong, but only time will learn if they target the right audience. In the end its nothing more then a simple radio trigger.
This little trigger is only easy to use for those people that know what they are doing.
You can actually use this on every camera but not on "little point and shoot cameras" as they don't have a hotshoe. Have a little more faith in all those unskilled photographers out there, they could maybe figure it out after some shots...
I think is quite cool! But i am quite happy with inexpensive/Yongnuo triggers without TTL. The usual scenarios where i shot with several flashes don't require TTL. Actually i don't use TTL at all because of too many underexposures.
The Yongnuo with TTL also allows you to change all flash settings from the camera ... which is more important than the TTL function. Simple triggers require you to go to each flash and fiddle around with them.
Apple's flagship M1 Max MacBook Pro offers a combination of performance, efficiency, build quality, and screen quality that you cannot find in any PC on the market, full stop.
The DJI Action 2 is an innovative action camera that captures great video and supports with a variety of magnetic accessories. Packing this much technology into such a tiny form factor is an impressive feat, but it comes at a cost. Read our review to get all the details.
Exposure Software's latest release, Exposure X7, offers impressive editing performance and great image quality along with a solid feature set that gives Adobe Lightroom a run for its money (but without the monthly subscription). Get all the details in our review.
The new Dell XPS 17 (9710) is a solid laptop with a sleek design language, great build quality, and a color-accurate 17-inch display. But we're not sure Dell has done enough to differentiate it from its little brother, the XPS 15.
Three years after releasing the Mavic 2 series, DJI returns with the Mavic 3. It features a dual-camera system with a 4/3" CMOS sensor plus a tele photo lens that can zoom up to 28X. Is it worth the hefty price tag? We take a look at the Cine, the high-end model in this series.
What’s the best camera for around $2000? These capable cameras should be solid and well-built, have both speed and focus for capturing fast action and offer professional-level image quality. In this buying guide we’ve rounded up all the current interchangeable lens cameras costing around $2000 and recommended the best.
Most modern cameras will shoot video to one degree or another, but these are the ones we’d look at if you plan to shoot some video alongside your photos. We’ve chosen cameras that can take great photos and make it easy to get great looking video, rather than being the ones you’d choose as a committed videographer.
Although a lot of people only upload images to Instagram from their smartphones, the app is much more than just a mobile photography platform. In this guide we've chosen a selection of cameras that make it easy to shoot compelling lifestyle images, ideal for sharing on social media.
Whether you’re just sharing clips with friends or you’re launching an online on-camera career, vlogging matters. We looked at cameras with selfie-friendly screens, wide-angle lenses, microphone inputs and great video quality, and selected the best.
Pictures and video can not now be shared without the express consent of everyone who appears in them, according to new rules implemented by Twitter a day after its CEO, Jack Dorsey, stepped down.
Canon has issued a notice to consumers announcing that due top ‘the impact of global parts supply,’ new orders of its EOS R3 mirrorless camera could take up to six months to land on your doorstep.
Writing on 35mmc.com, film photographer Matthew Wright shares a thoughtful essay on why many of the problems faced by film photographers actually come down to economics and mathematics.
During its opening-night keynote presentation at its annual Snapdragon Summit, Qualcomm laid out three specific advantages of co-developing a lab with Sony Semiconductor Solutions to push imaging technology further.
The winners and finalists for the 2021 International Wedding Photographer of the Year competition have been announced, highlighting incredible wedding photography work from around the globe.
Prime lenses aren't what they used to be – while today's 'nifty fifties' are bigger, and typically more costly than their SLR-era forebears, they're also typically far more advanced. Meanwhile, specialized wide and tele primes and macro lenses just keep getting better and better. Vote now for your favorite prime lenses of 2021.
2021 was a bad year for lots of things, but a very good year for new lenses. Within that category, some of the highest-performing optics of the year were zooms. Click through for your chance to vote on which zoom lenses were the best.
2021 has been another disrupted year, with global supply chain problems still a major factor in the availability of all consumer goods, including new camera equipment. But plenty of great cameras were released, and now it's your turn to vote for your favorites!
Gordon Laing is back again, this time to take an in-depth look at the PowerShot Pro1, a third-generation bridge camera from Canon that featured a familiar red ring that would never again show up on a fixed-lens Canon camera.
Sony has announced its first professional drone, the Airpeak S1, is now available to pre-order for $9,000. The first units are expected to ship out on December 24, 2021.
There's an old adage about standards: the great thing about them is there are so many to choose from. That pretty accurately describes the state of USB power in 2021. In this video, Chris explains everything you need to know about USB power and how to use it.
Ben Krasnow, from the YouTube channel Applied Science, has used a homemade X-ray camera to capture a timelapse that shows what goes on inside a zoom camera lens as it goes through its focal length range.
Qualcomm is dropping the triple-digit naming scheme of its mobile chipsets and has kicked it all off with a mobile platform capable of processing 200MP stills, 8K HDR video and HDR10+ video on the fly.
The winners of the 80th annual Hasselblad Masters photography competition were announced today. Here's a gallery featuring the winners from each of the categories.
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, an executive order resulted in the imprisonment of 120,000 Japanese Americans, most of whom were American citizens. Some prisoners remain unidentified in the Library of Congress's photos, and it wants the public's help.
This year, we've shared a lot of photos and videos from French astronaut Thomas Pesquet. He was very busy during nearly 200 days aboard the International Space Station. He's since returned to Earth and Pesquet has a lot of awesome visual content to share.
Apple's flagship M1 Max MacBook Pro offers a combination of performance, efficiency, build quality, and screen quality that you cannot find in any PC on the market, full stop.
The lenses stand as Samyang's flagship XEEN cine lenses. All three 'Meister' primse are color-matched and feature nearly identical external specifications for easy hot-swapping of filters, follow focus systems and more.
Last month, we wrote about the upcoming 39th Leitz Photographica Auction. It has since finished, and there were some huge hammer prices for many items, including a rare Zeiss Ikon Contax rifle and a very are black Leica MP Black Paint No. 55 camera.
The lens offers a 2x magnification ratio in a compact form factor that weighs around 250g (9oz). It’s available for Canon RF, Leica M, Nikon Z and Sony E mount camera systems.
The DJI Action 2 is an innovative action camera that captures great video and supports with a variety of magnetic accessories. Packing this much technology into such a tiny form factor is an impressive feat, but it comes at a cost. Read our review to get all the details.
Photographers can be notoriously difficult to shop for. Photo gear is expensive and we tend to be picky about our equipment. But we don't need you to buy us a new camera to keep us happy (although that would be nice). If you happen to be shopping for a photographer this season, consider these gift ideas.
The new Sony a7 IV offers a range of updates over the popular a7 III, but at a higher introductory price. Are the new features worth the cost of upgrading? In this week's episode of DPRTV, Chris and Jordan get to the bottom of what makes the two cameras different, and which might be right for you.
Solarcan has managed to dramatically shrink its Solarcan into an even smaller form factor. It’s not yet available to purchase, but you can get one via Solarcan’s Black Friday special.
Following up on 2018's TourBox Bluetooth controller, the company is back with the new TourBox Elite. It features improved build quality, components, haptic feedback, Bluetooth technology and more.
Chris from DPReview TV recently reviewed the first new OM System lens, the M.Zuiko 20mm F1.4 Pro. He found it to be a solid performer, but check out this sample gallery from his review to judge image quality for yourself.
The holiday season is here and we've rounded up a collection of the best deals for photographers and videographers. This will be a living article that gets updated often, so be sure to check back to keep up with the latest offers.
It's obviously been a banner year for high-end sports cameras, and now that we've got a final Canon EOS R3 in our offices, we've gone straight to our studio test scene to see what's what from Canon's latest 24MP stacked CMOS sensor.
Comments