Reading mode: Light Dark

Choosing a trigger

Go to last post
D

DigitalJeff

Leading Member
Messages
609
Reaction score
0
Location
NJ, US
Hi I am looking to upgrade my ebay specials. My main issue is that I am starting to get more paid jobs and the inconsistency of the Gadget infinitiys are just not cutting it. Right now I am using them to trigger my two sb 800 and one sb 600. In the future I will want them to trigger studio flashes. I have a few questions right now but also I don't know what to ask since I cant figure out the differences between some of them.

Do I have to take into account what studio strobes I will be using in the future or will they all trigger them?

I will go up to the price of pocket wizards but not over. (I think the new radio poppers are more).

I would like to be able to control the level of the individual flashes from the camera if that is at all possible in this price range.

What other things do I need to consider when choosing a brand and what do you recommend and why?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions
--
Jeff

http://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalnikonman/
 
DigitalJeff said:
Hi I am looking to upgrade my ebay specials. My main issue is that I
am starting to get more paid jobs and the inconsistency of the Gadget
infinitiys are just not cutting it. Right now I am using them to
trigger my two sb 800 and one sb 600. In the future I will want them
to trigger studio flashes. I have a few questions right now but also
I don't know what to ask since I cant figure out the differences
between some of them.

Do I have to take into account what studio strobes I will be using in
the future or will they all trigger them?
Click to expand...
get triggers that allows you to change the cords that could be attached to the trigger. This will allow you to use the triggers with your hot shoe flashes and by just changing to the right cord, you can also use the trigger to fire studio strobes

http://flashzebra.com/wizardcables/index.shtml
DigitalJeff said:
I will go up to the price of pocket wizards but not over. (I think
the new radio poppers are more).
Click to expand...
There are 2 price ranges WRT RadioPoppers. The JrX and the PX series. US$100 gets you a Tx/Rx set of the JrX, extra JrX receivers are US$59.
DigitalJeff said:
I would like to be able to control the level of the individual
flashes from the camera if that is at all possible in this price
range.
Click to expand...
You'll have to step up to the RadioPopper PX to get remote flash adjustability. US$496 for an Tx/Rx set, extra receivers are US$249.

http://radiopopper.com/blog/

Another option are the Cybersyncs, US$130 for a Tx/Rx set, extra receivers are US$70

http://www.alienbees.com/cybersync.html

--

We have art that we do not die of the truth.
--Friedrich Nietzsche
 
Am I right in assuming that you are happy to ignore the automation that Nikon builds into its flash units?

If so, remember that there are two basic kinds of remote tirggers; one just sets off the flash, and most of these models of trigger work with a variety of flash units.

The other allows a wide variety of remote control over the remote flash. For instance, you can put one component on top of your camera and another on a flash unit and adjust the on-camera unit so that it sets the power level of the flash.

Obviously, each manufacutrer uses its own system to put these additional controls (other than just making the flash go off) intpo operation.

And some remotes can work with your flash meter and flsh unit both -- i.e. pocket Wizards and Dynalite or Norman flashes.

And using a Dynalite power pack, you can set light output from various heads just by making adjustments on the main power pack.

BOTTOM LINE: it would probably be wise to decide on studio light brand, and then see if its brand of trigger will work with Nikon flash units.

And the model trigger you pick might depends on shooting location -- will other photographers be taking pictures at the same time, perhaps setting off your flash units?

BAK

BAK
 
Sorry, there are no studio lights compatible with Nikon CLS - sad but true; Nikon hasn't yet learned the business value of creating open standards for its customers nor potential business partners; it will take a competitor to put forth an open standard - then we'll all watch Nikon moan and cry foul. Sony, Canon, are you listening?

Regards,
Mike

--

Polaroid Swinger; Kodak Instamatic 126 Ricoh 500G; Canon FTb; Nikon F2AS; Nikon F3HP; Hasselblad 501CM; Pentax 67II, Nikon 990; Nikon D1x; Nikon D300; PhaseOne P65+ (in my dreams ;-)
 
@Phila_guy

I am seriously considering the radio popper Jr. It appears to have a pretty long range (I think I might want to wait till they come out and see some reviews). I have tested the cybersyncs and like them alot but it seems like the the radio poppers are very similar and about the same price and have a longer range. Am I missing something?

--
Jeff

http://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalnikonman/
 
I think I have narrowed it down to the radio popper jrx or cyber syncs..... my question now is why is there such a price difference between the radio popper jrx and the pocket wizards.... the both seem to have the same range and in their most basic form they have the same features

Any ideas?

--
Jeff

http://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalnikonman/
 
H Jeff,
You are making this too difficult. It's not.
There are triggers and then there are controllers.

PocketWizards and CyberSyncs (as well as YinYang PovertyWizards) are simply fast radio triggers. They cannot control anything (like power levels). They will always be able to work with any light that has a trigger input jack which makes them universally appealing.

The new CyberCommander from Paul C Buff will let the user control and trigger PCB lights.

The Elinchrom Style RX strobes and their new strobe line also have radio control and triggering functionality using the SkyPort system. It power control functionality will also only work on Elinchrom strobes.

The RadioPopper is simply a device that converts IR into radio and back into IR again. It extends CLS and the Canon equivalent. I suppose you could use it to trigger a regular studio strobe although I have heard of this being tested.

I personally have very little use for CLS etc, preferring to be Olde Skoole and meter/set things manually before shooting since CLS always fails to work just when you need it most.
So comparing the RadioPopper to the CyberSyncs is Apples to Oranges.

Based upon your current gear I'd say that the CyberSyncs are the way to go. What lighting system are you planning on moving into?
-Kent
 
Thanks Kent for the response

The choice of future lighting is something I don't know.. I want the triggers now to trigger my hot shoe flashes but I don't want to screw myself later on.

I do realize the difference between the controllers and the triggers but each company has both. I am comparing the radio popper jrx, cycbersync (the basic one) and the same with the pocket wizards (minus the multimax) so all of these are the basic trigger setup.

The radio popper jrx and the pocket wizards are priced very differently with very similar specs. I have experience with the cybersyncs and liked them but don't know if I will be using alien bees in the future.

So I guess my question is... if I don't know what system I will be using in the future how can I make a decision about the triggers now? Does it not matter if I don't plan on getting the controller? I just really don't want to rebuy triggers for a third time. I thought I learned my lesson with my first tripod (lol) but I guess I didn't when I bought the ebay triggers

--
Jeff

http://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalnikonman/
 
There is one feature of the newly announced JrX transmitter that greatly interested me. That is its ability to adjust power of the remote flash.

Just like you, I don't need full ETTL/iTTL capability, as there are some known exposure problems (at least with ETTL) when using multiple flashes. I'm quite comfortable with adjusting the power manually, but I hate walking to each flash and adjust its power individually during a shooting session. It slows down the shoot while everybody are waiting.

For this to work, 2 items must be purchased:
JrX transmitter to mount on camera's hot-shoe - $59
PX receiver to mount on the remote flash - $249

I believe this is the only system in the market having the ability to adjust power of Canon/Nikon flash remotely via reliable radio signals. By the way, there are some versions of the Radio Popper and SyberSynch that can adjust power of AlienBee strobe remotely too. If you intend to use AlienBee's in the future, it's worth a look.
 
For studio lights other than the Alien Bees, the Pocket Wizards are a good choice. The Norman and Profoto lights have built in PW receivers so no batteries or sync cords are needed. The Sekonic light meters can also trigger a PW receiver so it is easy to take readings at your subject without a long sync cord to trip on. In effect a Sekonic light meter can trigger a Norman or Profoto strobe with no PW's in the loop.

For mixed lighting with strobes, Nikon flash, and Quantum units, the Quantum FreeXwire is fantastic. It supports Nikon CLS and provides full iTTL at distances up to 300 feet. You can also remotely focus and fire a camera along with a bank of strobes.
Easily the most versatile solution available today.
 
calson said:
For mixed lighting with strobes, Nikon flash, and Quantum units, the
Quantum FreeXwire is fantastic. It supports Nikon CLS and provides
full iTTL at distances up to 300 feet. You can also remotely focus
and fire a camera along with a bank of strobes.
Easily the most versatile solution available today.
Click to expand...
It is a nice kit. Quantum's done great with incorporating iTTL/eTTL into their system overall, but I was under the assumption that you couldn't trigger remote Nikon flash units with CLS communications using FreeXwire. I'd love to be wrong about that! :)

If that's not possible, it would be interesting to see something like a RadioPopper receiver that could be paired to a QFlash/QNexus IR adapter as a way to achieve radio CLS communications to both Speedlights and QFlash units simultaneously.

QNexus adapters alone make it really simple to shoot CLS, mixing Speedlights and QFlash together under IR communications but it would be great to be able to extend the range beyond what IR can manage.

Then it would only be a matter of convincing Quantum to add support for Nikon/Canon high speed sync to their iTTL/eTTL features. Just one X series QFlash, synching CLS/TTL at up to 1/8000s would be a lot of fun outside on a sunny day.

--
'Here, look at the monkey. Look at the silly monkey!'

Tom Young
http://www.pbase.com/tyoung/
 
When I posted previously, I hadn't yet seen the Quantum Trio hotshoe flash. I see it does have HSS capabilities, at least for use with the hotshoe mounted flash. Without a Quantum radio to Nikon IR CLS connection, mixing the two systems can get sort of hinky, but it's a step in the right direction. Maybe not quite a 400ws remote HSS step, but a good step.
--
'Here, look at the monkey. Look at the silly monkey!'

Tom Young
http://www.pbase.com/tyoung/
 
Jeff,

If you're willing to rid yourself of the ebay triggers, I'd be willing to give them a try. By the way, I have been eying the Cybersynchs, but just can't do it yet.
 
If you want the most features for your buck, go with RadioPoppers or Cybersyncs. I don't have any experience with them, but they seem to work as advertised.

If you want the best "investment protection", IMHO, go with the PocketWizards. Though they are simple triggers, they work 100% of the time and with nearly everything under the sun, including studio strobes. Indeed, some Profoto gear has built-in PW receivers. So, a PocketWizard bought is a PocketWizard kept.

They are also very easy to setup and teardown, change batteries on, etc.,. They follow the Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS) philosophy very well.

As for remote flash power output control, you may or may not really need it. You'll be surprised at how quickly you'll be able to take an educated guess on a manual power setting on a strobe, fire off a test-shot, and be within 1 f-stop of your desired lighting result. So, you'll be re-adjusting once or maybe twice, but not constantly unless you're setting up for different lighting scenarios, but then you'll be moving the strobes anyways.

You can also adjust the ratio of the ambient light to strobe light by adjusting your shutter speed up and down. You can use aperture (and/or ISO) adjustments to control the overall light levels. Finally, you can adjust both shutter and aperture (and/or ISO) adjustments in opposite directions by equal f-ratios to leave ambient alone and adjust just the strobe ratio.
 
Thank you everyone for the informative responses.

I think I have rounded it down to two options. I need input on both.

If I go with the NEW cyber syncs can I get the OLD tx? I am not sure I can wait for the Cyber commander to be available. Is there a benefit if I am not going to get the cyber commander in the future? or should I just get the original tx and rx combo?

The other option is the jrx raido poppers. They havn't been released yet but they look like the best "simple" trigger.

I am looking to get studio strobes in the future (can't choose a brand now). So I need the combo to be able to trigger any brand strobe.

I don't think I can pull off Pocket Wizard right now as I would neet 4 of them for my three sbs and the transmitter

An option of being able to control the strobes from the camera would be nice in the future but not necessary

--
Jeff

http://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalnikonman/
 
Hi,

One of your options - as you say - is the Radoipopper JrX transmitter but with a mixture of PX & JrX receivers. But, even the 'studio' type of JrX receiver has limited studio flash compatibility.

While you are waiting... the Ebay sets of simple radio triggers are becoming slighly better, see here;-

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/New-PT-04-TM-Wireless-Flash-Trigger-2-receivers-CTR-301_W0QQitemZ160306276085QQihZ006QQcategoryZ30088QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem
& especially here;-
http://www.flickr.com/groups/strobist/discuss/72157611535964184/?search=CTR-301
So may choices!
Good luck,
Donald
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

rumple
  • User review User review
FusionTLC Raven - my go-to flash trigger/controller
Replies
14
Views
64
rumple
rumple
B
SB-600 and Godox Trigger
Replies
6
Views
156
Born2Code
B
B
Godox triggers - most user friendly
Replies
8
Views
43
fotowbert
fotowbert
A
long-distance triggering with Westcott FJ-X3
Replies
0
Views
68
Adyaacov
A
R
  • Question Question
Do I need flash trigger or flash only is enough to try
2
Replies
21
Views
22
John Vickers
John Vickers

Keyboard shortcuts

f
Forum
m
My threads
Mobile site
About
Editorial content
Cameras & Lenses
Community
All content, design, and layout are Copyright © 1998–2025 Digital Photography Review All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction in whole or part in any form or medium without specific written permission is prohibited.
When you use DPReview links to buy products, the site may earn a commission.
©GPS Media - Guides, Products, Services.
Back
Top