Showing posts with label radio slaves. Show all posts

Well, I got to play a bit tonight. I was able to trigger them reliably at about 250 feet (line of sight, with the transmitter antenna raised - with it down, it was about 175 feet). That's quite a bit further than the cactus triggers - they stopped at about 100-125 feet. It's definitely not in the pocketwizard range (which they claim 1600 feet) but it's farther than I can see needing. The falloff was pretty much cut and dry. When it triggered, it ALWAYS triggered. When I was too far away, it NEVER triggered. Surprising, actually, but nice that it had such a small grey area.

The build still surprises me. This feels like Canon or Nikon OEM quality - nothing flimsy, nothing protruding in weird places, nothing loose or rattling. Even the antenna on the transmitter, which is movable, feels nice and tight. How it will last over the long haul, only time will tell - but it feels much more solid than Canon's ST-E2 transmitter, which has always felt very toy-like in build to me.

The size of the transmitter is very nice. It's hardly noticable on top of my camera, very light and out of the way. The receiver could actually be a bit larger, IMHO. It's small enough to fit 4 in my inner zipper pocket of my camera bag (where I usually put a filter and some business cards). By going with a larger receiver, they could have used AA batteries (rather than AAAs) or a larger receiver antenna (which might increase the distance?).

I've also attached one of the self-adhesive coldshoe mounts to my alien bee - that's really nice. It also came with a 1/8"->1/8" male adapter, so I could just plug it straight into the alien bee, but I think over time, that might stress the plug too much and cause damage. The cord that was included is super nice - sturdy, coiled, and just the right length. It's nice that they included practically every cord / adapter you'd realistically need. They do offer a camera remote adapter separately ($15 I think?), but other than that, it comes with the PC, 1/8", and 1/4" adapters, plus lots of brackets / screw mounts / shoe mounts you'll need. Again, the built in hot shoe - perfect. With this receiver, I can put a light right on any of my light stands without a single adapter. Of course, there's enough different ports there to attach anything to it!

I'm quite impressed overall. I'll have more of a review after next weekend, but so far, they get an A.

Durability / Feel: A+
Size: A
Distance: B
Reliability: A+
Features: A
Accessories: A+
Price: A

Hope this helps someone!

Shan

I just received a set of flashwaves wireless slaves today, and I wanted to share my initial impressions.

For comparison, I've used the ebay "Cactus" triggers, Pocket Wizard Transcievers, and now these.

The flashwaves transmitter is very nice and compact - just slightly larger than the ebay transmitters. They have an external antenna which is moveable, and a nice dial for the 10 channels. It has a very sturdy feel, even more so than the PWs (which always seemed to give under the slightest pressure).

The receivers are extremely compact - I was quite surprised. They are about the same size as the flash head on a 580ex (width and height) and only about 1/2" thick. Again, surprisingly sturdy.

A few nice surprises:

The receivers have a 1/4" threaded mount underneath. While this wasn't a surprise, included in the box was a coldshoe->1/4" adapter, so you can put the receiver in any hotshoe/coldshoe mount. It also included two adhesive coldshoe mounts, presumably for mounting on a monolight.

It included a coiled 1/8"->1/8" male plug, which works perfectly in Alien bees monolights. It also included a 1/8"->1/4" adapter, as well as the standard pc port.

From what I've seen, these can trigger three lights at once (one in the built-in hotshoe, one by the pc terminal, one by the 1/8" terminal). Nice touch, especially for multiple battery powered flashes on a monopod.

The transmitter uses a specialty battery, but they come with two - one in the transmitter, and an extra in the box. They aren't so crazy that you can't get them from wal-mart or radio shack, but they aren't AAAs (which the receivers use). Nice that they give you a spare though.

The receivers have an indicator light on the front, which blinks occasionally to let you know that it's on. It's positioned well, so you can easily see it from across a room, without being a huge distraction.

Shipping was extremely quick - only about 4 working days. Not bad for shipping from korea.

Just some intital impressions, I plan on putting them through some serious tests later this week. I just wanted to share, in case anyone is thinking about these.

Shan