Elinchrom Skyports vs Ebay (cactus) triggers

dkspook

dkspook

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I got tired of linking to another forum, so here we go :)

I bought a Skyport Universal kit and yesterday I finally got to try it out for a quick and dirty test.



The Cactus trigger transmitter was connected to the hotshoe and the Skyport transmitter was plugged in to the PC sync terminal. That way I could use both triggering systems simultaneously.

All images (except the one above, obviously) was shot with my 50mm F/1.4 on my 5D, at 1/160 and F/5.6. ISO 200 if anyone cares.

The setup:


Top: Canon Speedlite 540EZ with Cactus receiver (PT-04 label, same difference). Full CTO gel.

Bottom: Canon Speedlite 580EX II with Skyport receiver, Full Window Green gel.

Both at 1/128 power with fresh batteries.


About 15 feet away, no problems.


About 30 feet away, this was the longest distance where I could reliably fire the 540EZ with the Cactus triggers.


Here the Skyport-triggered 580EX II is still firing. You can see the chalk mark I made on the sidewalk where the Cactus triggers gave up.


Skyport still firing..


Skyport still firing...



This was the maximum distance where I could still fire the 580EX II reliably with the Skyport system. Yes, Pocket Wizards give you more reach at double the price, but this is a lot longer than I like being away from my gear.

Elinchrom claim a 400 feet / 125 metre range for the Skyport system and Google Earth says they're right:



I think I'll upgrade to Pocket Wizard Plus II's when somebody pays me to shoot a full body portrait with a 600mm tele. Until then, I'm sticking with the Skyports. They're small, but reliable and the reach is PLENTY for me. I have no worries taking on paid gigs now, the Cactus triggers were kinda embarrasing to use with clients because they fired spontaneously - or not at all.
 
Cool test Spook! Nice one!

Our very own CherryRig will be in any minute to confirm that skyports are very worthy triggers, I think he may own the company now :D

I agree re Cactus triggers (poverty wizards)
Stray radio waves, other flashes, sunlight and mild telekinesis can also cause a cactus to misfire :lol: Very unreliable :thumbsdown:
Cactus triggers do have their uses for beginners and folk who are finding their feet before justifying a significant sum for more reliability.

PW range does have it's uses too, in particular firing a collection of remote cameras during sports events, Admittedly not the most common of things and the price difference is another large point too.

Great to have ye aboard and cheers for posting :thumbs:
 
Thanks for the test. I'm a Cactus user too and agree they're horrible, but will sort of do the trick for almost no money

+1 for Google Earth distance checking - made me :lol:
 
Cactus triggers are great considering the price, but you've made it clear that we are all inferior to Skyport owners. Clearly, you get what you pay for.
 
Tim Sainsbury said:
Cactus triggers are great considering the price, but you've made it clear that we are all inferior to Skyport owners. Clearly, you get what you pay for.
Click to expand...

:thinking: Erm, it doesn't have anything to do 'owners' being superior or inferior at all.

More along the lines of a warning really, don't expect to tootle off to do a job with them, they'll most likely leave you in the lurch.

They have their uses but are limited.
 
Tomas Whitehouse said:
:thinking: Erm, it doesn't have anything to do 'owners' being superior or inferior at all.

More along the lines of a warning really, don't expect to tootle off to do a job with them, they'll most likely leave you in the lurch.

They have their uses but are limited.
Click to expand...

funny-pictures-cat-thinks-he-is-better-than-you.jpg
 
I could live with the Cactus not working at large distances, but I just found that when you took a shot they might not fire 10-20% of the time.

As I don't do paid jobs, I lived with them for ages and struggled to justify the upgrade to Skyports or similar.
But at Xmas, I lost my Cactus trigger! I don't think I've ever been so pleased. But it is funny with the Skyports, because they don't actually do very much apart from 'just work'.

I also found that other people's Cactus triggers seemed to work more reliably than mine, even after changing the batteries, trying some mods etc.
Maybe some of the Cactus' work better than others? (the luck of the draw)
 
springtide said:
I could live with the Cactus not working at large distances, but I just found that when you took a shot they might not fire 10-20% of the time.

As I don't do paid jobs, I lived with them for ages and struggled to justify the upgrade to Skyports or similar.
But at Xmas, I lost my Cactus trigger! I don't think I've ever been so pleased. But it is funny with the Skyports, because they don't actually do very much apart from 'just work'.

I also found that other people's Cactus triggers seemed to work more reliably than mine, even after changing the batteries, trying some mods etc.
Maybe some of the Cactus' work better than others? (the luck of the draw)
Click to expand...

+1 for all of the above. After a long love/hate relationship with the Cacti, I pulled the trigger (pun intended) on the Skyports. Now I know that no matter what I think of, they'll just fire the flashes. Every single time.

Unless you count the times where I forget to turn on the flash.
 
dkspook said:
Unless you count the times where I forget to turn on the flash.
Click to expand...

Yep! Been there and will more than likely visit there again.

Remembering to insert fresh batteries is another sweet 'chestnut' too!
 
My Cactus V4's seem fine? No ETTL but I shoot manual anyway. I haven't needed to go further than what they fire at (ever) and they fire every time for me. I'll upgrade to Pocket Wizards soon, but in all honesty I don't see why they're needed as such.
 
Thanks for posting this :thumbs: I'll need to get out and do a CLS one - maybe compare triggering with the onboard, an SB-800 and then a 900 and see what if any difference there are.



Tim Sainsbury said:
Cactus triggers are great considering the price, but you've made it clear that we are all inferior to Skyport owners. Clearly, you get what you pay for.
Click to expand...

And Skyport owners are therefore inferior to us PW owners, maggot :naughty: :lol:
 
Kryptix said:
My Cactus V4's seem fine? No ETTL but I shoot manual anyway. I haven't needed to go further than what they fire at (ever) and they fire every time for me. I'll upgrade to Pocket Wizards soon, but in all honesty I don't see why they're needed as such.
Click to expand...

If you're V4s are doing fine, why upgrade? I had the old V2s and they were rubbish, so I upgraded to Skyports. If the V4s are doing well, why not keep them and put more money towards lights and modifiers in stead? Your choice of trigger can't be seen in the images but better light can make a heck of a difference :)
 
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