OCF control options

BazEP

BazEP

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Can anyone point me in the direction of a OCF control guide for dummies? I'm wondering if there is anywhere that shows the different options from cheap ebay triggers to PW's and what the pros, cons and usage considerations are at each level.

Anyone know of anything?
 
There's usually a paragraph or two on that kind of stuff in most books, but products change so quickly I'm not sure how useful it is other than as a generic guide.

Ask on here. What do you want to do? How much you gotta spend?
 
True
To be honest I just want to know my options at the mo. Just awaiting a SB800 and also have an old panasonic flash that might come in handy (although might be too high voltage for anything recent). After that looking at additional lighting options (SB28 maybe). Then after that "proper" lighting probably. I don't have any remote triggers and want to see what problems I may encounter if I go down one route or another.

Cheers
 
As Richard says, products change so frequently that producing a guide would be almost impossible, but as a generalisation the really cheap triggers (PT-04 etc) run on 433mhz and tend to have limited range/reliability but can be found from around £15 a set.

The next step up are the likes of the YongNuo RF602/603 and the numerous clones, starting form around £25/30 which operate on 2.4ghz. These tend to be better built and more reliable, but all are still prone to failure/quality issues.

Once you get past that price point and on to the likes of Skyports or any of the Pocket Wizard clones and then on to the genuine PW products themselves. By the time you get into the £80 per unit price range that the PW clones start at quality tends to improve considerably, but you have to bear in mind that for the price of even one Calumet PW clone you can buy a full set of RF602/3 and have change left over.

Personally I've now followed Richard's example and sold my PWs and kitted myself out with a set of YongNuo RF602s and when all's said and done they do the job nicely for amateur use.
 
The D300 pop up flash will trigger that flash SB800 anyway if you want to use the flash as a remote, and the instruction book that comes with Nikon flashguns is pretty comprehensive. All you have to do is go into command mode on the D300 (e3) and make sure the flashgun is set to the same channel as the camera.Also there are other settings you can use as well.

Realspeed
 
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Thanks all

Graham - is the limitation on the RF602/3's really just the build quality and the range or are there functionality differences as well?

Bazza - Thanks - It was more for non Nikon remote-able flashes that I'm investigating (sb-28's or lower) plus possibly the old pana job. I've read up on all the SB800 stuff although I'm sure it will make a lot more sense when I have it and can have a proper play.
 
I would stick with Nikon Flashguns as they are compatible without having to resort to third party triggers. The D300 can remotely control flash output (I believe) from the camera and also control multiple flashguns. I have the SB600 and the SB900 and considering another SB900 as it is so easy to setup and use. The SB600 can't be used as a command flashgun by the way.

Realspeed
 
BazEP said:
Thanks all

Graham - is the limitation on the RF602/3's really just the build quality and the range or are there functionality differences as well?
Click to expand...

The range is great and reliability is generally spot-on, like a lot of other YongNuo products though they can just stop working for no apparent reason, but they're so cheap it's worth buying a spare set if that's a concern.
 
so do the PW's and the like have more control options from the camera? TTL etc?
 
BazEP said:
so do the PW's and the like have more control options from the camera? TTL etc?
Click to expand...

There are PWs that offer TTL, however you're looking at around £500 for a trigger and two receiver units, against £40-50 for a set of RF602 plus an extra receiver.....
 
BazEP said:
so do the PW's and the like have more control options from the camera? TTL etc?
Click to expand...

Depends entirely on which model you purchase, and that in turn is very much dependant on how deep your pockets are!!!!!
 
If you want to use any make of flashgun, then RF602's or RF603's are a really good option. Bear in mind though, that the 602's and 603's are not compatible with each other. If you want to use the pop up flash to trigger your flashguns, you're limited to the new Nikon flashes, or other compatible dedicated flashgun. Your SB28 for example can't be used this way. You're also limited to line of sight, without radio triggers. The RF602's offer the same functionality as the PW or clones, but have a more limited range, but I think they're more convenient and better value. If you want TTL, then you will need to stick with SB900/800/700/600 guns and if you want radio triggers to do TTL, then you will need PW Flex and TT5, which will cost you upwards of £500 as FITP has said.
 
chphotos said:
The RF602's offer the same functionality as the PW or clones, but have a more limited range, but I think they're more convenient and better value.
Click to expand...

I would say the couple of hundred meters range available to the Yongnuo RF602s are more than most folks would actually need.
Mine are used for every location shoot I do, and I have yet to come up against a range problem.
 
Michael - Do you really get 200 metres or more out of your RF602's and if so, is that straight line? I've never tested mine at that distance, but I thought that 100 metres was about the limit. That's certainly what's inducated in the specs.
 
chphotos said:
Michael - Do you really get 200 metres or more out of your RF602's and if so, is that straight line? I've never tested mine at that distance, but I thought that 100 metres was about the limit. That's certainly what's inducated in the specs.
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Not sure I'd want to be 200 metres away from my lights, not anywhere around Glasgow anyway :lol:
 
I've never been far enough away for a fail yet. As I mentioned previously, I've never come up against a range problem. I've had a couple of assignments that required quite a distance for some of the background lighting, somewhere around the 350 feet mark.
Considering they're in use every day, and they were bought within days of them becoming available, in all that time I've only had to think about the distance involved on a couple of occasions.

As Graham pointed out, when you start working at such distances, it becomes expensive. Not because of the triggers, but due to the fact you need to employ a babysitter for each rig :suspect:
 
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I'm not and probably never would Michael, but I was surprised when you posted that the RF602's had a range of a couple of hundred metres. I've used mine regularly, with no failures, but only at distances of around 15 to 20 metres.
 
Cliff, I really wouldn't worry about the distance issue, unless you end up looking at the cheapo stuff.
I use RF602s for my manual stuff, Radiopopper PX system for any TTL stuff (not really that often, but damned useful when the light is changing by the minute and balancing with the ambient is critical). In either case, I really don't give the distance a thought regarding reliability and range. Security on the other hand.................
 
I've tested my RF-602 at just over 100m (which is YN's claim) and they work. I ran out of space, and can't imagine ever needing anything like that distance - even across a football pitch isn't that far.

You also need line of sight for big distances and the height of the transmitter makes a difference - it wouldn't work at ground level. There are notes on the PW site about maximising range with radio triggers, which strongly mentions maximum height, and clearance from 'water-filled' objects like trees!

I think PW's Multimax trigger has a mega-distance mode, but it's not TTL.
 
I moved from the more expensive Skyports to Phottix Strato triggers - great move, especially now I don't have sync cords everywhere.

I had a set of '602s, but as a back-up in case the Stratos weren't up to much but they never got used so were sold. The Stratos have been brilliant, they really have; they have a reputed range of 150m+, although I probably use mine at a maximum of 60m, at which they work fine each and every time. They fire fine at high FPS (the flashguns are the bottleneck if the batteries are low) and fire fine on all channels, of which there are four (p[retty standard these days).

I got mine direct from Phottix's online store - think they were about £35 each (1 transmitter + 2 receivers) and they arrived in four or five days from HK. Very impressed.

EDIT: here's a link to a review I wrote :)
 
specialman said:
I moved from the more expensive Skyports to Phottix Strato triggers - great move, especially now I don't have sync cords everywhere.

I had a set of '602s, but as a back-up in case the Stratos weren't up to much but they never got used so were sold. The Stratos have been brilliant, they really have; they have a reputed range of 150m+, although I probably use mine at a maximum of 60m, at which they work fine each and every time. They fire fine at high FPS (the flashguns are the bottleneck if the batteries are low) and fire fine on all channels, of which there are four (p[retty standard these days).

I got mine direct from Phottix's online store - think they were about £35 each (1 transmitter + 2 receivers) and they arrived in four or five days from HK. Very impressed.

EDIT: here's a link to a review I wrote :)
Click to expand...

Good review :) Phottix Stratos seem very good quality. Basically similar to the YN RF-602, but better thought out and better made. I'm liking the shoot-through idea, and the ability to combine auto-TTL with manual remotes. New YN RF-603 also has this feature.

There's also a new version - Phottix Strato II which seems even better and has addressed some of your minor criticisms. Good review here http://flashraw.com/review-phottix-strato-ii-multi-wireless-flash-trigger/ Also the Phottix Atlas PW clone tested on that site.
 
Cheers Hoppy :)

Good to see an on/off switch on the transmitters now - backward compatibility is a good idea... can buy these and mix the two types :)
 
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