sk66
Suspended / Banned
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- Name
- Steven
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The short version:
View attachment 28661
Voeloon 810-RT for Nikon. Tested with D4, D810, SB600, SB800, AD360
Price TBD but supposed to be "very very low."
The Good:
A massive feature set-
*AF assist built in
*TTL and TTL passthru; if there is a function that works with the speedlight attached to the camera, it will work when attached to these in TTL mode. Things like curtain sync and FV lock.
*True TTL "Flash Pulse" High Speed Sync (HSS) up to 1/8000
*DT mode; Tail Sync with adjustable sync timing for high shutter speeds w/ manual lights.
*Manual mode with remote power/zoom control
*Manual triggering by PC cable connection... Tail sync (DT mode) and RPT works here as well.
*Long transmitter range at 2.4GHz RF; as much as 250 meters
*High X-sync speeds; it even worked at 1/320 on the D810. This is a pretty big plus as many transmitters/recievers have a communication delay that results in an effective 1/160 X-sync limit
*31 channels (1 auto), 3 groups, with independent control to include zoom head position. I found no cross-talk issues while running three groups simultaneously.
*Backlit LCD and button text
*Wireless shutter release (with optional cable)
*USB undateable
Everything I tested worked as it should.
Overall better than average build quality internally and externally, like a metal spring-loaded battery door hinge, more than adequate wire gauge/terminals, solid foot mounting, etc. (yes, I opened one)
View attachment 28662
A very simple and intuitive user interface. Six buttons that do pretty much exactly what you think they will do.
And an LED Status light that glows red when in slave mode and orange when communicating.
The Bad:
*A fairly useless and incomplete user manual.
I had one speedlight out of four that had too much play when mounted resulting in intermittent failed/mis communication. I'll blame that on the speedlight for now.
The Average:
*PC sync port instead of micro/mini jack. Plus it uses the screw collar type connector, but the screw collar is about impossible to tighten fully.
*Lower resolution LCD
*Pretty small LCD text
*Harsh white LCD backlight in dark environments
The Quirks:
*Approximately .5 stop more light in HSS than if the flash was mounted on camera... No idea why, but I saw no downside even at 1/8000. (I did check for position/falloff considerations)
*Must be mounted on camera and the camera's meter must be active for communication to take place.
*If the camera's metering goes to standby before the flash does the zoom positions change. And then they change back again when the metering is woken up.
The Conclusion:
All things considered, I like the RT810 quite a lot. It combines a lot of features with generally good build quality and a user interface/controls that are easier to use than most.
In fact, for me the ease of use is the shining star of these units. With some other TTL triggers I fumble around and feel like I need to pull out a manual if I haven't used them in a while. Because of that I use manual triggers instead if there is no particular need for TTL/HSS. I would be just as happy to use the RT810's as my only set of triggers.
If the price comes in at around the price of Pixel King Pro's and similar I would say Voeloon has a winner here.
They did say that they would be addressing my concerns in order to improve the product prior to release. If they improve the screen's resolution, font size, and backlighting I would probably put these up there with the best of them.
The Long Version
View attachment 28661
Voeloon 810-RT for Nikon. Tested with D4, D810, SB600, SB800, AD360
Price TBD but supposed to be "very very low."
The Good:
A massive feature set-
*AF assist built in
*TTL and TTL passthru; if there is a function that works with the speedlight attached to the camera, it will work when attached to these in TTL mode. Things like curtain sync and FV lock.
*True TTL "Flash Pulse" High Speed Sync (HSS) up to 1/8000
*DT mode; Tail Sync with adjustable sync timing for high shutter speeds w/ manual lights.
*Manual mode with remote power/zoom control
*Manual triggering by PC cable connection... Tail sync (DT mode) and RPT works here as well.
*Long transmitter range at 2.4GHz RF; as much as 250 meters
*High X-sync speeds; it even worked at 1/320 on the D810. This is a pretty big plus as many transmitters/recievers have a communication delay that results in an effective 1/160 X-sync limit
*31 channels (1 auto), 3 groups, with independent control to include zoom head position. I found no cross-talk issues while running three groups simultaneously.
*Backlit LCD and button text
*Wireless shutter release (with optional cable)
*USB undateable
Everything I tested worked as it should.
Overall better than average build quality internally and externally, like a metal spring-loaded battery door hinge, more than adequate wire gauge/terminals, solid foot mounting, etc. (yes, I opened one)
View attachment 28662
A very simple and intuitive user interface. Six buttons that do pretty much exactly what you think they will do.
And an LED Status light that glows red when in slave mode and orange when communicating.
The Bad:
*A fairly useless and incomplete user manual.
I had one speedlight out of four that had too much play when mounted resulting in intermittent failed/mis communication. I'll blame that on the speedlight for now.
The Average:
*PC sync port instead of micro/mini jack. Plus it uses the screw collar type connector, but the screw collar is about impossible to tighten fully.
*Lower resolution LCD
*Pretty small LCD text
*Harsh white LCD backlight in dark environments
The Quirks:
*Approximately .5 stop more light in HSS than if the flash was mounted on camera... No idea why, but I saw no downside even at 1/8000. (I did check for position/falloff considerations)
*Must be mounted on camera and the camera's meter must be active for communication to take place.
*If the camera's metering goes to standby before the flash does the zoom positions change. And then they change back again when the metering is woken up.
The Conclusion:
All things considered, I like the RT810 quite a lot. It combines a lot of features with generally good build quality and a user interface/controls that are easier to use than most.
In fact, for me the ease of use is the shining star of these units. With some other TTL triggers I fumble around and feel like I need to pull out a manual if I haven't used them in a while. Because of that I use manual triggers instead if there is no particular need for TTL/HSS. I would be just as happy to use the RT810's as my only set of triggers.
If the price comes in at around the price of Pixel King Pro's and similar I would say Voeloon has a winner here.
They did say that they would be addressing my concerns in order to improve the product prior to release. If they improve the screen's resolution, font size, and backlighting I would probably put these up there with the best of them.
The Long Version
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