Wireless remote flash trigger

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I've bought an SB800 flashgun to pair up with my D50. I'm considering gettign a D300 but that won't be for a long time yet.

I really want to be able to fire the flashgun remotely. I'm happy with the flashgun going into manual mode as i enjoy the trial and error method rather than letting the camera do all the work.

Would This allow me to fire the flash remotely? i like the idea that its got 2 receivers as i have a really old flash gun (that would fry my camera on the hot shoe) that i would be able to remotely flash aswell if needed.

I dont want to spend out for another flashgun or another camera so looking for a dirt cheap setup just so i can practice with.

thanks. :thumbs:
 
Yea that would work as they are the eBay slaves that everyone talks about. However I would not recommend you get these as they misfire and dont work all the time sometimes. For more cash get the Skyports as they work 100% of the time and I have used them and really say that they are worth the money.
 
CherryRig - Do you know how reliable the ebay ones are though. I'm only going to be doing the remote flash for car shoots so it won't matter if they misfire every now and then. The Skysports one is way too much money for me. If I was going to spend that kind of money then I think it would be better to shell out for another flashgun and use the commander on the SB800 but that’s not an option. Thank you for letting me know about those though.
This is only a temporary setup until I can afford a D300.

Janice - Thanks for the link to them.
 
Have a look at the gadget infinity website, the later versions of the cactus triggers are more reliable and they till you which ones are meant to work with which flashes.
 
Some people say not very and they cant be that good if people have to mod them to make them work better!! End of the day it's up to you whether you want to spend the money or just get them.
 
One thing to bear in mind is the cost of batteries. The ones they come with are half the problem with misfiring so replace the batteries with some decent ones as soon as you get them, batteries for 2 recievers and a transmitter will set you back anothe £15 probably.
 
Just ordered Skyports this afternoon after getting totally cheesed off with Nikon CLS.......Cherryrig they better be reliable :D
 
Are Skyports legal in the UK? Do they have two different frequency versions like with the PWs?
 
hehe just because something is being sold doesn't mean that it is legal to use them....

A great example of this is those ipod things that let you listen through your radio....they come with a sticker on saying its illegal to operate them without a license....but they are still sold in well known retailers..
 
Kev M said:
Have a look at the gadget infinity website, the later versions of the cactus triggers are more reliable and they till you which ones are meant to work with which flashes.
Click to expand...

You mean this one? http://www.gadgetinfinity.com/product.php?productid=16766&cat=274&page=1

Is this the one to go for then? It looks like the one I linked in ebay is the older version. I don't want to have to mod the thing to get it to work properly. I'm not expecting it to be amazing, just to do the basics.

Also, the older flashguns that have a high trigger voltage (that can blow camera's up), can they be used with these remote triggers or will it blow the receiver unit up??

thanks for the help so far everyone. :thumbs:
 
It won't blow them up at least I've never heard of it happening. Some flashes require a bigger voltage to trigger them too (minolta ones for sure) which is one of the reason for the different models. I've had no real problems with my v2's after changing the batteries in everything. The other thing to consider us how you're linking them to the flash. I don't like having the flash sit on top of the reciever so use cables. The only place I've found with male-male PC plugs is fotosense.co.uk.
 
Why don't you have the flash ontop of the receiver? Is it just a case of putting better batteries in them?

Tempted to order these tonight.
 
see the bit where the reciever pivots? It's not exactly sturdy, I don't think it'll break but it flexes a little so isn't ideal for positioning. Plus it raises the flahs up a little more which moves it further away from the centre of the umbrella affecting how even the light distribution is. I just use a bit of velcro to attach the receiver to the top of the flash and a cable to connect them.

The batteries won't make them perfect, as you know you get what you pay for but replacing them when you get them will potentially save you from some frustration with the El Cheapo batteries supplied.
 
superstat said:
hehe just because something is being sold doesn't mean that it is legal to use them....

A great example of this is those ipod things that let you listen through your radio....they come with a sticker on saying its illegal to operate them without a license....but they are still sold in well known retailers..
Click to expand...

They changed the law a couple of months back and they are legal now.;)
I have not been able to find anything to say that the skyports are anything but legal here in the UK. I have had my set since October and I am still on the first charge of the internal battery on the reciever. I can not fault mine at all.
 
I've had a look on that fotosense and can't find the leads you've mentioned about.

I don't have any reflectors or anything so not too worried about that. Are they ordinary batteries or something a bit special?

gonna order these in a minute I think.
 
Sorry mate my mistake, I used fotosense for my Metz flash gun which has a special plug on one end. What sort of connections does your SB800 have for firing? If it's like my SB25/28 it has a PC socket requiring a male PC plug and a ttl connector for an expensive nikon cable. You can always try it mounted on the reciever and see you you like it and look for a cable later. Speedgraphic have a massive selection of cables and adaptors so it might be worth speaking to them (to many to go through on thewebsite and not very detailed pictures) or you could try ebay.

The batteries in the recievers are CR2's I think (not got one handy) and the transmitter is something else (longer and thinner, about half the length of AAA). I got mine from asda so they're quite common.
 
i use ebay slaves, they are pretty reliable but you can get some that arnt at all! its abit of luck of the draw really. even though mine are pretty reliable they have missed fired a couple of times but thats normally when the recivers battery is low. i havnt had any real problems with them but i am looking to upgrade them soon.
 
What I meant was that the frequency for things like this (incluring personal walkie talkies etc) is different in the states and here, if they have an "E" mark on there they are legal to use over here, but not in the states...
 
Having bought the ebay gadgetfinity triggers first I found them to be endlessly frustrating. They had poor range and and weren't very reliable. The skyports are WELL worth the money at even 4-5x the cost of the ebay triggers. I know that as long as the battery is charged the skyports will fire - as simple as that. With the ebays you never know what you're going to get. As I'm only an amateur photographer I thought I could live with the ebay triggers limitations for the price but after the first session with them I knew I was wrong on that count.
 
Hi Guys, found this thread similiar to what I need. Have the Canon D5 & a 430ex flashgun. Read Scott Kelbys book explaining off camera shooting and apart from pocket wizards (too dear for me) etc he suggested getting an St_ e2 trigger or using 2nd 430ex and firing the off camera one that way. His book explains using the 580ex so I'm assuming the 430ex would also do the job.

Any thoughts on this
Thanks
 
omohat said:
Having bought the ebay gadgetfinity triggers first I found them to be endlessly frustrating. They had poor range and and weren't very reliable. The skyports are WELL worth the money at even 4-5x the cost of the ebay triggers. I know that as long as the battery is charged the skyports will fire - as simple as that. With the ebays you never know what you're going to get. As I'm only an amateur photographer I thought I could live with the ebay triggers limitations for the price but after the first session with them I knew I was wrong on that count.
Click to expand...

was that with the version 1 triggers or the version 2??

mine are on thier way now. :D
 
Yay, mine arrived the other day, had a little play with it and its great.

can't wait to really try it all out this weekend.
 
Hi All

I'm thinking of purchasing a cheapie wireless flash trigger. I noticed the transmitter takes a 12v battery. Does this mean the transmitter has a trigger voltage of 12v? The trigger I am looking at is a Blazzeo Megtrig DMT4.

I have a Canon 50D and I don't want to cause any damage to it. I believe the max trigger voltage is 6v for this model.

Cheers
Michelle
 
Hi Michelle, those look just like the regular PT-04 triggers, which are perfectly safe. Before buying them though take a look at the new Cactus V4 version from Gadget Infinity, they've just been launched and the first batch is totally sold out but I'm sure there'll be more available soon :thumbs:
 
Thanks for the reply. I will look have a look into the Cactus.

Cheers
Michelle
 
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