Off Camera Flash Kit Round-Up
Photopedia
17 February 2009 10:48
Free your flash!
Off-camera flash or Strobism has become hugely popular in portrait and action photography, largely thanks to blogs such as Strobist.com and photo sharing sites like Flickr.com Vivid colours, bold shadows and theatrical lighting are achieved through the use of multiple flashes or strobes placed carefully around a subject, allowing the photographer to take total control of the lighting.
Taking your flash off your camera can be a daunting prospect though. It’s a world fraught with jargon, technical terms and acronyms but once you understand a few of the fundamentals, it’ll soon click into place. The biggest hurdle to overcome, and where most of the confusion arises, is how to trigger the flash once it’s away from the camera. You’ve probably heard of a lot of gadgets and gizmos – Pocket Wizards, Sky-Ports, eBay triggers, the list goes on – but what do they do and which one is best for you? Read on for our roundup of wireless flash triggers and you’ll soon be armed with the knowledge you need to break your flash free!
Sync cords
Perhaps the simplest way to get your flash off the camera, a sync cord fits on your camera’s hotshoe at one end, and via a length of coiled cable provides a mount for your flashgun at the other end. This system can support multiple flashes but will need a host of cables, adapters and splitters to do so.
Positives
Simple, lightweight and compact
With the correct cord, TTL metering is preserved
Reliable triggering in most conditions
No batteries required
Negatives
Range limited by length of cable and obviously a physical link is required
Multiple flashes will require a veritable spaghetti junction of cables and TTL will not be supported
Would this work for me?
Provided you don’t need to put much distance between your camera and your flash, but you need to get it off the hotshoe, a simple sync cord could be all you need. If you plan on shooting macro with flash or perhaps want to bounce the light for natural-looking portraits, why complicate things?
If you have dreams of firing multiple flashes from afar, a simple sync cord probably isn’t going to live up to your requirements.
Optical triggers
Optical triggers, despite their downsides, still find their way into many photographers’ kit bags thanks to their simplicity and diminutive size. An optical trigger works by sensing the increase in light intensity caused by a flash or other light source firing, and in turn firing the flash it is fitted to. Often comprising of a combined shoe mount and tripod thread block, and a hotshoe mount, these handy little items are often not a lot bigger than a sugar cube.
Positives
Tiny, simple and inexpensive
Provides a useful means to mount your flash onto a tripod or light stand
Will fire most brands of flashgun
Negatives
Requires another flash to fire the trigger, and usually a pop-up flash doesn’t have the power to do so
Can fire erratically or not at all in bright or outdoor conditions
Any sort of pre-flash will cause the slave flash to fire prematurely
Would this work for me?
If you are on a tight budget, have limited space, or just need to quickly add a fill light in a flash set-up, an optical trigger may well do the job. You’ll struggle to base your off-camera set-up on optical triggers alone, so these dinky little gadgets are best used in a supporting role. Keep one in your bag because it might just help you get that shot.
Native wireless systems
Most mid to higher-end DSLRs have an in-built system to fire flashes off-camera. The majority of systems work using an infrared signal sent from either the camera’s pop-up flash or a specific commander unit. You’ll usually get full control of the flashes, including power adjustment, but you’ll be limited to using flashes manufactured for your specific system.
Positives
You may already have it
Negatives
Most systems use IR and will therefore require line of sight, meaning the camera needs to see each flash to fire it. The range the system works at may also be limited
Unusual ambient light may interfere with the system
Can be expensive, you may need to purchase an additional commander unit to send the IR signal
You need to buy flashes designed for your specific system
Would this work for me?
If you have a DSLR with a native wireless flash system it’s perfectly usable. However, adding a commander unit and numerous compatible flashes can represent a considerable investment. You’ll find yourself making a choice between using the native system and living with the line of sight problems, or investing in a pro level trigger kit.
eBay-style trigger/receiver kits
If you’ve been browsing the internet you’ll have undoubtedly noticed a rash of eBay triggers or ‘poverty wizards’ as they are fondly known as in some circles. Widely available from numerous online retailers based in Hong Kong, these kits come in a variety of shapes and sizes and under a few brand names. Cactus V2s or Yongnuo PT-04 V2s as they are commonly listed are inexpensive, compact and compatible with a huge range of cameras.
Positives
Cheap and readily available, so much so you’ll be tempted to buy a bagful
They actually work with most camera and flash combinations and do not require a line of sight
They provide a means of mounting your flash on a tripod or light stand
Option to operate on a multitude of channels and fire many flashes
Negatives
Each unit requires batteries
Build quality and performance can be variable. However, Practical Photography has only had positive experiences with the sets used
Current design has difficulty supporting the weight of a heavy flash
Only available online
Flashes must be controlled individually and manually. No TTL or metering
Would this work for me?
The price and compatibility of these kits makes them an attractive option, along with the ability to mix and match flashguns, but reviews are mixed. Some users have trouble with range and interference but others give shining feedback. If you want to try your hand at off-camera flash you can do a lot worse than starting with these, but unreliability and Christmas cracker toy build quality prevents them from being a realistic, permanent solution.
Manufacturers have recently announced a V4 version of this kit which seems to address some of the problems with build quality and reliability.
Pro-style trigger/receiver kits
Those that have reached the upper echelons of off-camera flash proudly speak of using Pocket Wizards, Radiopoppers, and Elinchrom Skyports amongst others, and rightly so. These systems allow a high level of control, and some even support wireless TTL and power control from the commander unit. This versatility comes at a price though.
Positives
Pro-level features and build quality
Massive wireless range and a modular system allows for virtually unlimited amounts of flashes to be fired and controlled remotely
Versatile remote system isn’t just restricted to controlling flashes
Negatives
High price-tag and some brands only available from the USA
Can be reasonably bulky
Would this work for me?
Most pro wireless kits come so brimming with features you’ll struggle to find a fault. Whether you are using flashes as a portable studio set-up, lighting action shots with multiple flashes or shooting crazy fashion portraits, a pro wireless kit will be more than capable. Here’s the stumbling block though – you might find yourself remortgaging the house to afford a set-up. There are some manufacturers responding to the needs of the Strobist gang though, as prices are coming down.
