[davidhtam]

Check these guy guys. They're starting to look much better!

http://gadgetinfinity.com/product.php?productid=17204&cat=274&page=1

[[HuCk DuCk]]

ooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[J____]

anyone group buy?

[niforpix]

^^ I'll group buy your mom! :p

[J____]

^^ please, with ur skills?

[J____]

=P

[Senna4ever]

I can't believe people actually buy these cheap things.

[[HuCk DuCk]]

not all of us are balla enuf to get PWs or Poppers.

[Senna4ever]

I know, but still.....buying those will potentially cost you more money in the long run compared to buying mid-range products.

[davidhtam]

what are you examples of mid-range products? I really don't like using these cactus triggers.. they're really unreliable.

[K-Dub]

what are you examples of mid-range products? I really don't like using these cactus triggers.. they're really unreliable.
flashwaves, elinchrome, microsync, etc.

[niforpix]

^^ please, with ur skills?

Your mom will take anything :D j/k

Anyway, back to the topic! :)

[Senna4ever]

We've sold a lot of the Flash Waves with no complaints from clients. I like the design more than the Pocket Wizards, but they don't have the range of PW's though, about 200 feet.
http://www.ppmag.com/web-exclusives/2007/10/flash-waves-wireless-synch-kit.html

Elinchrom triggers use a hard to find battery that's pissed off a few people.

What's amazing are the new Profoto D1 triggers ($200). They only work with the new Profoto D1 lights though, but you can remotely adjust the light output from the transmitter. No more walking to the head to adjust the light output. With a 15 f stop range adjustable in 1/10 stop increments, they're amazing. The 1000 w/s kit which includes 2 monoheads, 2 lightstands, 2 umbrellas, cords & a bag is about $3000, which is pretty reasonable.
http://www.profoto.com/D1/studio-kit.php

[K-Dub]

We've sold a lot of the Flash Waves with no complaints from clients. I like the design more than the Pocket Wizards, but they don't have the range of PW's though, about 200 feet.
http://www.ppmag.com/web-exclusives/2007/10/flash-waves-wireless-synch-kit.html

Elinchrom triggers use a hard to find battery that's pissed off a few people.

What's amazing are the new Profoto D1 triggers ($200). They only work with the new Profoto D1 lights though, but you can remotely adjust the light output from the transmitter. No more walking to the head to adjust the light output. With a 15 f stop range adjustable in 1/10 stop increments, they're amazing. The 1000 w/s kit which includes 2 monoheads, 2 lightstands, 2 umbrellas, cords & a bag is about $3000, which is pretty reasonable.
http://www.profoto.com/D1/studio-kit.php
Beau carries flash waves? How much? $175~?

[Senna4ever]

$269.95 for the set. Prices went up $20 in January.

[jolaika]

how much is that d1 kit?

[J____]

that flash wave stuff looks pretty sweet. anyone have experience on the AB triggers? its not much more than these V4's i'd rather pick those up. the cactus v2 was ok but the sync speed was so inconsistent for me. cant get over 1/125....

[J____]

but fuk. i'd rather get PW's than flashwave for that price.... only thing is pw's dong have hotshoe mounts

[J____]

but seriously who wants to GB these things. they're dirt cheap

[tamago]

that flash wave stuff looks pretty sweet. anyone have experience on the AB triggers? its not much more than these V4's i'd rather pick those up. the cactus v2 was ok but the sync speed was so inconsistent for me. cant get over 1/125....

I'm looking at picking up some AB's soon. The only way to order is directly through their website. But judging from all the feedback I've read, they're the best reliable bang for your buck.

[Senna4ever]

I'm looking at picking up some AB's soon. The only way to order is directly through their website. But judging from all the feedback I've read, they're the best reliable bang for your buck.
They are very cheaply made though....you wouldn't want to drop them even once.

[tamago]

They are very cheaply made though....you wouldn't want to drop them even once.

Really? I guess you get what you pay huh?

[77civic1200]

They are very cheaply made though....you wouldn't want to drop them even once.

Is there any camera equipment you don't mind dropping? just because someone drops something and it no longer works doesn't mean it was cheaply made, it means the person was an butterfingers ;)

[Senna4ever]

Is there any camera equipment you don't mind dropping? just because someone drops something and it no longer works doesn't mean it was cheaply made, it means the person was an butterfingers ;)
Well, no...you wouldn't want to drop any equipment, but it happens all the time (I should know). If you do drop something, you'd want to just pick it up and just start shooting, instead of pick up a broken piece of gear, no? The high end equipment is generally engineered to a higher standard. Stronger, more expensive materials are used, more stringent impact tests are carried out to ISO standards, etc... Why do pros use D3's and 1Ds mkIII's instead of D40's and XTi's? Pros are harder on their equipment, and the lower end cameras would not last as long under hard use or would fail due to environmental variables such as moisture or dust.

The result of just banging a canon 50mm 1.8 against a table. No one would say that particular lens is well engineered. If it was as well made as the f1.2 or even the f1.4, this would not have happened, but of course it would not be as cheap.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Senna4ever/Forum%20crap/PICT4520.jpg

[niforpix]

^^ Agreed. I remember seeing this photo before. Was that your lens?
In my previous work I've seen people buy cheap ass phones ($100 retail or less) and they were hard on them (especially construction workers) and expecting them to last forever. Oh yes, the famous "I woke up and it was like that" customer line... I will never forget it.

[Senna4ever]

That's Majin's lens being held by Mananetwork's well manicured hands.

[niforpix]

That's Majin's lens being held by Mananetwork's well manicured hands.

:D lol

[tamago]

That's unfortunate... I thought AB's were a fairly solid product. It's definitely going to make me think twice about picking one up.

Or I could wrap it with bubble wrap while using it, LOL

[Senna4ever]

That's unfortunate... I thought AB's were a fairly solid product. It's definitely going to make me think twice about picking one up.

Or I could wrap it with bubble wrap while using it, LOL

Alien Bees are probably the best of the budget lighting systems out there. The materials used for the housings are crap though. It will not stand up to hard use very long. With White Lightning, the high end line of Paul buff, you can drive over them with an SUV, and they will not break.

The Alien Bees ringflash is the worst design ever...if you don't hold the ringflash securely while raising or lowering it, it can go crashing down onto the floor. There is no secondary catch or some kind of safety mechanism to prevent it from happening.

You get what you pay for.

[J____]

^^ u can always DIY small stuff like the safety catch if your somewhat handy. And save $1500 for a safety latch? i'd rather take the risk of dropping 4 AB ringflashes to 1 profoto. I'll stick with my home made ringflash. portable and not need for external battery source. work just as good as the profoto ones i've used. with some loss in output power. for for $2450 cheaper, i dont mind the light loss.

and ur comparison of AB's to white lightings is kinda obsolete... of course the higher priced product is a better build. It wouldnt make sense if they had the same light output/longevity + case durability and 1 is more expensive than the other. I mean thats the whole point of having 1 more cost efficient than the other... to save ppl money.

on another note. do u knw if the 5d mk2's going up in price in a few weeks? if so i might come pick one up before it does go up

[Senna4ever]

^^ u can always DIY small stuff like the safety catch if your somewhat handy. And save $1500 for a safety latch? i'd rather take the risk of dropping 4 AB ringflashes to 1 profoto. I'll stick with my home made ringflash. portable and not need for external battery source. work just as good as the profoto ones i've used. with some loss in output power. for for $2450 cheaper, i dont mind the light loss.
That's your choice....that's why there is such a large, diverse market out there.


and ur comparison of AB's to white lightings is kinda obsolete... of course the higher priced product is a better build. It wouldnt make sense if they had the same light output/longevity + case durability and 1 is more expensive than the other. I mean thats the whole point of having 1 more cost efficient than the other... to save ppl money.
I know that, I was responding to Kyle's post....but why is my comparison obsolete?

on another note. do u knw if the 5d mk2's going up in price in a few weeks? if so i might come pick one up before it does go up
They went up last week, AFAIK. I just got a new pricelist yesterday. :(

[77civic1200]

You realize they were talking triggers not lights right?

[Senna4ever]

I was referring to both triggers and heads.

[77civic1200]

Well I hardly think any of the Pocketwizard/Skyports/ect are going to be any better built than the AB Cybersyncs. You certainly wouldn't be driving over any of them. Put broken PW foot into google and see how many hits/tutorials you get. You may think you get what you pay for, but I think there can be better choices out there, if you aren't just buying into brand names.

[Ducdesmo]

There's nothing wrong with buying a cheap set of triggers. Theres a market for everything. It's like why do people buy Honda Civic's and not a Lexus.

If you're not a pro and not looking for 100% consistency or require the range/durability, I say go for it.

[Senna4ever]

Well I hardly think any of the Pocketwizard/Skyports/ect are going to be any better built than the AB Cybersyncs. You certainly wouldn't be driving over any of them. Put broken PW foot into google and see how many hits/tutorials you get. You may think you get what you pay for, but I think there can be better choices out there, if you aren't just buying into brand names.
I wrote, "high end equipment is generally engineered to a higher standard," as they are, for the most part. I did forget to mention that Pocket Wizards do feel a bit flimsy...almost as if there's a lot of empty space inside. The triggers for Profoto, Hensel and Elinchrom are smaller and do feel better engineered. I think Pocket Wizards just have a good marketing department. I never said Pocket Wizards were the best, just that the more expensive products were *generally* better engineered. I guess I should have mentioned that Pocket Wizards might be an exception to this, as they are more cumbersome than every other wireless trigger on the market, and there seem to be many failures. Now, I don't know if this is due to inherent unreliability, or that there seem to be a lot of failures because so many have been sold. The percentage of properly working units to defective units is unknown to me.

I personally wouldn't buy Pocket Wizard II Plus units. I'd go with mid-range units like Flash Waves, as I think they have as better design for my purposes. When we get the new Pocket Wizard TTL units in, I will give an initial report.

[Senna4ever]

There's nothing wrong with buying a cheap set of triggers. Theres a market for everything. It's like why do people buy Honda Civic's and not a Lexus.

If you're not a pro and not looking for 100% consistency or require the range/durability, I say go for it.
Most people do not need the 1600 foot range of Pocket Wizards, or even the 200 foot range of the Flash Waves, but consistency is paramount, IMHO. If you have this great momentum going during a shoot with an awesome model, and the triggers start to fire intermittently, or stop working altogether, you will be pissed. It's very frustrating, and it doesn't make you look good, either. Paid job or not. It's happened to me with some borrowed cheap triggers. I say you don't need to buy a Lexus, but try not to buy the Tata.

[J____]

how much r they at beau? broadway cam still at 3099

[Meowjin]

Well, no...you wouldn't want to drop any equipment, but it happens all the time (I should know). If you do drop something, you'd want to just pick it up and just start shooting, instead of pick up a broken piece of gear, no? The high end equipment is generally engineered to a higher standard. Stronger, more expensive materials are used, more stringent impact tests are carried out to ISO standards, etc... Why do pros use D3's and 1Ds mkIII's instead of D40's and XTi's? Pros are harder on their equipment, and the lower end cameras would not last as long under hard use or would fail due to environmental variables such as moisture or dust.

The result of just banging a canon 50mm 1.8 against a table. No one would say that particular lens is well engineered. If it was as well made as the f1.2 or even the f1.4, this would not have happened, but of course it would not be as cheap.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Senna4ever/Forum%20crap/PICT4520.jpg

LOL MY 50MM

[Boostaholic]

so anyone gotten these trigger?

[niforpix]

how much r they at beau? broadway cam still at 3099

$3,099??

[J____]

$3,099??

for 5d MK2...

actually they down to 2999 for this week. next week goin up to 3299 apparently

[Meowjin]

who needs a 5d mk II?

[HyperREV]

so i just ordered a set of the v4's. should be here in a few weeks, i'll post up when i get em and if anybody has any questions/anything they want me to try i'd be happy to oblige!

[peazs]

^ good stuff. will be waiting. :)

[J____]

haha me too. should get them soon as well

[J____]

just got mine in the mail! woohoo. i'd have to say it looks, feels, and performs (so far) like a premium trigger for a $40 cactus set. the packaging is very nice, the foam inside is high density shape cut for the triggers, has a nice manual with a nicely printed booklet with samples of other ppls shots done with the triggers. the unit itself feels very solid, the battery cap feels like it belongs and was made for the unit, not like the V2's where it felt like it didnt really fit and rattled when on. the male hotshoe fit nicely and very snug. So far not 1 miss fire (50 or so shots) and reached my max camera sync speed (1/200s) everytime without banding on a 430ex, havent tried with my 580 yet. at 1/250s you notice banding at the bottom. With the V2's i was getting very inconsistent sync speeds, sometimes at 1/60 i'd get banding, others at 1/125, NEVER 1/200. Range i didnt really test, max so far was 50 feet across my place. gotta try outside. But all in all so far very consistent, no missfires and feels REALLY solid compared to the old ones. The new flatter design for the trigger is AWESOME finally can fit my strobist gear properly with an umbrella/sofbox. One thing i didnt like was the female hotshoe of the reciever is VERY tight. kinda had to force my flash on a bit.... i searched it and someone had their sb800 stuck on unable to take off. Litterally had to disassemble the unit to get it off...

Overall, for $40, i'd pick this over $350 pw's for what i use them for any day. (so far)

[[HuCk DuCk]]

does it sync with v2s?

[J____]

i didnt try, i got rid of my v2's but i remember their site says they dont

[peazs]

is there another place/site that sells these or this is the best store and price? how long did it take to ship?

[HyperREV]

heh i guess mine were sitting in my mailbox for the last few days. i opted for the 15 day shipping and forgot to check for them!


anyways they work great, no misfires so far! only gripe is the hot shoe on one of my receivers is a bit tight resulting in more effort than i'd like putting my 580ex on it.

all in all im stoked :D

[Tim Budong]

i have flashwave2 so far so good

[Senna4ever]

Yup, Flashwaves are good. The new Pro line just came out too.

[J____]

an update on the V4 tirggers. The range is about 60 yards or so out in the open field. Sync Speed is 1/200 with direct flash, HOWEVER I use mine on a 580ex2, then slave a 430ex off the cactus'ed 580ex and the sync speed drops to 1/100. Whenever i turn on the master/slave on the 580ex2, the sync drops to 1/100, when i turn it off its back up at 1/200. hmmmmmm

[Senna4ever]

^^^ That's kinda shitty.

[J____]

yup. but for $40 i still think its great haha

[Wilsonia]

Man.. I'm having so much trouble with the V4.
It works perfectly with my Sigma. (practically 10/10). However, it would only work 7/10 with my Vivitar 285hv. I'm thinking it's the connectivity between the receiver and the flash because I can see the V4 blinks when i trigger it. (On both of my receivers)

Any suggestions?

[77civic1200]

are you using the hot shoe? or a cord?

[Wilsonia]

hot shoe

[davidhtam]

yeah you're most likely getting a bad connect at the hot shoe. Happened with my V2's as well...

[[HuCk DuCk]]

happens with my vivitars on the v2 as well

[Wilsonia]

So, the vivitar sync cord wouldn't work on the v4 (since v4 only accepts 3.5mm plug instead of the male sync cord). If i purchase a hot shoe adapter, do you think it will connect better?

[davidhtam]

It'll only work if the hot shoe adapter has a good connection with the hot shoe of the vivitar. If you have the original vivitar off shoe cord that connects the the hot shoe of your camera, you can attach the v4 onto that.

[[HuCk DuCk]]

woah i just looked at the pictures again,

does the flash stand up on the receiver without support if it's in the hotshoe?

[HyperREV]

sigh. looks like these were too good to be true. shot a wedding in the rain last weekend and im finding a whole shitload of fucked up noise/banding in my photos.

cactus triggers will NOT work properly with a 5D.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/strobist/discuss/72157603230295239/?search=cmos

[J____]

weird.... works well on my 5Dmk2. i'll have to double check but i dont think i have any of those issues

[77civic1200]

Its a known problem, its just the 5D's and even then its only some of them, like a certain run from the factory. I found out mine do it as well on my last shoot =( time for me to upgrade

[peazs]

On the 5Ds and the 5DMK2s?

[77civic1200]

Just the 5D's as far as I have heard, something about not enough shielding from radio waves

[moky]

Since we're on the topic of flash triggers, anyone here use Radio Poppers JrX kits?
I'm looking at it as an alternative to getting PWs.

To J____________, do the cactus v4 triggers work well with the 5d mkII and canon flashes (550 and 580ex)?

[HyperREV]

Just the 5D's as far as I have heard, something about not enough shielding from radio waves

yep, the AA filter isnt strong enough to filter out the radio waves from cheaper triggers on 5D's.