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H4D and Radio Triggers

Iskander

Member
I own a Hasselblad H4D-40 and want to trigger my Nikon flashes SB-800, SB-26 and SB-28 wirelessly.

Which radio trigger would you recommend?

Did anybody check the Yongnuo RF-602?
Does it make sense, to think about it?

regards
Michael
 

Dustbak

Member
Having tried many of the cheaper things myself and not being happy with any of them personally I would prefer to use Skyports or Pocketwizards.

I have chosen for skyports since I also own lots of Elinchrom equipment. The skyports are also very small which is also nice.

No problem with 1/800th with the skyports besides loosing about 1 to 1.5 stops of light after 1/250th up to 1/800th depending on which Elinchrom light I use (less with the Quadra & Ranger AS, more with the 600RX

I prefer reliable and no hassle over a better price.

BTW, this is not to say that all cheaper radio triggers are bad, just the ones I tried. I sometimes hear people that have good experiences with the newer cheap Chinese versions. I just don't want to take the risk.
 

robmac

Well-known member
Radio Popper Jrx Studio - triggering and full manual power control of up to three groups of Nikon speedlights from hotshoe.

I use PWIIs for my Profoto gear, but RP's for triggering Nikon speedlights from my Canon. It allows you to remotely control the power of up to three groups of Nikon speedlights from the hotshoe, steplessly, via three knobs on top of the transmitter. Being stepless, it also allows you to go VERY low (as in did it fire? low) and you can select any power level between 1/1 and 1/2 which many speedlights won't do from their control panel.

Very long range, reliable and uses LiO CR123 batteries. Works perfectly as advertised. You need one Studio receiver and Nikon 'Cube' per speedlight. You can make your own cubes with a simple $4.00 Nikon hotshoe and a bit of soldering as well if DIY inclined.

The Nikon speedlights must be TTL-capable (the systems uses the TTL quench signal to control power, but power control is all manual) and IIRC it won't work with the new SB900 due to a more complex interface design change by Nikon with that unit.

If using the PWs and RP together (e.g. speedlight tucked away somewhere) , I just slip the RP transmitter into a self-adhesive hotshoe I have on the back of the on-camera PWII and trigger it via the 'local' port.
 
J

jorisvm

Guest
is it correct, that on the H4D you need an extra hotshoe,
place the elinchrom skyport trigger on that hotshoe,
and a cable from that hotshoe to the camera to trigger the flash ?
 

Dustbak

Member
I can only tell from the H1/2/3 but on these you simply mount the transmitter in the hotshoe and off you go.

I really doubt that it is different with the H4.

BTW. Radiopopper seems interesting. Do they support Nikons auto FP? (currently waiting for PW to implement it but that is taking ages).
 
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symbolphoto

New member
I don't want to be a debbie downer here, but the RadioPoppers are known to be unreliable, especially amongst the wedding crowd (People who test it the hardest)..

Skyports are a good option, and i've heard if you use them in Speed mode at 1/800th people aren't losing light anymore, i think GM recently tested it and found that out.

You may want to look into the Quadra instead of speedflashes, may save you a lot of headache. Unless you need multiple small light sources, of course.

Btw, i use skyports without issue on my H3DII all the time.

.02
 

Dustbak

Member
Ok, thank you for saving me the headache of testing :)

BTW, there was I time I believed the Quadra's could be taught to use Nikons FP. You can program the unit to wait for x amount of flashed before giving its pop. I have been succesful on occassion to get the Quadra to fire at speeds of 1/1000th with my Nikon but never more than once or twice in a row :(
 

robmac

Well-known member
Brendan (Symbol),

Is it RP JRX units (manual power) or the RP full-TTL P1 units that you're hearing are unreliable? So far no issues and haven't seen any reports of the simple JrX units being iffy, but I don't shoot weddings or hang with wedding photogs.

The JrX units do not support FP, just trigger and manual power control. Not sure on the TTL P1 units.

Personally not a fan of the Skyports. While reliable and the new Trx look much improved re: controls and finally a secure hotshoe mount (V1 units caused me some misfires due to that), the sealed rechargeable batteries in the receivers were an object of loathing for me. On the Quadra, etc., with built-in receivers is not an issue, but on stand-alone receivers, I want field-replaceable batteries. Having a bagload of batteries for your speedlight won't matter much if it's radio receiver battery is dead and can only be recharged-- or the unit replaced with a fully charged receiver.
 
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symbolphoto

New member
Personally not a fan of the Skyports. While reliable and the new Trx look much improved re: controls and finally a secure hotshoe mount (V1 units caused me some misfires due to that), the sealed rechargeable batteries in the receivers were an object of loathing for me. On the Quadra, etc., with built-in receivers is not an issue, but on stand-alone receivers, I want field-replaceable batteries. Having a bagload of batteries for your speedlight won't matter much if it's radio receiver battery is dead and can only be recharged-- or the unit replaced with a fully charged receiver.
Agreed. But note for the unseasoned readers that this applies to the universal receivers not the standard ones. Which don't have a battery at all.

I'm pretty well invested in Elinchrom. Depending on the shoot, i've used the following:

1. Ranger RX AS Speed with any given modifier
2. Ranger Quadra RX AS, also with any given modifier.
3. Skyport Universals with 580EXII's

I've only used the universals in special situations. Such as front lighting in rain or when the 580EX is on a stick for parent dances.

The new Skyports have been very reliable for us. But again, we don't use them with the Universals all the time.
 

Iskander

Member
Hi dustbak and symbolphoto,

the skyports seem to be very interesting.

Is it really true, that the speed mode at 1/800th is possible with my HC-Lenses (100mm and 35-90mm)?

What's the exact name of the skyports?
I've found names like Universal Speed or simply Universal.

Thanks
Michael
 

symbolphoto

New member
Yes, leaf shutters (All Hasselblad H lenses) have 1/800th sync speed. I use it all the time...

Full Universal Speed Kit (For speedlights)
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/696332-REG/Elinchrom_EL_19357_Skyport_Universal_SPEED_Set.html

Transmitter Speed (Can use this with any receivers)
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/696329-REG/Elinchrom_EL_19350_Skyport_SPEED_Transmitter.html

Ranger RX receiver (for use with Ranger RX packs and RX monolights)
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/505379-REG/Elinchrom_EL_19353_EL_Skyport_RX_Radio_Slave.html
 
S

SMP

Guest
New member and ran across this post but we have both RP PX and Jrx. We use up to 6 at a time (580's) and can tell you the PX works flawlessly. And I mean that literally. 0 misfires after tens of thousands of frames, only the occasional pre-fire. JrX unfortunately is good but not nearly close, 5% misfires, prefires and lockups/resets. We keep it as a backup to our two PX transmitters. PW noise on the 580 speedlights was worse. Now heading back to PW in our move to profoto as I have no desire to use the JRx fulltime. For canon speedlights however they are the right choice.
 

fotografz

Well-known member
Save yourself some headache ... and in the long run, money. Been there, done that myself.

This is a pet peeve of mine,:cussing: so forgive my longish post. :lecture:

Why get a $20,000. camera + len$e$, and then go cheap on the lighting? :wtf: Better to use a cheaper camera and better lighting. Trust me on this.:angel:

The marketing for speed-lights, and the "strobist" movement has misled many people into thinking wimpy speed-lights are a substitute for real lighting. This is especially NOT true with MFD. It's most likely the charm of using cordless lighting, and the misplaced reliance on TTL (IMO, useless automation in real world lighting applications), that has led to the popularity of off-camera speed-lights. However, IMO, this cordless TTL desire is over-riding the logic of lighting.

If you are looking for a higher sync speed to shoot up to 1/800th, and maximum image quality of ISO 100 or 200, then you are going to run out of speed-light abilities in many ambient shooting conditions ... especially when stopping down to f/5.6 or more ... which considering the depth-of-field of MFD is a reality more often than not.

All those Nikon speed-lights you mentioned will add up to maybe 200w/s, if even that. In reality, probably less. Use bounce techniques, or add a light modifier, like an umbrella or diffuser, and it gets weaker fast. Plus, you'd have to team them up to get enough power for a key-light in many cases.

So for example: when shooting outdoors it will be difficult to impossible to overcome the sun and balance out background and foreground when desired. If you shoot any macro, one usually has to stop down to the de-fraction limit of the lens to reasonably get anything in focus with the H4D/40. If shooting indoors ... (like a group of people), you need DOF for front-to-back focus, and some lighting spill onto the background for fill (or a background light), or you end up with ambient contamination of the subject, (which I see all the time), or an amateurish wall of black for a background. Etc., etc., etc.

I also use a Elinchrom Quadra kit for weddings and location portraits, which I'm not recommending one way or the other. It fits my need for one man portability, consistent lighting quality shot-to-shot, and just makes it under the wire for level of power. I often augment the 400w/s Quadra by also using a Metz 54 TTL flash in the H4D's hot shoe, and mount the Elinchrom Skyport on a Kirk grip ... with a sync cord from the Skyport to the sync port on the H4D/40's body. The H4 assumes control of the Metz flash so you can compensate the level you want as supplemental fill, and the Skyport allows control of the key lighting ... all from the camera.

As a note: this Quadra is my weakest professional lighting kit. For commercial location work I have at least 1200w/s of portable lighting (Hensel Porty) + the 400w/s Quadra for supplemental light if needed ... and in studio, or large locations with a power source (like industrial shoots) I usually have at least 4800w/s with me ... along with assistants to lug it all. :D When shooting studio table-top close-ups with the HC120/4 Macro stopped down for DOF, I've often run out of lighting even using a 2400w/s Profoto D4 Box!

End of rant ... apologies where due. :)

-Marc
 
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Professional

Active member
I use Pocket Wizard MM for both my lights, Hensel and Profoto, i even use that PW TT1/TT5 for speedlights [580EX/EXII], all work flawlessly with my cameras including H3D in the past and H4D now.
 
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