Need help on speedlight trigger

[Benny Pan]

I recently bought a Nikon SB-600 speedlight that works seamlessly on my D40. However, in many situations I want to create flash from a certain angel to the subject. Here is the hurdle -- I either buy a cable to connect my D40 to the SB-600 or buy a wireless trigger.

A cable that provide TTL control cost approx $100 NZD while many wireless flash trigger on ebay (namely iShoot PT04 brand) cost about $50 NZD. But apparently none of them provide TTL control.

Anyone knows a brand that supports TTL control via infrared? (I know nowaday most Nikon cameras have build-in wireless control )

thnx

[OsmosisStudios]

IIRC, PocketWizards offer wireless TTL (radio signal). I could be wrong: I dont use triggers.

[inkista]

Right now, there are basically three options that retain i-TTL, all of them expensive.

The first is to get a Nikon "commander" unit to put on the hotshoe so you can take the SB-600 off-camera, via CLS: an SB-800, SB-900, or SU-800. CLS, however, is infrared-based, so it suffers from requiring line-of-sight, and lower reliability outdoors. If you had a D80/D90, you could use the pop-up flash as your master. And if you had an SB-800 or SB-900, that could be your master, but you've got an SB-600 and a D40.

Secondly, there are the PocketWizard TTL units: the Flex-TT5 and the Mini-TT1. These are currently available in Canon versions, but the Nikon versions aren't available yet. It's about US$400 per transmitter/transceiver or two transceiver set.

Your third choice would be RadioPopper PXes. $500 for an Rx/Tx set, and to take full advantage of CLS capability, you'd have to have a on-show master unit (like an SB-800 or SB-900) as well.

Wireless TTL over radio is not a low-cost proposition right now.

Cheap eBay radio triggers and going all-manual are probably your best bet if you're on a budget.

A number of the cheap eBay trigger companies are trying to do something that would be the equivalent of having a TTL sync cable over radio, but the only units that are out cost over $100 and have a 40% success rate at firing. So, not there yet.

[zona5101]

also radiopopper PX triggers (not the XJrs)

[Benny Pan]

Hmm . . . maybe the best budget is to get the 3m cable ($100 NZD) that can absolutely allow my D40 to have TTL control.

The reason I want to use off-camera flash is that I can create some sorts of shadows and sense of depth. But I am not any expert in portrait photography. How do you shoot descent portrait photo with the flash on your camera?

[inkista]

You bounce the light (i.e., aim the flash at a surface (wall, ceiling, etc.), and use the light reflected from the surface as your illumination). I really like this article by Neil van Niekerk that explains how you can bounce the light to get soft directional lighting.

I'd also recommend just working your way through his site's flash photography techniques section. Particularly the bits on the black foam thingie for flagging off light from on-camera, so all your light is directional.

Secondly, yeah, you can get a TTL-cable, but is there a specific reason you need iTTL, rather than going manual on the flashes? It's a little more walking, and chimp and adjust, true, but unless you're in a run'n'gun varying-light situation and constantly on the move, then the manual-only radio triggers can work just fine, too.

BTW, that TTL cable sounds expensive to me. Most of the hotshoe-to-hotshoe cords for putting a speedlight on a bracket are about US$60 or so, and a lot of folks hack extensions themselves using CAT-5 ethernet cables and the like.

[Benny Pan]

Thnx inkista, Neil's website is very helpful. Hmm . . . I think will look around and c if can find a cheap wireless trigger. Thanx heaps

[inkista]

One of the most common "starter" triggers is the Cactus V4. I got a set of Yongnuo RF602s off eBay after reading about them in the discussion threads at the Flickr Strobist group. By now, there may be another contender. Things move fast in the flash radio trigger world. Also, realize that these cheap triggers can vary widely on build quality and reliability. You want absolute rock-solid performance, you may need to pay more (Cybersyncs).

Would really recommend going to the Strobist Flickr group discussions if you have any specific gear questions.