Advice on remote trigger/receiver

[n33712]

Hi

I have a Canon 550D and a Yongnuo Speedlite YN465 Flash.

I want to buy a radio transmitter and receiver that will work in two ways:

1. The transmitter on the camera and receiver on the flash for normal flash photography.
2. The transmitter in my hand and receiver on the camera so i can use camera remotely over a small distance!

Can anyone recommend anything that will do both these things? Not too expensive as on a budget. Did buy one off ebay after the seller said it would do the above but when i received it, it did neither. Dont want to waste my time again. Hence asking for advice.

Would also be useful if it would connect to the strobe light i have also.

Many thanks

Matt

[MindyRaeL]

I use these Yonguo RF-603 Transcievers. I've been using them for a couple months and they're reliable enough. Certainly not pro-quality, but they're good enough if you just want something cheap to try out off-camera flash. Can't beat the price, either. They do eat through batteries like crazy though, so it's worth it to get some rechargeables.

[inkista]

Cactus V5 is the other recommendation. They're a little nicer than the RF-603s in that they have feet that lock, and you can set the channels with a dial on the side, rather than having to open up the battery compartment and mess with dip switches. Also, you can easily turn them on and off while the flash is mounted.

The main thing is that when you purchase a set, make sure that the correct shutter release cable is included in your package.

[n33712]

Hi

Cheers for your replies.

The Yongnuo 603's look really good for the price. The reviews are favourable and for the money seem really good. It does everything i need it to do!

The Cactus ones are a little harder to find. I live in the UK though so that maybe why! As said though, i think for the price the 603's will do!

Think i will go ahead with the 603's

Many thanks

[MindyRaeL]

[QUOTE=inkista;1364972Also, you can easily turn them on and off while the flash is mounted. [/QUOTE]

Good point. I forgot to mention that. The on/off switch is located in a really awkward position. My Sb-600's are smaller, so I can still reach the switch while they're mounted. It's a little difficult, but it's possible. But the switch is impossible to reach with my Yongnuo 560 mounted. It doesn't bother me, personally, but it might annoy some people. I kinda just expect minor inconveniences at that price point.

[n33712]

Hi

The switch problem is not that important to me. I'm not a professional photographer or anything. Just got to remember to turn it on before attaching to the flash!

Cheers

[inkista]

The switch and the channel switching isn't that important. I use 602s and have just learned to turn the receivers on/off before/after mounting the flash. But it does get annoying sometimes. For me, the dip switches aren't a huge deal either, because I have an EE degree and can think in binary/hex pretty fast, and the 602's dip switches are on top and easily accessible. And they still have the "all channel" setting (Channel 0xF or 1111), which the 603s don't.

What's important is the locking foot. If you're going to mount the flash on top of one unit as a receiver, but that unit doesn't have a locking foot, you better make sure that what you mount it into does, otherwise your flash could hit the floor a bit more easily than you'd like. The added expense of a Frio could easily negate the price advantage of a 603 over a V5. For the same reason we like air-cushioned stands, we like locking feet on flash receivers.

Either that, or make sure that you can use the receiver with the flash's sync port, and take the receiver out of the chain. Because I'm cheap, use the RF-602s, and didn't want to get a PC sync cord, I modded my YN-560 to add a 3.5mm minijack sync port.