Cellphone? Nu-uh, but I did recently pickup a 3g iphone - yay!
Bluetooth headset? Nah, already got one of those nifty jawbone devices that makes me look like secret service.
Give up??? I'm talking about wireless triggering.
With everything being wireless these days, computers/laptops, phones, even gaming systems, it only makes sense to keep your lighting cord free. This enables you to maneuver freely, and easily shift/change your lighting setups, without having to exercise your liability insurance in case one of your clients or models trips on a cord. Leave the cables and wires for the datacenter =p
Why even worry about shooting wirelessly? Because shooting with on-camera flash should always be a last resort to lighting creatively. Exception to this rule, would be using a ring-flash (more on this in a future post). On camera flash gives that unflattering cracked out look you see on your drivers license, and mugshots (you know who you are). It's not natural, and leaves harsh shadows (which in some cases can be a desired effect).
So what are your options? Well that depends on what your needs are. You may not even need to go wireless if you're simply shooting with a single light source. I used to shoot tethered to a single Alien Bees B800 when it was my only light source. Now that I've moved onto using more than one light, I opted to steer clear of the guaranteed mess of tangled cords and personal choke hazards.
There are a number of choices depending on your budget, range/distance, and shooting style.
- Slaves: If your strobe/speedlight has a remote slave function, you can enable this to wirelessly trigger via another strobe (i.e. the one that is built in on your camera)
- CLS/eTTL: If you are a Nikon or Canon shooter, both manufacturer's have incorporated a sophisticated TTL (through the lens) wireless system that is signaled and triggered through a series of short pre-flash bursts and/or IR using compatible and equipped cameras/speedlights.
- Radio Frequency: These offer the greatest dexterity and range depending on the unit and price point. Some of the newer units have even incorporated TTL functionality, translating it from the camera into it's own signal and transmitting it out to a receiver. Transmitter/Receivers such as Pocket Wizards, Radio Poppers, MicroSyncs, Skyports, and Cactus Triggers are the more well known units currently out in the market.
Nikon folks, you simply need to set your Nikon Speedlight (SB-600, SB-800, or SB-900) into "remote" mode and use either the on camera flash, an SB-800/900, or SU-800 as the "commander". Once you're set to those modes, you can configure which channels and groups you will be using to trigger the strobes. Channels can be considered different "lines" or "workspaces" keeping Nikon shooters from triggering each other's speedlights. Very handy when you're shooting your kids events and there are other photographers using the CLS system. Groups are the different grouping assignments you issue to each speedlight. CLS allows for up to three groups (A,B, and C) and almost limitless numbers of flashes to each group (check out this clip of Joe McNally working in the dubai with an insane cluster of SB-800's to overpower the desert sun - drools) to give you an idea of working with groups and the number of flashes you can assign to each group.
Slave shooters (not the ones from Lincoln's era), set your flash units as a slave (or SU-4 mode if you've got a Nikon speedlight with the built in optical slave). Once in slave/su-4 mode, the speedlight will trigger the moment it detects another strobe is firing. So you can use your on-camera flash, or another strobe to trigger it. It's a great way of saving some coin by not having to purchase another wireless receiver unit to trigger the light. What if your speedlights aren't equipped with this feature? You can purchase a wein optical slave hot shoe mount. It's basically a hot shoe mount with an optical slave unit that will trigger your flash. These units can be found for $30-40 dollars. Not worth it IMO since you can pickup a used SB-28dx or SB-80dx for ~100-150 that has the slave feature already incorporated. The downside? If anyone around you is using their flash, it WILL trigger your slave units as well. Therefore killing your batteries quicker and putting unnecessary strain on your flash head.
Using RF triggers... these by far have the largest variance in range and cost. You can find some on ebay that will run approximately $40 dollars for both transmitter/receivers or you can find some transmitter/receiver units for $200 for each (that's $200 for the transmitter and $200 for a receiver). The difference? ... coverage and reliability. The $200/piece PocketWizards have a 1600 ft range and are consistent. You won't be worrying about being out of range or your strobes not firing. Additionally you can use the Pocket Wizards to remotely trigger your camera, not just your flash. Very useful for those multiple angle camera setups (think sporting event photographers).
So which one is best? ... it depends, they all have their strong points and weaknesses contingent to your shooting approach. Here are the pro's/con's for each:
Remote Slaves - Pro: Cost Effective. Con: Not isolated/controlled (can be triggered by anyone)
CLS/eTTL - Pro: Sophisticated TTL and already built-in. Con: Limited to line of sight for the pre-flash and IR signals
RF - Pro: Coverage Area. Con: Pricey (must purchase a receivers for each light)
What do I use? I use all three. When I'm in the studio, i can use my SB-80dx's as slaves since I don't have to worry about other photographers triggering my flashes. I also use CLS when I'm shooting on the fly and want the camera to do the calculations for me to get me to that proper exposure when I don't have time to get to each light and tweak with the adjustments. RF when I'm working with speedlights that don't support CLS, or when I'm going into full manual mode for everything.
Lately, I'm shooting with CLS more often with the SU-800 as a commander unit allowing me to quickly adjust the flash compensation values for each group as well as providing IR focus assist and not using pre-flashes (great for when you're working with blinkers).
More info on shooting with the SU-800 to follow...
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