RF Remote Flash Control

<p>How can I control the manual power output of my off-camera SB-600, SB-800 or SB-900 using RF?</p>

<p>I'm currently using the pop-up flash on my D700 in commander mode. It has all the functionality I need, except it relies on light (RF?) to communicate. This limits where I can place the remote flash. It also seems to be fickle depending on brightness of ambient light and where reflective surfaces are.</p>

<p>Here's what I want to do. D700 on tripod. Three SB-600's placed around the scene. SB-600's in remote mode, manual output mode. From my location at the camera, I want to control the SB-600s' output manually. No cables, no light communication (IR or visible), no walking to flash. It doesn't matter if I have to use the camera menu or an external device.</p>

<p>I don't need any automatic metering--neither from the camera nor any of the flashes. Everything in manual mode.</p>

<p>As far as I can tell, there are several solutions that act exclusively as triggers, but none that allow control. I see that PocketWizard has been working a Nikon solution for a long time, but it looks like this is a fancy solution with broad iTTL functionality. I'm not sure if that's what I need, since I don't care about metering and automatic anything.</p>

<p>These devices seem to be gaining in popularity<br>

for longer range applications:<br>

<a href="http://www.radiopopper.com/">http://www.radiopopper.com/</a><br>

Gabe</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Depending on how much money you have to spent. I use cheap Cactus V2s system, it works great for me up to 50 ft. I didnt really test it beyond that. Have a look at that. It will work great with either flash and your camera.</p>

<p>The best triggers for the money at the moment are probably the CyberSyncs. They will do what you want and a lot more.<br>

Kent in SD</p>

<p>Kent, the Cybersync only triggers Nikon speedlights. The output can not be remotely set. This limitation also applies to the Cactus system.</p>

<p>For for full radio control of Nikon Speedlights, the only option right now seems to be the Radio Poppers. PocketWizard has something for Canon speedlights but they haven't begun selling the Nikon version yet.</p>

<p>The Cactus system has an attractive but their range isn't much better than using Nikon's native system. You get what you pay for.</p>

 

<p>Thanks for the helpful suggestions. I bought the radiopopper JrX studio kit and RPcube. It's exactly what I was looking for. I haven't done any more than shoot a few test shots, but it definitely passed the initial test with flying colors.<br>

In case anyone wants a bit of info on my setup...<br>

I have a D700 with an SB-600. And now I have the radiopopper JrX transmitter and JrX studio receiver. (I believe the non-studio receiver does work as a remote trigger doesn't allow power adjustment of the remote flash from the central location--which eliminates its primary distinguishing feature in my perspective.)<br>

Mount the transmitter on my camera hot-shoe. No cables. No menu systems on the transceiver. No use of your camera's menu system. Just three simple dials to control the power of three groups of remote flashes. Ahhh, so simple. Brilliant.<br>

Mount the RPcube on the bottom of the flash (like it's a hot shoe), and plug the receiver into the RPcube. Just turn the flash on in TTL mode.<br>

You're ready to shoot. Take a pic and the remote flash fires. Adjust the power output of the remote flash just by rotating a dial on the transmitter on the top of my camera. I can make a meaningful adjustment in less time than it takes for the flash to recycle--just a couple of second.<br>

Brilliant design.<br>

I can't speak for reliability or anything yet because I haven't had it long enough. I'm concerned that it might eat batteries. I believe the transmitter and receiver take CR123 batteries and I heard somewhere they might only last 40 hours. But that's a small concern in the grand scheme of things.<br>

Now I just need to find a cost effective powerful TTL flash. As weird as it sounds, even thought I'm all Nikon, it doesn't matter if the TTL flash is Nikon compatible or Canon compatible. Any recommendations are appreciated. No need for Nikon or Canon brand in this case. I won't be using any of the bells and whistles. Just consistent, reliable, powerful, quick TTL flashes. I suppose I'll start another thread for that. I can't seem to find what I'm looking for on photo.net or google.</p>