Nikon D300 wireless trigger (long range)

[tele_tele]

<p>Hi,<br>

I am photographing birds and some are especially shy and hide would be impractical. BUT I do know places (rocks, branches) they visit frequently if a human (with a tripod and long lens) is 40meters+ away. I already own MC-30 for quality tripod shots, but distance is sometimes still a bit too great and hide would be impractical or not allowed.</p>

<p>So I need some sort of wireless trigger in order to put tripod and lens lets say 20-30m away from bird place, set up camera/exposure, sit some 20-30m away with binoculars and wait to trigger the remote.</p>

<p>Can you recomend some products that work good and are reliable?</p>

<p>Thank you for your answers.</p>

<p> </p>

[don_cooper]

<p>Got 2 from the auction site that work great for less than $30. The claim is to 100 meters, I've only used them at about 150 ft. On the search bar try "Nikon wireless remote" and variations like "Nikon wireless shutter release". You'll find a lot to choose from, most all from China.</p>

[tele_tele]

<p>Well, I did some search, but market is great and quality ranges very much. I wanted to hear some 1st hand experiences with some really good specific products. I will this only once.</p>

[Charles_Webster]

<p>Pocket Wizards are the gold standard for remote flash/camera triggering. Not cheap but very reliable and totally professional.</p>

<p>The Ebay trigger I bought for $40 did not work out of the box and the seller would not replace it. Caveat Emptor.</p>

<p> </p>

[tele_tele]

<p>I had a look at pocket wizard Multimax, seems really profesional with tons of features, many of them i won't be using.</p>

<p>Is there a product similar to Multimax? I like the trigger confirmation feature though, I wonder if any other remote triggers out there have it?</p>

[mark_williamson6]

<p>Careful with the Pocket Wizards. I have read and heard some reviews that say that the distance claim is WAY short of reality. Take a look at the Pro Photo Show podcast site.<br>

Radio Poppers seem to get good reviews.<br>

I went to Samy's Camera in SoCal and they had a good radio remote control for about $100. The brand name is RPS Studio. Fits into the 10 pin connector of my D300. I've used it from 10-15 yard and it works great, but I don't know the actual longest range.<br>

Hope this helps.</p>

[jay_hector]

<p ><a href="../photodb/user?user_id=445831">Jay Hector</a> , Mar 19, 2007; 05:30 p.m.</p>

 

<p>Some other alternatives using Nikon MC adapters from 2 or 3-pin to 10-pin:<br>

Spiratone sold a small radio remote for 3-pin bodies (like the F2) in the late '70s/early '80s. I still have mine and with adapters works up to about 100yds on any current 10-pin body. It requires two pushes of the button, one to turn the metering/AF on, and one to fire the shutter. It's very light.<br>

Nikon MW-1: The big boy, aluminum cases and can fire off up to three bodies using MC-5 cables from the receiver to the cameras. Range up to 700 meters. You can find them on ebay for anywhere from 200-400 bucks. As with the Spiratone, it requires adapter MC cables for 10-pin use and requires two pushes to fire, the first to turn on metering/AF. I have one MW-1 set. Transmitter and receiver each require eight AA batteries.<br>

Nikon MW-2: The most recent radio remote from Nikon, plastic cases and only use four AA each for the transmitter and receiver. Slightly shorter range with the lower power, maybe 500 meters. Since this was designed for F3 and later cameras, it requires only one push of the button to fire, but it is stepped, so the half-push turns on metering/AF. This unit requires MC-18 cables and can fire up to three bodies also. I have two sets of MW-2s, and usually these go on ebay for up to 600 bucks. I bought an MW-2 transmitter off of ebay for ten bucks, and then two years later I got the receiver for fifty off of ebay. Not too bad for a total of sixty bucks (I did have to get a cable later which wasn't cheap, but kept the total under 100 bucks). The second set was an ebay as-is purchase from Adorama, where they said it didn't work, but it came with three sets of cables and the cases and looked perfect so I bid and got it for 157 bucks. When I got it I took apart the transmitter and cleaned the battery contacts and it worked perfectly to match the perfect looks of the set. I can fire six cameras at once using one transmitter with both receivers.<br>

Both the MW-1/MW-2 work great with my MT-1 intervalometer for unmanned time-lapse at a distance.<br>

You should also look at at the ML-1/ML-2 IR remotes.</p>

 

[kris-bochenek]

<p>I bought Cactus V2s not for birds but probably would work for you I also bought an antena for it and now the working distance (tested) 200 ft. Take a look at those you can get them from gadgetinfinity.com<br>

good luck</p>

[kris-bochenek]

<p>sorry I missread the OP's post I am talking about something totaly different.<br>

do apologize.</p>

[frank_skomial]

<p><a href="http://www.photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00TQqR">http://www.photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00TQqR</a></p>

 

[Ed_Ingold]

<p>Pocketwizards!</p>

<p>Everything else is a wannabee. Pocketwizard makes two type of adapters for 10-pin Nikon cameras. Get the one that lets the camera sleep until triggered - the camera battery will last much longer and you don't have to twiddle with the menu to override the sleep function.</p>

<p>I don't think Pocketwizard exaggerates anything. They work downtown Chicago within sight of the Sears Tower (with its multi-megatwatt transmitters), where your car remote won't work more than 6 inches from the antenna. I'm on my third set of batteries since 2002 (AA's, nothing exotic).</p>

[Two23]

<p>Here's exactly what you are looking for. Go to Paul Buff dot com and get a CyberSync trigger (CST) and a Cybersync receiver (CSRB), the battery powered one. Then, go to FlashZebra dot com and get a connecting cable. You plug the CSRB into the remote socket on your camera, and trigger the camera by hand using the CST. The cable the Pocket Wizard sells is the same thing. Range is about 100-150 yards. These are every bit as reliable as Pocket Wizard and cost less than $100 each piece. Might even have a package deal on a pair. This is what you are looking for. I trigger both my Nikon D80 and D300 with these, and also up to 14 flash. They work. They work very well.</p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

[Ed_Ingold]

<p>The Pocketwizard Multimax (or two) are good to have, but have many features you don't need, including many extra channels and variable delays. They were the first to act as either a transmitter or receiver. However, the plain-vanilla Pocketwizard II, with 4 channels and no options, is also dual-mode at a far lower price.</p>

<p>If your business and reputation are on the line, Pocketwizards are the only ones with a proven history of reliability under often adverse circumstances. That only matters to the two or three people who actually make money taking pictures of critters. As an hobbyist, the only thing you stand to lose from a cheap unit is your patience (and perhaps a couple wads of hair).</p>

[Two23]

<p>Edward--</p>

<p>PW might have been the only proven triggers at one time, but that's no longer true. Both Elinchrom Skyports and CyberSyncs are now proven to be totally reliable in daily use by pro's. They aren't "cheap" equipment like the e Bay triggers. I have 8 CyberSyncs and they have been absolutely flawless. Note that I am an outdoor photographer, and use the triggers in Minnesota winters when it's 30 below zero with no problems. Skyports are just as reliable, but won't trigger a Nikon camera.<br>

Kent in SD </p>

[wpahnelas]

<p>in the <$40 range, consider the YONGNUO WRS-N1. for casual use, i've found it works well. well made, ample range, simple to use. i've tested it on D300 and D700. supports AF and bulb mode. more details at their website, <a href="http://hkyongnuo.com">hkyongnuo.com</a>. </p>

[Ed_Ingold]

<p>The Alien Bee "Cybersync" operates at 2.4 GHz - the same as most wireless networking gear and telephones. That's probably not a big concern in the boondocks of Minnesota, but some of us work closer to civilization. Elinchrome doesn't publish the frequency on their website, however the "Skyports" use a built-in Li-Ion rechargible battery with a charge life of 30 days. That's one more thing to recharge the night before a job - unforgiving with something you might not use every day. Regular alkaline batteries hold their charge at least 20 times as long, and can be replaced in an instant.</p>

[Two23]

<p>OP wants to photo shy birds, which infers a less than urban location. At any rate, I have used the CyberSyncs in downtown Chicago (Loop Trains), congested suburbs of Kansas City, and most recently DisneyWorld FL. No problems. I use the non-rechargeable Energizer lithium AA batteries to deal with the 30 below temps in the CyberSyncs. Never had one die.<br>

Kent in SD</p>

[ken_yee]

The fleabay wireless shutter triggers actually have pretty good range, especially the Yongnuo ones w/ the long telescopic antenna. Only $30 or so...

[slopoki]

<p>For long range pocket wizards are hard to beat. If your looking for shorter range triggers, 100 meters, then Phottix Cleon makes a decent wireless for the price. 30. to 40.</p>

[jeff_dale]

<p>I picked up a pair of these awhile back. www.trlcam.com They work with a pair of two way radios and connect to my Rebel XSi. I normally use them at a range of about a half mile or less and they work great. A few weeks ago I decided to test them and see just how far they would reach. With a friend and a couple cell phones we were able to dependably trigger the camera at about two miles. After that I went down a hill and lost signal.</p>