Sunday, 12 Apr 2009
Cactus V4, Outdoor Shoots, SU-4
This is a continuation of the SU-800 review and my discontent with the IR system that Nikon uses for remote triggering.
Let me get to the point. I know that David Hobby is big on buying SB-24’s in order to capitalize on the built in slave-mode (also known as SU-4 the “super-slave mode” for SB-800’s and SB-900’s) but in reality, it doesn’t work outdoors.
Neither the SU-800 nor the SB-800 in master mode, NOR any of the speedlights in SU-4 (slave mode) can deliver the type of consistent results that would be expected of these units. They are hit or miss and more often than not, they simply don’t trigger the remote flashes.
I have moved onto procuring an RF (radio frequency) solution for outdoor uses. While the SU-800 is still king in the studio with its ability to set each strobe’s power output and TTL flash exposure, it is simply useless outdoors.
My first foray into RF triggers is with the Cactus V4 made by Gadget Infinity. Just got them today in fact. Shipping was atrociously slow, but they finally arrived about a month after I ordered them. I got one trigger and one receiver. So far they work with my SB-600 all the time even behind closed doors and outdoors.
The problem is that I only bought one receiver. I originally thought I could use the slave modes on the SB-800 and the SB-26 to trigger the receiver. Unless the strobes are facing each other and with the absence of direct sunlight, they likely won’t trigger. So if you’re using some light modifier such as a softbox, umbrella, or anything that remotely blocks the sensor area on the front, or hell if the strobe is facing the wrong direction, it won’t fire.
I’ve had enough of IR technology. Lots of my pictures in New York that required more than 1 flash were a bust because the strobes wouldn’t fire consistently. I am anxiously awaiting the Nikon Pocket Wizard TT5 and TT1mini but don’t know if I can justify the cost. In the meantime I have ordered another 3 Cactus V4 receivers. Hopefully they arrive and all work. I have heard bad reviews on quality control on these units… however when they work, they apparently work rather well. I’ll need these for the outdoor shoots that I plan to be doing shortly.
Here’s the link to my NY trip set on flickr.
