Phottix Cleon / Plato

[Sillumjai]

I've recently traded up my D80 for a D300 and have noticed that my wireless remote cannot be used on the d300 since it does not have a IF receiver.

I've been looking at a Phottix remotes on ebay, but cannot find the Plato N8. The one that HKSupplies sells on ebay for the d300 looks to be a Cleon.

Firstly, do they make a Plato for a N8, and where can i obtain one? Seems I do not have enough posts to purchase via the forums.

[aim54x]

HI mate,

I have a a Cleon knockoff (courtesy of my uncle from HK) and it is a pleasure to use and the Cleon is a good choice for a remote, but the Plato appears to have extended functionality so I would not rule that one out yet, it may be out of stock or it may have a different coding system for the plugs, as this has changed before.

I own a Phottix N1, and a Phottix TR-80 as well so I can vouch for the good build on their products, and the change in the coding system (yep that N1 is 10-pin D300 compatible).

As for buying, I wouldnt be shy to purchase off ebay, but if you wait until you have access to forum buying you will be able to get better pricing.

[gstark]

As for buying, I wouldnt be shy to purchase off ebay, but if you wait until you have access to forum buying you will be able to get better pricing.

And don't overlook the facts that (a) HKS has some new stuff just coming to market (b) all of which Poon is bringing with him for PMA at the end of this month.

[aim54x]

And don't overlook the facts that (a) HKS has some new stuff just coming to market (b) all of which Poon is bringing with him for PMA at the end of this month.

Thanks for that reminder! I dont need any more remotes (3 is enough i think!) but I am always interested in new gear. I have told my boss to have a look out for poon in case he wants to import some products for himself and his family group (they own a few camera places in sydney).

I look forward to meeting poon myself!! It will be great to put a face behind the name.

[gstark]

but I am always interested in new gear.

Poon will certainly have some interesting toys for all of us to play with.

I have told my boss to have a look out for poon in case he wants to import some products for himself and his family group (they own a few camera places in sydney).

And this is exactly the sort of contact that Poon is hoping to establish on this visit. I am not a retailer or product distributor, and it's not a line of business that I have any interest in developing, in terms of my personal efforts. I am perfectly happy to help make introductions and help others in this realm.

I look forward to meeting poon myself!! It will be great to put a face behind the name.

And he is truly looking forward to meeting as many forum members as he can. You - our members - are a large part of his decision to come on this trip.

[gummi]

Woot, can't wait to meet Poon and see all his new toys either!

Sillumjai, I ordered the Plato from HKsupplies on ebay (Etefore is their username i think - could someone confirm?) about a week ago, i got an email that it had been shipped a coupla days ago as well. Can let you know how it all works out if you like. Was eyeing the Mega Cleon for a while but the Plato came out and as Cameron said it seems to have a greater feature set, not to mention looking alot better.

Just do a search for "Plato N8" for the D300 if you can't wait!

[ATJ]

I am not a retailer or product distributor, and it's not a line of business that I have any interest in developing, in terms of my personal efforts.

And we all thought you ran D-D-Photographics.

[gstark]

(Etefore is their username i think - could someone confirm?)

That is correct.

I am not a retailer or product distributor, and it's not a line of business that I have any interest in developing, in terms of my personal efforts.

And we all thought you ran D-D-Photographics.

Yeah, I know.

Actually, tonight I'm coaching the winning team.

[tntman]

Just a quick question, can someone confirm the range of these units???I think these units will be useful for shooting baby pics! you can concentrate on getting the babies to smile and laugh.. and u can click away!!!!

Next is the flash triggers for me.........

[aim54x]

THese units have good range, 40m+ would be a conservative guess

[gummi]

Specs on the packaging for the previous version (The Cleon II) says that the range unobstructed is 100m:
http://martybugs.net/blog/blog.cgi/gear ... emote.html

This fellow is reviewing the Plato N8 - he takes a picture of himself at 800 ft away! (about 270m)
http://jarredsutton.com/blog/2009/05/22 ... ny-10-pin/

So I think for most ppl the range is more than sufficient!

[gummi]

Sillumaj,

I got my Plato today in the post. It works almost perfectly although unexpectedly in some ways - the manual isn't comprehensive enough but once you play with it, it makes sense and for the price is spectacular as a remote compared to the Nikon offering.

The only place where it didn't work perfectly was in continuous mode, instead of the shutter firing 5 times (once every second), it would fire once and then focus the other 4 times (like pressing half shutter to focus). I thought it was my lens but i test a coupla different ones to be sure, changed shooting modes and it was the same. The two ways around it was to set the focus mode to "c" (continuous) or "m" (manual) on your camera body. On "s" it would produce the above behaviour. The other way of course is to set your lens to manual focus as well.

Other than that, it does what I want anyway so very satisfied and a fan of HKsupplies' products now. It was really nicely packaged & actually comes with the 4AAA batteries you need. from me!


Check out this review for detailed information on how it works:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lE1Ov5z_19Y&fmt=18

Also a tip: order it based on the US pricing - its $45USD, based on the current exchange rate i think it's about $56AUD. The AUD buy-it-now price on ebay was almost $80.

[gstark]

The only place where it didn't work perfectly was in continuous mode,

The two ways around it was to set the focus mode to "c" (continuous) or "m" (manual) on your camera body. On "s" it would produce the above behaviour.

On "s" mode, the camera has been set to take just one photo at a time; this sounds like expected behaviour to me, and I'm curious as to why you'd expect a remote to override the explicit (single mode) settings on your camera?

Also a tip: order it based on the US pricing - its $45USD, based on the current exchange rate i think it's about $56AUD. The AUD buy-it-now price on ebay was almost $80.

Good idea. Or for those with forum access .... I'm sure the price would be even cheaper.

[gummi]

The only place where it didn't work perfectly was in continuous mode,

The two ways around it was to set the focus mode to "c" (continuous) or "m" (manual) on your camera body. On "s" it would produce the above behaviour.

On "s" mode, the camera has been set to take just one photo at a time; this sounds like expected behaviour to me, and I'm curious as to why you'd expect a remote to override the explicit (single mode) settings on your camera?
)

Guessing you mean "s" mode on the servo dial at the top of the camera Gary? I meant "s" mode on the focus selector at the front- as in M-S-C. I was thinking in "s" mode it would lock focus once and then simply just take the pictures on the subsequent shutter releases. However it takes the first picture once and then I just get the "beeps" that sound when focus is set. When I move the focus selector to "c"-continuous or "m"-manual mode it works great. I shoulda been clearer which setting I meant - forgot that there are 2 "S" settings

[gstark]

I meant "s" mode on the focus selector at the front- as in M-S-C.

Hi Val,

Let's take the trigger out of the equation for a moment, and get back to some basics for this.

When you use that switch, what is the behaviour of the camera with, say, a kit lens fitted, within each of those settings? This will refresh my memory too, btw, and the manuals I have for the cameras are on a different HDD so I can't easily look at them for reference.

In M Mode?

In S Mode?

In C Mode?

[aim54x]

In M Mode?

manual focus

In S Mode?

Single servo autofocus - focuses and locks once when either the shutter release of the AF-ON button is pressed

In C Mode?

Continuous servo autofocus - focus is adjusted continually whilst the either the shutter release or AF-ON is depressed to allow focus to be retained for moving objects or if the camera is moved prior(this is where the 3D tracking happens in the D300 and friends). This is when the AF indicator in your viewfinder dances around!!

Hope this helps PS I keep my camera in AF-S (Single Servo) most of the time

[gummi]

In M Mode?

manual focus

In S Mode?

Single servo autofocus - focuses and locks once when either the shutter release of the AF-ON button is pressed

In C Mode?

Continuous servo autofocus - focus is adjusted continually whilst the either the shutter release or AF-ON is depressed to allow focus to be retained for moving objects or if the camera is moved prior(this is where the 3D tracking happens in the D300 and friends). This is when the AF indicator in your viewfinder dances around!!

Hope this helps PS I keep my camera in AF-S (Single Servo) most of the time

Hi Gary, Cameron's beat me to it and answered the questions (prob better than i could have too - thanks Cameron!). I also like my focus mode in C most of the time. The single-servo I find useful in lower light when I need to be surer of the focus point and the subject isn't moving much. I'm not too good at manual focus - although it has been useful - guess its something else I need to develop, and I've heard about those Katz-eye screens but that might be a discussion for another topic.

[gstark]

In M Mode?

manual focus

In S Mode?

Single servo autofocus - focuses and locks once when either the shutter release of the AF-ON button is pressed

In C Mode?

Continuous servo autofocus - focus is adjusted continually whilst the either the shutter release or AF-ON is depressed to allow focus to be retained for moving objects or if the camera is moved prior(this is where the 3D tracking happens in the D300 and friends). This is when the AF indicator in your viewfinder dances around!!

Hope this helps PS I keep my camera in AF-S (Single Servo) most of the time

Hi Gary, Cameron's beat me to it and answered the questions (prob better than i could have too - thanks Cameron!). I also like my focus mode in C most of the time. The single-servo I find useful in lower light when I need to be surer of the focus point and the subject isn't moving much. I'm not too good at manual focus - although it has been useful - guess its something else I need to develop, and I've heard about those Katz-eye screens but that might be a discussion for another topic.

Ok, great. And thanx, Cameron.

Now, the next question is whether that standard behaviour is observed - or modified - while you're using the remote.

From your earlier post, my interpretation is that the standard behaviour has been observed. Or have I misread your post?

If the behaviour does change solely through the addition of the remote, than I would say that there might be an issue. But (if my interpretation is correct) I suspect that the behaviour may be consistent, and what we're actually seeing is that we are all (collectively) learning something of the camera's behaviour here.