Flash triggers are cactus.

[ozimax]

Further to this afternoon's other post, one of my 10 year old flash triggers is Cactus. Literally. Even though they're stored without batteries, it is completely corroded. IN any case, 10 years is a good time for something electronic, so I need to upgrade to a new set of triggers. Any suggestions (not Pocket Wizards) from the erstwhile photographic sages on DSLRusers?

Many thanks.

[Aussie Dave]

What flash units are you using and do you use them in manual only or do you need TTL?

I've been looking at the Yongnuo's and I'm about to pull the trigger on the YN560-TX commander (paired with a few YN560 IV flash units, which have built in wireless receivers).
These also work with either the RF602, 603 or newer 605 triggers and will work on any flash (for manual use).
They can also be used as a remote shutter release if connected to your camera's shutter port

The YN622n-TX is the Yongnuo equivalent with TTL ability and pair with the YN622n receivers to provide TTL off-camera flash.
The YN622n's can be used as a commander but aren't overly user-friendly in TX mode, hence the YN622n-TX which allows you to change power and zoom settings for each group etc and has a nice LCD screen.



YN560-TX is about $45
RF60x triggers are about $20-30 ea

YN622n-TX is also about $45
The YN622n's are $90 for a pair of 2
*All prices are from B&H in the US (in AUD).

The Phottix Odin units also get pretty good reviews, but are much more expensive (not quite as expensive as PocketWizards, but not far off.
I believe there is also a cheaper brand called Cactus (Ironic considering the title of your post), but not sure of their quality.

For the price I find it hard to go past the Yongnuo's personally.
If/when I start pulling consistent gigs and earning decent money then I might look to eventually upgrade to the Phottix Odin's, unless the Yongnuo's keep me more than happy.

Hope this helps. There are plenty of other brands but the popular choices of many on the net seem to be the PW's, Odin's, Cybersyncs (Paul C Buff) and the Yongnuos.

[ozimax]

What flash units are you using and do you use them in manual only or do you need TTL?

My cactus triggers are indeed Cactus brand and they've lasted well. I don't need TTL. I shall research the Yongnuo's and maybe head down that path. Thanks for the informative reply.

[Aussie Dave]

No worries mate.
And if you don't need a fancy controller you could simply buy some RF603's which have a TX and RX mode, so one will go on-camera and the other you would attach your flash to (or cable it to a studio light) and just adjust the power manually on the back of your lighting unit. At around $30 ea it would be a very cheap solution, which can also double as a remote shutter if you get the variant compatible with your brand of camera (the variations come with different sync cables relevant to the specific ports on the side of the camera).

If you do end up going down this road, make sure you get the RF603-II (which is version 2).
The first version had the ON/OFF switch on the top of the unit and from all reports it was a pain to turn on/off when you had a flash attached on top the trigger.
The version 2 model they re-designed and the power switch is now on the side.