The road to nirvana

My journey into Photography, Horology, and Audiophilia


Lighting

I believe that lighting is one of the biggest factors in taking that winning shot when it comes to photography. Having said that, what are the options available to hobbyists, when it comes to lighting?

The current generation Nikon DSLRs make use of what is known as Creative Lighting System, which is based on infra-red technology. Since my D40 cannot function as a commander and I'm not ready to spend money on the SB-800, so I looked for alternatives.

Professional quality strobe kits such as the Visatec/Broncolor will cost somewhere like P70,000 and this is also something I'm not ready to go into. Instead, I'm venturing on cheap alternatives based on the wireless triggers sold by Gadget Infinity. These are RF based and I read about the inconsistencies triggering the slaves, but I gave it a shot.

RF-based wireless flash triggers

I purchased a set, consisting of a transmitter and receiver, plus an extra receiver. I've read about them of having cheap build quality, and they are. The units are made of molded plastic with decent PCB and electronics inside.

The L-bracket on my units are made of plastic and this is something that may break with prolonged, heavy usage. The supplied short cables will allow me to connect the PT-04 with the flash without using the hotshoe, and I find this feature adds flexibility with the setup.

Wireless trigger kit PT-04 receiver internal
Wireless trigger kit and extra receiver PT-04 receiver internal 
RF-04 and SB-28 RF-04 PCB 
PT-04 with SB-28 attached to tripod RF-04 transmitter internal