[ Review ] Cactus V5 wireless triggers

I’m gonna start out by saying if you want the best wireless triggers on the market then Pocket Wizards are the way to go (the manual ones, anyway… implementation of their TTL triggers has been a little rocky). The Pocket Wizard Plus II units are extremely solid and used heavily by professionals all over the world.

The only downside I’ve ever found with the PWs is price. Although the price has recently been slashed with the announcement of the new Plus III triggers, a single Plus II will still set you back about 180 USD. Bearing in mind that you need one for the camera and one for each light you want to fire, that cost adds up quickly.

Last year I had banned myself from buying any new gear unless it was completely necessary. My method of triggering flash (even when shooting them manually) was to use Canon’s proprietary infrared wireless setup. Indoors this works OK, but outdoors it’s pretty much useless. There were a few shoots where I would have loved to get more creative with my lights but the limitations of the IR system simply wouldn’t allow it, even with a bunch of ‘workarounds’. So, radio triggers were required.

Pocket wizard investment for the number of lights I have would have set me back about €800, which was a pretty steep bill considering the self-imposed gear ban. So, after a little research, I decided to try out a couple of sets of Cactus V5’s from www.gadgetinfinity.com

The total cost including delivery, taxes and some extra sync cables was under €150. For such a significant saving you’d expect equally significant drawbacks, but I’ve yet to find them.

Pros

• Units are ‘transceivers’, so they can be set to transmit or receive the wireless signal
• Hotshoe mount built in, so you can place a speedlite right into the trigger without using any sync cables
• Units can be used as a wireless cable release for the camera (requires an additional €4 cable)
• Wireless range is far longer than I’ve ever needed to go. The system does not rely on ‘line-of-sight’ to fire, so lights can be placed outside, in different rooms/buildings and still fire reliably 
• Units run on standard AAA batteries. They’re pretty easy on the batteries too, I use mine a lot and they only require charging every couple of months
• 9 wireless channels to choose from 
• Did I mention they’re cheap??

Cons

• The location of the battery compartment is poorly placed, and tends to open when you place the triggers in a hotshoe
• The build quality (obviously) isn’t as nice as a pocket wizard product
• They’re not compatible with other cactus triggers. On the other hand all Pocket Wizards are compatible with one another 

The bottom line here is that in roughly a year’s use these little puppies have never failed me. Ever. Not so much as 1 non-firing frame!

Highly Recommended if on a budget!

More coming soon…

Quick Review | Canon 85mm f/1.8

Since getting to use a Canon 200mm f/2 L a couple of years ago it’s had a place near the very top of my ‘wish list’. I thought it would make a great lens for specific types of portraits, and in terms of the optical quality and characteristics of the lens I was correct. However, there’s a serious flaw; I stood in front of one recently for the first time and immediately felt uneasy, it was like being under a microscope.

When I photograph people I want them to be as relaxed as possible. I don’t think that’s easily achievable if the subject(s) feel that any insecurity they have is being magnified and recorded. There’s also the issue that I wouldn’t have much change from $8000, which I simply can’t afford yet. 

To a lesser degree my 70-200mm f/2.8 suffers the same problem… while the optics are excellent it’s not very discreet, and is pretty intimidating to someone uneasy about being in front of a camera. So I’m currently looking at an alternative portrait lens to add to the wish list. It’s got to be a prime (non-zoom) in order to be compact at the desired focal length (between 80 and 150mm) with maximum control over depth-of-field. 

The lenses I’m going to test for the role are, in order of preference:

• Canon 85mm f/1.2 L
• Canon 135mm f/2 L
• Canon 85mm f/1.8
• Canon 100mm f/2 

To kick things off I was able to get a 1-day loan of the 85mm f/1.8. Because of the huge difference in price between the f/1.8 and f/1.2 lenses, I was expecting to find some major flaws… however I was pleasantly surprised.

With my 5D I shot some quick lit portraits and brought the lens for a trip to the Calgary Farmers Market. Here’s the summary:

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Review | Making Light 2

Making Light 2 is the second part in a two-part e-book series from Piet Van Den Eynde exploring the world of off-camera flash. As you’d expect Piet picks up right where he left-off in Part 1 (the review for which is here). The e-book explores the more advanced side of off-camera lighting.

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[ Image Intermission ]

The First Dance

More coming soon…

Review | Making Light

Updated on Friday, August 19, 2011 at 3:26AM by Daithí

A new title from Craft & Vision was released yesterday: Making Light - An Introduction to Off-Camera Flash by Piet Van Den Eynde. I’m a little late to the party with this review, but it’s been a hectic week.

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The Photo Guestbook

Updated on Monday, September 12, 2011 at 8:20PM by Daithí

A couple weeks ago I was commissioned to photograph a wedding reception as a gift for the Bride and Groom (Yvonne & David). As an alternative to standard prints I suggested what I’m now calling a ‘Photo Guest Book’. I’m not entirely sure where I got the idea from, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before. It consists of photographing each guest (mostly couples) after they write a note to the happy couple. The notes then get scanned and compiled with the processed images, with the final output being a bespoke book.

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