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Pixel King flash triggers - mini review
divamum
Registered Users Posts: 9,021 Major grins
As mentioned in this thread, I finally went ahead and purchased a set of these - 1x transmiter, 1x receiver .
Packaging: The units come in a very nice padded nylon case, similar to the cases that come with recent Canon flashes. Space for both units, plus two included cables as well as a mini-usb>usb. It also comes with a little universal flash stand (like the ones that come with Canon flashes); it has both a screw-hole in the bottom and a male hotshoe fitting (so I guess you could attach it to a stand either way?)
Build quality: Plastic doesn't feel as sturdy as OEM flash units, but doesn't actually feel flimsy. The bottom of the hotshoe is metal. The locking ring feels like the cheapest plastic of the entire unit and probably the weakest link; the housing is not noticeably different from other 3rd-party flashes. Early users reported battery-door issues - the units I received are perfectly tight and secure, so I think that's something that is no longer a problem.
Batteries: Takes 2x AA. I'm using eneloops and they're fine. NB: The batteries go in opposite directions as pairs. I sat here for 5 minutes wondering if I had a DOA before I thought about trying to reverse one of the cells - the confusion is that the contacts are in the housing the same way (as opposed to spring being always at the "-" end).
Ease of use: I put the batteries in both units, made sure they were on matching channelsL, set the flash in one room and walked to the other end of the house (with closed doors in between) and took a shot. The flash fired, no problem. I guess I was about 30ft away - may not be enough for some folks, but is more than adequate for my usual needs!
ETTL: Haven't had a chance to play with it to check exposure accuracy using ETTL and FEC etc, but from the limited amount I did, it works absolutely fine. I'll have a chance to do a bit more with it in the next few days (and will amend this review accordingly if necessary)
- Yes, you have FEC and FEB control from the camera (it's in the "external flash" menu). For me, the ability to change the power from the camera via FEC is hugely helpful.
- No, you can't set flash groups to different power levels unless you go to manual mode, ie there is no ability to adjust ratios between flashes. This is a bummer, but not insurmountable for me (ymmv). Also, you can avoid this problem by going full manual, where you can adjust power on the flash units themselves as per any other manual trigger set.
- yes it can do HSS
- yes it can do second-curtain
Manual: if you have "II" model flashes, then you can adjust power from the camera IN MANUAL. I do not have model II flashes so this is a feature I can't use, but for those who have those units that's a wonderful bonus. Model II flashes are not "required", they simply offer the added convenience; if you are in manual, you can of course adjust the power on the flash units as you would with any other trigger.
For just over $100 WITH the ability to use ETTL, I think this is a great set of triggers. I'm already kicking myself for only getting one trigger/receiver; I'm already regretting that decision! I did it because I just wasn't sure they would be what I would need and didn't want to get lumbered with multiple receiver units I wouldn't use; it will cost me more to buy a 2nd one a la carte than it would have as part of a set, but such is life - my penny-wise-pound-foolish mistake on this occasion (and there will be no cost-savings in paying to return this one to re-buy the 2-rcvr set)!
NB: I will come back and amend this review as needed, ie as I use the flashes and discover any other useful features/problems that I find with real-life use.
ETA: For those who want a more in-depth review, somebody (not me) wrote one up here
Packaging: The units come in a very nice padded nylon case, similar to the cases that come with recent Canon flashes. Space for both units, plus two included cables as well as a mini-usb>usb. It also comes with a little universal flash stand (like the ones that come with Canon flashes); it has both a screw-hole in the bottom and a male hotshoe fitting (so I guess you could attach it to a stand either way?)
Build quality: Plastic doesn't feel as sturdy as OEM flash units, but doesn't actually feel flimsy. The bottom of the hotshoe is metal. The locking ring feels like the cheapest plastic of the entire unit and probably the weakest link; the housing is not noticeably different from other 3rd-party flashes. Early users reported battery-door issues - the units I received are perfectly tight and secure, so I think that's something that is no longer a problem.
Batteries: Takes 2x AA. I'm using eneloops and they're fine. NB: The batteries go in opposite directions as pairs. I sat here for 5 minutes wondering if I had a DOA before I thought about trying to reverse one of the cells - the confusion is that the contacts are in the housing the same way (as opposed to spring being always at the "-" end).
Ease of use: I put the batteries in both units, made sure they were on matching channelsL, set the flash in one room and walked to the other end of the house (with closed doors in between) and took a shot. The flash fired, no problem. I guess I was about 30ft away - may not be enough for some folks, but is more than adequate for my usual needs!
ETTL: Haven't had a chance to play with it to check exposure accuracy using ETTL and FEC etc, but from the limited amount I did, it works absolutely fine. I'll have a chance to do a bit more with it in the next few days (and will amend this review accordingly if necessary)
- Yes, you have FEC and FEB control from the camera (it's in the "external flash" menu). For me, the ability to change the power from the camera via FEC is hugely helpful.
- No, you can't set flash groups to different power levels unless you go to manual mode, ie there is no ability to adjust ratios between flashes. This is a bummer, but not insurmountable for me (ymmv). Also, you can avoid this problem by going full manual, where you can adjust power on the flash units themselves as per any other manual trigger set.
- yes it can do HSS
- yes it can do second-curtain
Manual: if you have "II" model flashes, then you can adjust power from the camera IN MANUAL. I do not have model II flashes so this is a feature I can't use, but for those who have those units that's a wonderful bonus. Model II flashes are not "required", they simply offer the added convenience; if you are in manual, you can of course adjust the power on the flash units as you would with any other trigger.
For just over $100 WITH the ability to use ETTL, I think this is a great set of triggers. I'm already kicking myself for only getting one trigger/receiver; I'm already regretting that decision! I did it because I just wasn't sure they would be what I would need and didn't want to get lumbered with multiple receiver units I wouldn't use; it will cost me more to buy a 2nd one a la carte than it would have as part of a set, but such is life - my penny-wise-pound-foolish mistake on this occasion (and there will be no cost-savings in paying to return this one to re-buy the 2-rcvr set)!
NB: I will come back and amend this review as needed, ie as I use the flashes and discover any other useful features/problems that I find with real-life use.
ETA: For those who want a more in-depth review, somebody (not me) wrote one up here
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Tom
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
Yup. Very annoyed I hesitated and bought the 1+1 set ($108) instead of the 1+2 ($176). I've now just ordered a 2nd trigger for $80, so it's going to cost me more in the long run. Penny wise and pound foolish on this occasion! At some point I'll need a 3rd, but it won't be useful until I have a 3rd manual flash so I can set power indepndently (2 of my flashes run in manual, but the third, a 420ex, is ETTL only). My STE2 works great for me indoors so I don't think this is a big deal, but I reckon I should have 2x radio triggers for outside - was really dumb not to just buy them at the same time!!
Same here! That is a biggie??
I suggest comparing to a Canon 580EX AF Assist light, for example.
If you use a darkened room with light colored walls, and stand 3-5 feet from the wall with the flash on a camera body and with a lens on the camera, half-depress the shutter button and note the color and pattern on the wall.
With the Canon 580EX series flashes the pattern should be red and relatively tall in size. A Canon 4xxEX series flash produces a red pattern that is less tall. The ideal is a red pattern, tall and wide enough to hit many of the autofocus sensor positions of the host camera.
I have read that the AF Assist light of the Pixel King transmitter is not a projected pattern and that it is a white light. This is reminiscent of early on-camera AF Assist lights. While it will improve autofocus at close proximity to the camera, it generally is much less effective at any distance and human subjects may react negatively to the white light. If this is the case, I suggest using at least a red filter over the AF Assist light when shooting human subjects.
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
I also just ran through some test shots using HSS (works perfectly) and FEC (works perfectly). I hid the flash in some bushes with all line of sight completely blocked and it fired the 580ex every time, with my FEC adjustments clearly visible.
The PK's are an excellent budget product; obviously, I have no idea how they'll be over the longer term (which is usually where the problem lies with this kind of cheaper imported product), but out of the box they're certainly delivering. I don't think they are ever going to fully replace PW's for heavy professional use, but at their significantly lower price point (and without the RF issues which have plagued pw+580ex's) and WITH what seems to be easily useable ETTL, they're a great addition to the bag for anybody who doesn't have to pound them day after day in rough environments.
They Sound like a really good bargain! Thanks for continuing the updates!
That's very good news for a couple of reasons:
2) A red LED is much more efficient (potentially brighter) than a white LED with a red bezel.
Now, if they just had a projected pattern ... (or if someone does a DIY "improvement".)
Thanks for following through with these tests and offering your impressions.
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
Ziggy, I just compared the PK af assist light and the 580ex. The 580 ex looks like red vertical lines; the PK is just a circle the shape of the light (although it's brighter in the center sort of like a center and concentric rings, so there is some contrast).
Presumably it would be fairly easy to make a gobo to diffuse the light into a contrast pattern like the OEM flashes?
Tom, I can try the window+inside/outside, but I'm pretty confident they'll work - so far, they've triggered reliably no matter where I put them. I believe the range is supposed to be 100ft - I haven't tried them that far away (more like 30-50ft), but so far they've handled everything I threw at them. More to come in "real world" use on Tuesday; I'll update again if anything to add
No worries. I only asked because you mentioned hiding them in a bush with no line of sight. I just think it helps others to understand that they actually fire from indoor-to-outdoors (Which also happens to be how I use triggers lately). Enjoy~
It is never to late to become what you might have been.
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For the price, these are an excellent addition. It was AWESOME not to have to keep changing the flash around so it could "see" the STE2, and also to be able to shoot from places where line of sight would have been impossible *while still being able to adjust flash intensity from the camera*. In other words, they do exactly what I need and what I had hoped they would do
I really couldn't be more pleased with these little triggers. I certainly can't complain about the results the STE2+flashes have given me, but the FREEDOM of radio triggers is really an eye-opener. I can do pretty much *anything* without having to think about it and (other than the above-mentioned low-battery exposure "whoopsies") they have nailed it every time. Really a great investment.
This was all with my 580ex, btw. Now just have to get another flash since my 430ex died this week (unrelated to the PK's - I didn't even get a chance to try it with them since it was dead when I switched it on :cry). The 430exII has a rebate at the moment and I'm thinking I may just get it. That will also give me the remote-adjustment feature in manual, so maybe it's an ill-wind? ~tries to justify more money~
Bye that 430ex II!!!
Maybe I should write a similar review of those.
@Molotov - yeah, I considered the Odins. They were, in fact the first ettl option I consisdered. I read plenty of good reviews of the Phottix product, but In the end, I decided to give the PK's a try because they're ~1/3 the price. I knew they wouldn't do ratios in ettl, but that wasn't dealbreaker for me (especially as they can do ratios in manual mode). In the kinds of places I need radio triggers to solve line-of-sight issues with the STE2 trigger and IR communication, I typically don't need multiple flashes or subtle adjustment between flashes; that's more something I need when I'm shooting studio-style indoors, at which point line-of-sight is pretty easy to maintain and I can use the IR system of my Canon set-up as needed.