Cheap Wireless Flash. Cactus V4 or RF-602 / Vivitar 285VH or Sunpak

[timswim78]

I want to start shooting with some off-camera flashes. This is a hobby, not a profession, so I want to keep things inexpensive. I will have people (friends and family) in front of the lens, so the equipment should be semi-reliable.

As far as manual flashes go, I have been looking at the Vivitar 285VH (and it current clone, which is made by Cactus) and some different Sunpak models. I have one TTL flash which can shoot in manual, and I want to purchase one or two manual flashes. Any thoughts on this? I read some reviews at Strobist, but I would to hear some user opinions...
http://strobist.blogspot.com/2009/03/manual-flashes-two-debuts-and-adoption.html

Rather than dealing with cords, I would like to have a wireless solution for firing the flashes. Since, I am not using TTL and am on a budget, I don't need/want AlienBees/Radiopoppers, etc. Currently, I have been looking at the Cactus V4 and the RF602 units that sell on ebay. Any thoughts on one of them over the other? I envision using the flashes on stands about 15 feet apart, triggered by a transmitter that plugs into the hotshoe on my Canon 40D (and maybe soon to be 50D).

I've got a family event, for which I could use some assistance with strobe planning. I'll post the details in another thread later.

 

[randomlinh]

i'd personally go w/ the lumo pro's or sunpak 383's if you can find them. the vivitars are nice, but i don't like hte odd/large head. and it doesn't swivel, but that's a moot point for off camera flash probably. the big thing for me is it was missing 1/8 power or something.. went from 1/4 to 1/16 i think.

I had some of the Cactus V4s, they worked ok. as long as you don't mind some miss fires and poor build quality, then you're good. I'd go w/ the mods to backpack AA's to the receivers (if the voltage is still right). I'm not sure if the current revision is any better, but I had to be really careful with how i angled the foot of the receivers.

 

[timswim78]

i'd personally go w/ the lumo pro's or sunpak 383's if you can find them. the vivitars are nice, but i don't like hte odd/large head. and it doesn't swivel, but that's a moot point for off camera flash probably. the big thing for me is it was missing 1/8 power or something.. went from 1/4 to 1/16 i think.

I had some of the Cactus V4s, they worked ok. as long as you don't mind some miss fires and poor build quality, then you're good. I'd go w/ the mods to backpack AA's to the receivers (if the voltage is still right). I'm not sure if the current revision is any better, but I had to be really careful with how i angled the foot of the receivers.

Thanks for the input. I read about the missing power step on the Vivitar, and that does bother me. I'm keeping my eyes out for manual flashes and will probably get the first cheap one that I spot.

Were you using Cactus V2 or V4? The V4 receivers use AAA batteries, and most reviews say that they seem to be built better than the V2 receivers.

 

[996GT2]

RF602s are much better than Cactus V4s. Not one misfire in my experience, plus they have the ability to wake flashes from sleep (a VERY useful feature if your flash goes to sleep after 90 sec or so as some modern units do)

 

[randomlinh]

Thanks for the input. I read about the missing power step on the Vivitar, and that does bother me. I'm keeping my eyes out for manual flashes and will probably get the first cheap one that I spot.

Were you using Cactus V2 or V4? The V4 receivers use AAA batteries, and most reviews say that they seem to be built better than the V2 receivers.

shoot, maybe it was the V2s... it's been a while. i didn't have misfires often, but it would happen. both when i needed it and didn't need it, heh.

if the lost power step doesn't bother you, then the vivitars will do just fine. if you go with a really old one, be careful on the voltages. won't matter off camera, but on camera could blow your cam.

 

[timswim78]

I think that I'll go with the RF602's. I am reading and see that the transmitter can be used as a wireless shutter release, which is one less piece of equipment to throw in the bag.

I found out about this cheap flash in a strobist article. $40? It must be of top-notch quality.... http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180476334664 edit: it seems like there is a "Mark II" of this flash that has pretty fast refresh times, better build quality, and is 1 stop more powerful, all for about $50.

BTW, funny how this is an all Maryland thread so far.

 

[996GT2]

BTW, funny how this is an all Maryland thread so far.

Indeed. AT Digital & Video Cameras forum needs to have a Maryland get-together at some point, lol

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

I have both the RF-602 and the 285HVs.

RF-602

Pros: Cheap, pretty reliable, compact, receiver body and transmitter body can take impacts well, batteries last a long time

Cons: Receiver wires break frequently because the area where the wire enters the receiver is very very weak. I've broken 3. There is no way to only order replacement wires. You have to order a whole new receiver to get the wires. The receivers ship from Hong Kong. Receiver feet are made from plastic and can crack if wind blows over your light stand with the receiver mounted to it.

285HV

Pros: cheap, powerful

Cons: refresh rate not that great, limited fine tuning of power output, batteries require a proprietary battery holder and if you lose one you have to go on eBay to buy a new one only to find out that the eBay one sucks and doesn't fit, feet are plastic and can crack easily, lens is too large to take Rosco Cinegel Swatchbook Filters: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...watchbook.html

 

[996GT2]

If you want a decent off-camera flash that does more than the 285HV, look for a Nikon SB-24, SB-25, SB-26, or SB-28. Price increases with the model number, but you should be able to find an SB-24 for ~$60-70 on eBay.

 

[pennylane]

I have V2's. Misfires happened basically when my flash went to standby. It took a shutter release to wake the flash back up, and then another shot and the flash would go off. That was the most common fire. It was rarer that the flash mis-fired when it wasn't in stand-by.

 

[angry hampster]

My RF602s stopped working after two weeks. After that I decided to go with something worth my money and bought some CyberSyncs.

 

[The Stigenator]

I just received a set of CTR301P from Ebay (4 receivers + 1 transmitter) for 53$. It works great now I need more flashes!