I may need more gear. Or maybe not. But probably.  I’m definitely thinking about purchasing wireless triggers. When I started getting serious about photography a few years back, I couldn’t help myself. Every little light modifier, or eBay speedlight was MINE. I got my D3100, and 2 months later, I NEED THE D90!! For a few months, I was a regular on eBay, searching through a ton of Chinese auctions. Then one day, after reading an article on one of the countless photography sites, I had an epiphany. How about I learn to use the gear I have before I buy something I don’t really need. The sky opened up and Baby Jesus sang to me.

My point is, I only really buy gear these days if I need it. I’ve had my D90 for about a year, and don’t really see a need to upgrade it. It’s 5 years old now, but it gets the job done for me. I’ve actually learned how to use my current gear. But lately, I feel like there are a few things I can add to my bag, namely wireless triggers. I normally use my speedlights in SU4 mode, which means the off-camera flash looks for another flash, when it sees it, it triggers. This is a cheap, fairly reliable way to use off-camera flash. However there are a few drawbacks such as line of sight, the pop up flash showing up in pictures if I get in close, and the fact that when shooting outside there are times where the speedlight doesn’t see the pop up flash because of the brightness.  Continue below…

Here are the two options I’m looking to purchase:

 

Pocket Wizard X – These are new and a bare bones wireless trigger. You pop them in your camera or flash, and are good to go. The advantage of these is they are super reliable, have a very long-range, and Pocket Wizard has excellent customer support. The downside is that they have almost no options and they are pricey at 99$ for only 1 transceiver. If you are only using manual mode for off camera flash, having no options isn’t a problem. Many pros swear by PW’s, including the guru of off camera flash, David Hobby.

I have never owned wireless triggers,but it seems like Pocket Wizard is really making an effort to make these available to the masses, as their pro level models are about 3 times the price of these.

My second choice is the YN-622N trigger from a Chinese company that I’ve had good luck with in the past, Yongnuo. They have become pretty popular as of late, offering nice quality gear that is very inexpensive. I have their YN-468 II speedlight and absolutely love it. Although not out yet for Nikon, the YN-622N triggers are coming within a few months. I use manual mode almost all the time, but it’ll be nice to have the option to use TTL for the times I do want it. If they are anything like the Canon version, they also support High Speed Sync, which would be pretty amazing, since they are likely to sell for 99$ for 2 of them.

The downsides are they won’t have the range, customer service or quality of the Power Wizards. Once a few reviews are out on the YN’s, I’ll make my decision. If they are anything like the Canon versions though, Yongnuo all the way.