YongNuo RF-602 Wireless Flash Triggers
Since my Cactus V2s wireless flash triggers decided to stop cooperating with me earlier this month, I've been looking around for replacement triggers. I was quite set on the Phottix Atlas units, but they are relatively big and quite expensive, and no one has seemed to have tested them on the Pentax system, so I decided to hold off on them for now. The Phottix Strato 4-in-1 units also piqued my interest, but they haven't actually been released yet at the time of writing of this entry, and I wanted triggers now, so that didn't help. I've used the inbuilt Pentax wireless optical flash triggering system to help me cope for so far, but I really prefer wireless radio triggers, hence I was determined to get some. Looking around, the Yongnuo RF-602 wireless flash triggers seemed to be the best bet, although people seemed to have had problems getting it to sync with the camera at 1/180th. I was willing to take my chances.
I ordered a three receiver set with the Nikon transmitter and asked the seller to replaced the Nikon shutter release cord with the 2.5mm type that Pentax cameras use, and they were quite obliging. I placed my order and paid last Saturday, the item was posted off last Monday, and yesterday, on the following Monday, a delivery attempt was made but there was nobody home to receive and sign for the parcel. That meant I had to go to the post office this afternoon to get my triggers.
The box on the left contained a transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) set for Nikon, with the difference between the Nikon and Canon sets being the hotshoe connector on the TX; all RX units are the same. In that box was the TX, a CR2 battery for the TX, the RX, AAA batteries for the RX, a RX-to-flash cord terminating in a 3.5mm plug, a 3.5mm-6.35mm adapter and the instruction booklet. The green RX boxes contained the RX, AAA batteries for the RX, a RX-to-flash cord terminating in a 3.5mm plug and a 3.5mm-6.35mm adapter, while the final box contained just the cord, which plugs into the RX at one end and the camera's remote shutter release socket in the other.
The contents of the TX and RX set
Due to the reported sync issues with these triggers and the Pentax system, I did a few tests. Out of the box with these units:
- at 1/125th, I got full sync and 100% reliability.
- at 1/160th, I got a feather of the rear shutter curtain (image A, see below), and 100% reliability.
- at 1/180th, I got full sync, but only at about 60% success rate. The other 40% of the time, the RX are triggered and the flashes fire off, but there is a mis-sync. The flashes don't contribute to the exposure at all, and what I got was effectively a dark frame. However, the RX is triggered 100% of the time.
- at 1/180th, if I half-press and hold down on the TX button, and then take the shot, I got full sync and 100% reliability.
- also, I found that I had intermittent triggering of the flashes. It turned out that when the camera stopped metering, or if I turned the camera off, these two actions also triggered the RX units.
Image A:
Image B:
I decided to take apart the TX and remove one of pins, the only other pin apart from the ground and trigger that made any contact with the hot shoe contacts. I went and tested again, and with the removed pin:
- at 1/125th, I got full sync and 100% reliability.
- at 1/160th, I got a feather of the rear shutter curtain (image A), and 100% reliability.
- at 1/180th, I either got a feather of the rear shutter curtain (image A), or even a bit more of the rear shutter curtain (image B), but I also got 100% reliability.
- once again, at 180th, if I half-press and hold down on the TX button, and then take the shot, I got full sync and 100% reliability.
- I wasn't getting any more unwanted triggering of the RX units anymore.
It appears that what was happening was that the half-press signal of the TX unit needed to be triggered to tell the RX units to be ready, in order for me to get full sync at 1/180th. This half-press signal could be done though manually pressing the button on the TX, which is awkward, or through half-pressing the shutter button on the camera, which only works about 60% of the time since I suspect the pin I removed is shorting between the ground and digital signal on the Pentax hotshoe.
I have decided to leave the removed pin out, because without the pin, I don't get the unwanted triggering of the flashes. I can live with using a max speed of 1/160th without the pin because at least the results are consistent and I know that I'll consistently get a feather of the rear shutter curtain, meaning I can work around it. Of course, I would still love to be able to get my hands on the Phottix Atlas and Strato 4-in-1 units to test and see if they give me full sync at 1/180th, but for now, I guess the RF-602 units will suffice.
Some other things that I'd like to say about the RF-602 units are:
- I like how the RX takes AAA batteries, and I plan to use rechargeable AAA eneloops for them. I've also got a few of the CR2 batteries (some rechargeable) that the TX uses, so that's also quite nice.
- the units have a nice build, not rock solid, but much, much better than that of the V2s units.
- the blinking led to indicate the RX units are on is quite nice and useful.
- they've been very reliable, and even though they may not have synced properly in the original 1/180th shots, there was still 100% reliability when the TX signaled to the RX.
- the lower profile and design means it fits better on my lightstands.
I ordered a three receiver set with the Nikon transmitter and asked the seller to replaced the Nikon shutter release cord with the 2.5mm type that Pentax cameras use, and they were quite obliging. I placed my order and paid last Saturday, the item was posted off last Monday, and yesterday, on the following Monday, a delivery attempt was made but there was nobody home to receive and sign for the parcel. That meant I had to go to the post office this afternoon to get my triggers.
The box on the left contained a transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) set for Nikon, with the difference between the Nikon and Canon sets being the hotshoe connector on the TX; all RX units are the same. In that box was the TX, a CR2 battery for the TX, the RX, AAA batteries for the RX, a RX-to-flash cord terminating in a 3.5mm plug, a 3.5mm-6.35mm adapter and the instruction booklet. The green RX boxes contained the RX, AAA batteries for the RX, a RX-to-flash cord terminating in a 3.5mm plug and a 3.5mm-6.35mm adapter, while the final box contained just the cord, which plugs into the RX at one end and the camera's remote shutter release socket in the other.
The contents of the TX and RX set
Due to the reported sync issues with these triggers and the Pentax system, I did a few tests. Out of the box with these units:
- at 1/125th, I got full sync and 100% reliability.
- at 1/160th, I got a feather of the rear shutter curtain (image A, see below), and 100% reliability.
- at 1/180th, I got full sync, but only at about 60% success rate. The other 40% of the time, the RX are triggered and the flashes fire off, but there is a mis-sync. The flashes don't contribute to the exposure at all, and what I got was effectively a dark frame. However, the RX is triggered 100% of the time.
- at 1/180th, if I half-press and hold down on the TX button, and then take the shot, I got full sync and 100% reliability.
- also, I found that I had intermittent triggering of the flashes. It turned out that when the camera stopped metering, or if I turned the camera off, these two actions also triggered the RX units.
Image A:
Image B:
I decided to take apart the TX and remove one of pins, the only other pin apart from the ground and trigger that made any contact with the hot shoe contacts. I went and tested again, and with the removed pin:
- at 1/125th, I got full sync and 100% reliability.
- at 1/160th, I got a feather of the rear shutter curtain (image A), and 100% reliability.
- at 1/180th, I either got a feather of the rear shutter curtain (image A), or even a bit more of the rear shutter curtain (image B), but I also got 100% reliability.
- once again, at 180th, if I half-press and hold down on the TX button, and then take the shot, I got full sync and 100% reliability.
- I wasn't getting any more unwanted triggering of the RX units anymore.
It appears that what was happening was that the half-press signal of the TX unit needed to be triggered to tell the RX units to be ready, in order for me to get full sync at 1/180th. This half-press signal could be done though manually pressing the button on the TX, which is awkward, or through half-pressing the shutter button on the camera, which only works about 60% of the time since I suspect the pin I removed is shorting between the ground and digital signal on the Pentax hotshoe.
I have decided to leave the removed pin out, because without the pin, I don't get the unwanted triggering of the flashes. I can live with using a max speed of 1/160th without the pin because at least the results are consistent and I know that I'll consistently get a feather of the rear shutter curtain, meaning I can work around it. Of course, I would still love to be able to get my hands on the Phottix Atlas and Strato 4-in-1 units to test and see if they give me full sync at 1/180th, but for now, I guess the RF-602 units will suffice.
Some other things that I'd like to say about the RF-602 units are:
- I like how the RX takes AAA batteries, and I plan to use rechargeable AAA eneloops for them. I've also got a few of the CR2 batteries (some rechargeable) that the TX uses, so that's also quite nice.
- the units have a nice build, not rock solid, but much, much better than that of the V2s units.
- the blinking led to indicate the RX units are on is quite nice and useful.
- they've been very reliable, and even though they may not have synced properly in the original 1/180th shots, there was still 100% reliability when the TX signaled to the RX.
- the lower profile and design means it fits better on my lightstands.