Last Updated on 12/15/2012 by Chris Gampat
We recently reported on the new Fotodiox Wonderburst HSS8000 radio triggers. The little triggers made a very big claim: high speed sync radio triggering capabilities with any hot-shoe flash or studio strobe. Plus, they’re doing it at a very affordable price. Right after reporting on the story, I called in a trigger and two receivers to test with my speedlites and the Paul C Buff Einstein R640.
And the results? Well…
Gear Used
To do this test, we used the Fotodiox Wonderburst HSS8000 radio triggers designed for the 5D Mk II with said camera, Sigma 35mm f1.4, the Einstein E640, 580 EX II, and 430 EX II.
Setup and Performance
Setting up these triggers is really quite annoying. First you need to connect the transmitter with the HSS cable to the camera. Then turn on the transmitter and then turn on the camera. You’ll then see the transmitter’s bulb blink three times. Then to calibrate the two, you need to set your camera to 1/60th and manual focus. Then take two or three shots, and the two should ideally be synced together.
Then your studio strobe/flash and the receiver need to be connected. The light needs to be turned on first and then the receiver needs to be turned on.
If you’ve done everything right, the two will sync and fire together in unison. The problem is that the connection between the two (or three) can fall in and out. Or sometimes, it may not work at all. One of my triggers may indeed be faulty as well.
This test was done a couple of times to ensure that the monolight had finished recharging, and so that I could try to gain consistent results. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get those.
Results
So here’s what happened when tested with the Paul C Buff Einstein E640.
We’re going to contact the company on Monday to troubleshoot. But after two hours of experimenting with the units, we still weren’t able to gain consistent results.
So far, our opinions seem to favor PocketWizard and Phottix more.
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