Nissin Air Di700a (radio wireless TTL) now available for Sony

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The Nissin Air Di700a, a radio-based wireless TTL system which I wrote about here, is apparently now available for Sony cameras. According to another ebay listing, it uses the new Multi-Interface Shoe.(used in the a6000, a7 series, etc.), not the Minolta hotshoe.

The seller describes it as a "pre-sale" (pre-order) although the seller's specified release date has already passed, so it appears to be readily available.  You should probably contact the seller to confirm.  Also please note the price of this combination is significantly higher than the price of a similar kit for Nikon or Canon, which is around $300.  Hopefully, it becomes available at a lower price for Sony as well.

Triggering a Camera and a Flash Simultaneously with the Yongnuo RF603

When Mohammad posted his review of the YN-560TX, there was a question from one of our readers about whether you can trigger a camera and a flash at the same time with the Yongnuo RF603.  The question has been asked on DPReview previously  .This capability can be useful for sports (to capture multiple angles of the same shot), or architecture / real estate, for example.  I have tried several combinations of Yongnuo triggers and flashes without success, until finally I got a combination that did work.  It was so simple that I was kicking myself for not having thought of it previously.

with one speedlight

Preview of Yongnuo's radio commander and speedlight: YN460-TX and YN460-RX

LightingRumours.com posted Yongnuo's official announcement of its radio commander and speedlight, the YN460-TX and YN460-RX.  I downloaded the demo videos from Yongnuo's website, which weren't exactly crystal clear, and tried to figure out how the commander and flash work.

First of all, the system seems independent from the camera's wireless flash system (such as Nikon's Advanced Wireless Lighting).  Briefly, the system appears to allow radio TTL and manual capability with remote adjustment.

COMPONENTS:

There is a commander unit called the YN460-TX (which looks like the Nikon SU-800).  The TX commander is designed to be attached to the camera hotshoe and apparently can emit an AF assist light.  However, it also appears that the TX can be used off-camera (query whether the TTL capabilities would remain). According to Yongnuo, the TX commander can control up to 16 dedicated speedlights (YN460-RX), each of which has built-in radio capability. 

HOW IT'S USED:

The TX commander controls 3 groups simultaneously: a TTL group (TTL), Manual group 1 (M1), and Manual group 2 (M2).  To assign an RX flash to a group, you press the RX flash's mode button until the RX selects WT (for the TTL group), M1, or M2.  In addition to the WT, M1, and M2 mode, the RX unit has another wireless mode, WX which allows it to function either on manual or TTL, as explained below.

Wireless Manual:
Group M1: once an RX flash is assigned to M1, its power level can be selected by choosing the M1 group on the TX unit then adjusting the power level.  There are 7 power levels, in full stops from full power to 1/64 power.  There are no power indicators per se -- you have to count the number of LEDs lit.  1 LED = 1/64, 2 LEDs = 1/32 etc. 

Group M2 functions similarly. Its power is selected by choosing the M2 group on the TX and adjusting the power level.

Wireless TTL:  This was not clearly demonstrated in the videos.  It appears that TTL flash exposure can be adjusted from -3 to +3 FEC.  The video demo'd adjustment of FEC directly on the RX flash.  The videos did not demo wireless adjustment of FEC with the TX commander, though it seems the TX commander should have this capability because its LEDs are labeled -3 to +3, which wouldn't make sense except for TTL.


WX mode of the RX flash:  In WX mode, the RX flash will match the CURRENTLY SELECTED mode of the TX commander.  By contrast, if the RX is in WT mode, it will stay assigned to the TTL group, and if it is in M1 or M2 mode, it will stay in M1 group or M2 group respectively.  On the other hand, by using the RX flash in WX mode, it can join group WT, M1 or M2 as needed.  If the user wants the RX (on WX mode) to join the TTL group, then the user simply has to remember to switch the TX to TTL mode when he is ready to shoot.  If the user wants the RX on WX mode to join the M1 or M2 group, the user simply switches the TX to M1 or M2 respectively immediately before shooting.

The WX mode is useful when you only have one RX flash, allowing you to switch from TTL to manual anytime.  It is useful also if you want one of your RX flashes to be flexible and join any of the other groups as needed.

OTHER NOTES:

• Uses 2.4ghz frequency.  Up to 200m range claimed.
• 7 available channels.  (By contrast, Nikon's Advanced Wireless Lighting has only 4 channels.)
• Supports rear curtain sync, flash exposure compensation (FEC) and "FEB" (flash exposure bracketing??)
• There is a blue LED light to show that a link between the TX and RX has been established.
• The TX appears to have 2 ports, one of which appears to be a PC sync.
• The RX flash can also function on non-wireless manual mode.  It is not clear whether it can function as a non-wireless TTL flash.
• LightingRumours.com, citing De.Rec.Fotografie, states that cost will be 200 euro for a TX and RX kit.  Availability is estimated to be within the next 2 months, direct from Yongnuo's ebay site with a 12-month warranty: http://stores.ebay.com/hkyongnuophotoequipment .

Radiopopper RP Cube Available May 3

Radiopopper just announced that the RP Cube will be available starting Monday, May 3 ($29.95).  I fully expect them to sell out their initial stock.

About the Radiopopper system:

The RP Cube is part of the Radiopopper JrX Studio and JrX Basic systems.  The JrX Studio system allows radio control of flashes in manual mode.  For radio triggering of flashes without the ability to adjust the flash output remotely, there's the JrX Basic system, which functions like the cactus radio trigger, except it's supposed to be more reliable.

Until now, the JrX Studio system could only be used to trigger strobes with a data port (the Alien Bees, White Lightning, and Zeus strobes).  The JrX Studio system could not be used with hot shoe flashes (JrX Basic, on the other hand, works with pretty much any flash with a miniphone jack).  But with the RP Cube, the JrX Studio system can now be used with hot shoe flashes.  The hot shoe flash just has to be a dedicated TTL flash for your camera.  The RP Cube is available for Canon and Nikon.

For remote flash control in both TTL and manual mode, Radiopopper offers the PX system.  Radiopopper PX is available for Canon and Nikon.  PX transmitters work by converting the optical wireless TTL signal from the hotshoe flash, commander (Canon ST-E2 or Nikon SU-800), or the Nikon popup flash into radio, which the PX receiver converts back into an optical signal for the remote slave flash.  Radiopopper originally had not been designed to work with Canon popup flashes but now that the Canon 7D offers built-in commander capability like Nikon's, in theory, the PX may be used with the 7D popup flash.

JrX and PX Interoperability:
A PX transmitter can communicate with a JrX receiver, except that the PX will only be able to control flash output manually for that flash.  Similarly, a JrX Studio transmitter can communicate with a PX receiver, except that again, flash output control will be limited to manual mode.

Update: on ebay, someone is selling their own version of the RP Cube for Nikon flashes, for the same price (seller: bufo1955). The seller cautions however that it doesn't work with the SB-900.  The seller also sells a cheaper alternative for the SB-800 and other flashes with a TTL jack: cable only (but it will not work with the SB-600 or SB-900).  The seller notes that you don't need a Nikon body with either unit, but you do need to use a Nikon flash.