Cactus vs Yongnuo vs Aputure Trigmaster vs CowboyStudio

sa_lontoc · 03-06-2013, 10:17 AM

Originally posted by littledrawe

I ordered the Apurture brand with the package with one receiver and one trigger from Amazon and the receiver/trigger had labels marked "for Canon" the label on the outside of the package put on after the fact said Pentax compatible. Its pretty frustrating that they got this wrong, I wanted to take them out of the package and test to see if they worked with my cameras but instead what I wanted more was what I actually ordered so I called them to have them send me the right one and I'll send this one back. I didn't look at the pins to see if they were the same.

I been using Aputure for Canon to trigger my AF540 or use it as a remote shutter release with no problem in my K7 before and now on K5. I also bought in Amazon.

Attached Images

littledrawe · 03-06-2013, 10:35 AM

Originally posted by sa_lontoc

I been using Aputure for Canon to trigger my AF540 or use it as a remote shutter release with no problem in my K7 before and now on K5. I also bought in Amazon.

Do yours go to sleep like mentioned above? Do you have to push the button to wake them up. It kind of defeats the purpose if I have two flashes on either side of a room and I have to go to each one and hit a button before it works it kind of defeats the purpose of remote triggering.

JF Jayhawk · 03-06-2013, 12:15 PM

Originally posted by sa_lontoc

I been using Aputure for Canon to trigger my AF540 or use it as a remote shutter release with no problem in my K7 before and now on K5. I also bought in Amazon.

PLEASE NOTE:
The trigmaster set displayed by sa_lontoc are "Trigmaster Plus", not the Trigmaster 2.4Ghz that myself and littledrawe were referring to.

I wish I would have seen the Trigmaster Plus mentioned here with this reply by salontoc, I would have bought them instead of "Cowboy Studio" that just got delivered to me. That name just kills me, "Cowboy Studio"...sounds like something that should be thrown into the toy box that belongs to your 3-year-old son!!!

sa_lontoc · 03-06-2013, 12:17 PM

Originally posted by JF Jayhawk

PLEASE NOTE:
The trigmaster set displayed by sa_lontoc are "Trigmaster Plus", not the Trigmaster 2.4Ghz that myself and littledrawe were referring to.

I wish I would have seen the Trigmaster Plus mentioned here with this reply by salontoc, I would have bought them instead of "Cowboy Studio" that just got delivered to me. That name just kills me, "Cowboy Studio"...sounds like something that should be thrown into the toy box that belongs to your 3-year-old son!!!

I think he's using a different model since he' using A23 battery for his Apputure and I'm using 2xAAA in mine. I check tonight if mine also have that sleep problem.

sa_lontoc · 03-06-2013, 01:20 PM

Ok I can't wait till this evening, I tested it and it sleep within 4 minutes of not being used, I laso tested it in 2 minutes and 3 minutes and it still work. Test are all done at 1/180 shutter speed. It's still fine for my used as I don't normally leave the trigger for more than 2 minutes.

littledrawe · 03-06-2013, 02:01 PM

Today I received in the mail the individual receiver for the second flash Aputure model that I ordered from ebay and it is listed on the box and sticker on the receiver as "for Pentax" and is a 2.4 gHz model That says trigmaster II on the receiver. I have a second package of the trigger/receiver from amazon on the way and asked that they send me the ones that are factory labeled for Pentax so I'll see what they say when it arrives tomorrow.
I also panicked and ordered some cactus V5s so all the Apurture stuff may go back anyway.

JF Jayhawk · 03-06-2013, 02:41 PM

Originally posted by littledrawe

Today I received in the mail the individual receiver for the second flash Aputure model that I ordered from ebay and it is listed on the box and sticker on the receiver as "for Pentax" and is a 2.4 gHz model That says trigmaster II on the receiver. I have a second package of the trigger/receiver from amazon on the way and asked that they send me the ones that are factory labeled for Pentax so I'll see what they say when it arrives tomorrow.
I also panicked and ordered some cactus V5s so all the Apurture stuff may go back anyway.

Hmmmmm, that is interesting. Somebody at Fotodiox or Amazon is messing up because they are telling people the "For Canon" labeled are also for Pentax. Even on the listing on Amazon it says "For Canon but works on Pentax models......" But now they issue a "For Pentax" model???? This is inconsistent.

Let us know how things work out for you.

FYI, if they do not work, I tested my new Cowboy Studio PT04 set today and they function perfectly without a hiccup. Only thing is the transmitter has to be unscrewed to change batteries. Also, the transmitter has no off switch. I guess it does not need a power switch for no battery juice is being used unless the camera tells the transmitter to fire a signal.

On the plus side, the components have shoe locks, the others do not, and now I feel safe about my flashes not sliding off of shoe mounts.

Just thought I would let you know.

sa_lontoc · 03-06-2013, 06:13 PM

One more info on the Aputure plus.. the unit can function as a transmitter or a receiver in just a flip of a switch.

crossmr · 03-06-2013, 09:36 PM

I have these as well. My normal aputure 2.4ghz trigger also does not sync above 1/100. The plus sync at 1/180 as it's the max for pentax.

It's a trigger problem. You can use the basic receivers with the plus as a trigger and it will sync at 1/180 the problem lies within the basic trigger.

littledrawe · 03-08-2013, 10:31 PM

Just an FYI after sending the first Apurture 2.4mgHz back to Amazon and asking that they send me the ones for Pentax they sent another package with the exact same thing so the Apurture Trigmaster for Pentax probably doesn't exist. Kind of frustrating. I hope the other ones get here in time for what I need them for. The Aputure plus receiver/trigger plus is the way to go it sounds like but it sucks to get mislead by the info on the website especially one as reputable as Amazon.

crossmr · 03-08-2013, 11:49 PM

Amazon isn't the one selling them, they have a supplier. and the aputure trigmaster II specifically are listed on their website as "for pentax" but, it seems that the guy selling them on amazon is selling the trigmaster I not II.

Aputure used to have a page comparing all models, but now it's gone with their site redesign.

JF Jayhawk · 03-09-2013, 10:57 AM

Originally posted by crossmr

Amazon isn't the one selling them, they have a supplier. and the aputure trigmaster II specifically are listed on their website as "for pentax" but, it seems that the guy selling them on amazon is selling the trigmaster I not II.

Aputure used to have a page comparing all models, but now it's gone with their site redesign.

Keep in mind, not only did I get a "for Canon" sent to me from Amazon (through Fotodiox), but tech support/customer service from Fotodiox themselves sent me "for Canon" models as replacements to the trigmaster 2.4's sent to me from Amazon. So apparently, the Fotodiox stock is messed up, or the people at Fotodiox do not know what they are handing out or don't care.

This issue was reported to Amazon last week, and for 48 hours, Amazon shut down sales of these triggers with a "ITEM UNDER REVIEW" bulletin posted on the listing. But 2 days later, Amazon is selling them again.

I do NOT find Amazon all that reputable under these circumstances....they WILL sell you anything, but fortunately, as being a Prime Member myself, I have NEVER been refused any returns of purchases I have made on anything either, including camera gear. They do have good customer service and a great purchase/returns system in place.

Honestly, I think sellers "pawn items off" on Amazon like many people do on EBay and I am moving towards only buying directly from Adorama, and not even Adorama through Amazon, as it has no benefit to me and it costs Adorama more in selling fees to sell there anyway. Shipping costs more directly from Adorama, shipping is slower, but I have not had any of the hiccups with the products I buy from them. I am starting to have a hard time trusting the quality control of items sent to Amazon to sell, like it's a "NEW ITEMS SALVAGE LOT" where items that BARELY made it through QC or did NOT make it through QC with minor defect get sent to Amazon to be sold. I cannot emphasize enough that I have never had these issues buying elsewhere (other than Ebay of course!)

In short, I have bought and returned 8 defective Tamron lenses on Amazon, but 2 Tamrons from Adorama were perfect, and so was my K5. I don't want to badger Amazon, they are just a website/selling point with customer service, and GREAT customer service at that. But I am having my doubts about some of the more tedious items that are being sold there (such as performance based electronics like camera gear).

I TRULY THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH for communicating these things here on the Pentax forums.

As long as I own a Pentax camera, I will donate money and time to these forums that are such a great place to share info and good pictures!!!

crossmr · 03-09-2013, 05:16 PM

Jay I ordered the same ones off Amazon (which came defective, and I got a refund on them) but they weren't from fotodiox, I believe they were from another supplier and same issue. Outside sticker says for pentax, inside says canon. What I've read on other places is that they're the same in this case.

As far as Amazon goes, the first 2 orders I had off them were defective, which sucks since I'm all the way in South Korea and use a re-mailer. Great service, but I'm out the shipping on the items in this case. Amazon at least gave me a straight refund without even needing to send back the defective triggers. The yongnuo flash I bought I had to pay $25 myself to send it back for exchange.

JF Jayhawk · 03-10-2013, 06:03 AM

Originally posted by crossmr

Jay I ordered the same ones off Amazon (which came defective, and I got a refund on them) but they weren't from fotodiox, I believe they were from another supplier and same issue. Outside sticker says for pentax, inside says canon. What I've read on other places is that they're the same in this case.

As far as Amazon goes, the first 2 orders I had off them were defective, which sucks since I'm all the way in South Korea and use a re-mailer. Great service, but I'm out the shipping on the items in this case. Amazon at least gave me a straight refund without even needing to send back the defective triggers. The yongnuo flash I bought I had to pay $25 myself to send it back for exchange.

Man, crossmr, that bites having to pay 25 bucks just to return something!!! Just keep reading reviews on products and stay posted here in the forums before you buy something and hopefully you will be able to know what to expect and not have to do returns.

crossmr · 03-10-2013, 07:13 AM

Originally posted by JF Jayhawk

Man, crossmr, that bites having to pay 25 bucks just to return something!!! Just keep reading reviews on products and stay posted here in the forums before you buy something and hopefully you will be able to know what to expect and not have to do returns.

all the reviews in the world won't help when a product shows up DOA. The yongnuo is good, but the one I got was fried. Wouldn't fire at all. Sent it back, got a new one, and it works totally fine and I love it.

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03-06-2013, 10:17 AM	#31
sa_lontoc Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Orlando Photos: Albums Posts: 107	Originally posted by littledrawe I ordered the Apurture brand with the package with one receiver and one trigger from Amazon and the receiver/trigger had labels marked "for Canon" the label on the outside of the package put on after the fact said Pentax compatible. Its pretty frustrating that they got this wrong, I wanted to take them out of the package and test to see if they worked with my cameras but instead what I wanted more was what I actually ordered so I called them to have them send me the right one and I'll send this one back. I didn't look at the pins to see if they were the same. I been using Aputure for Canon to trigger my AF540 or use it as a remote shutter release with no problem in my K7 before and now on K5. I also bought in Amazon. Attached Images

03-06-2013, 10:35 AM	#32
littledrawe Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Red Rock Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,514	Originally posted by sa_lontoc I been using Aputure for Canon to trigger my AF540 or use it as a remote shutter release with no problem in my K7 before and now on K5. I also bought in Amazon. Do yours go to sleep like mentioned above? Do you have to push the button to wake them up. It kind of defeats the purpose if I have two flashes on either side of a room and I have to go to each one and hit a button before it works it kind of defeats the purpose of remote triggering.

03-06-2013, 12:15 PM	#33
JF Jayhawk Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Photos: Albums Posts: 40	Originally posted by sa_lontoc I been using Aputure for Canon to trigger my AF540 or use it as a remote shutter release with no problem in my K7 before and now on K5. I also bought in Amazon. PLEASE NOTE: The trigmaster set displayed by sa_lontoc are "Trigmaster Plus", not the Trigmaster 2.4Ghz that myself and littledrawe were referring to. I wish I would have seen the Trigmaster Plus mentioned here with this reply by salontoc, I would have bought them instead of "Cowboy Studio" that just got delivered to me. That name just kills me, "Cowboy Studio"...sounds like something that should be thrown into the toy box that belongs to your 3-year-old son!!!

03-06-2013, 12:17 PM	#34
sa_lontoc Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Orlando Photos: Albums Posts: 107	Originally posted by JF Jayhawk PLEASE NOTE: The trigmaster set displayed by sa_lontoc are "Trigmaster Plus", not the Trigmaster 2.4Ghz that myself and littledrawe were referring to. I wish I would have seen the Trigmaster Plus mentioned here with this reply by salontoc, I would have bought them instead of "Cowboy Studio" that just got delivered to me. That name just kills me, "Cowboy Studio"...sounds like something that should be thrown into the toy box that belongs to your 3-year-old son!!! I think he's using a different model since he' using A23 battery for his Apputure and I'm using 2xAAA in mine. I check tonight if mine also have that sleep problem.

03-06-2013, 01:20 PM	#35
sa_lontoc Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Orlando Photos: Albums Posts: 107	Ok I can't wait till this evening, I tested it and it sleep within 4 minutes of not being used, I laso tested it in 2 minutes and 3 minutes and it still work. Test are all done at 1/180 shutter speed. It's still fine for my used as I don't normally leave the trigger for more than 2 minutes.

03-06-2013, 02:01 PM	#36
littledrawe Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Red Rock Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,514	Today I received in the mail the individual receiver for the second flash Aputure model that I ordered from ebay and it is listed on the box and sticker on the receiver as "for Pentax" and is a 2.4 gHz model That says trigmaster II on the receiver. I have a second package of the trigger/receiver from amazon on the way and asked that they send me the ones that are factory labeled for Pentax so I'll see what they say when it arrives tomorrow. I also panicked and ordered some cactus V5s so all the Apurture stuff may go back anyway.

03-06-2013, 02:41 PM	#37
JF Jayhawk Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Photos: Albums Posts: 40	Originally posted by littledrawe Today I received in the mail the individual receiver for the second flash Aputure model that I ordered from ebay and it is listed on the box and sticker on the receiver as "for Pentax" and is a 2.4 gHz model That says trigmaster II on the receiver. I have a second package of the trigger/receiver from amazon on the way and asked that they send me the ones that are factory labeled for Pentax so I'll see what they say when it arrives tomorrow. I also panicked and ordered some cactus V5s so all the Apurture stuff may go back anyway. Hmmmmm, that is interesting. Somebody at Fotodiox or Amazon is messing up because they are telling people the "For Canon" labeled are also for Pentax. Even on the listing on Amazon it says "For Canon but works on Pentax models......" But now they issue a "For Pentax" model???? This is inconsistent. Let us know how things work out for you. FYI, if they do not work, I tested my new Cowboy Studio PT04 set today and they function perfectly without a hiccup. Only thing is the transmitter has to be unscrewed to change batteries. Also, the transmitter has no off switch. I guess it does not need a power switch for no battery juice is being used unless the camera tells the transmitter to fire a signal. On the plus side, the components have shoe locks, the others do not, and now I feel safe about my flashes not sliding off of shoe mounts. Just thought I would let you know.

03-06-2013, 06:13 PM	#38
sa_lontoc Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Orlando Photos: Albums Posts: 107	One more info on the Aputure plus.. the unit can function as a transmitter or a receiver in just a flip of a switch.

03-06-2013, 09:36 PM	#39
crossmr Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Liverpool, UK Posts: 318	I have these as well. My normal aputure 2.4ghz trigger also does not sync above 1/100. The plus sync at 1/180 as it's the max for pentax. It's a trigger problem. You can use the basic receivers with the plus as a trigger and it will sync at 1/180 the problem lies within the basic trigger.

03-08-2013, 10:31 PM	#40
littledrawe Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Red Rock Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,514	Just an FYI after sending the first Apurture 2.4mgHz back to Amazon and asking that they send me the ones for Pentax they sent another package with the exact same thing so the Apurture Trigmaster for Pentax probably doesn't exist. Kind of frustrating. I hope the other ones get here in time for what I need them for. The Aputure plus receiver/trigger plus is the way to go it sounds like but it sucks to get mislead by the info on the website especially one as reputable as Amazon.

03-08-2013, 11:49 PM	#41
crossmr Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Liverpool, UK Posts: 318	Amazon isn't the one selling them, they have a supplier. and the aputure trigmaster II specifically are listed on their website as "for pentax" but, it seems that the guy selling them on amazon is selling the trigmaster I not II. Aputure used to have a page comparing all models, but now it's gone with their site redesign.

03-09-2013, 10:57 AM	#42
JF Jayhawk Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Photos: Albums Posts: 40	Originally posted by crossmr Amazon isn't the one selling them, they have a supplier. and the aputure trigmaster II specifically are listed on their website as "for pentax" but, it seems that the guy selling them on amazon is selling the trigmaster I not II. Aputure used to have a page comparing all models, but now it's gone with their site redesign. Keep in mind, not only did I get a "for Canon" sent to me from Amazon (through Fotodiox), but tech support/customer service from Fotodiox themselves sent me "for Canon" models as replacements to the trigmaster 2.4's sent to me from Amazon. So apparently, the Fotodiox stock is messed up, or the people at Fotodiox do not know what they are handing out or don't care. This issue was reported to Amazon last week, and for 48 hours, Amazon shut down sales of these triggers with a "ITEM UNDER REVIEW" bulletin posted on the listing. But 2 days later, Amazon is selling them again. I do NOT find Amazon all that reputable under these circumstances....they WILL sell you anything, but fortunately, as being a Prime Member myself, I have NEVER been refused any returns of purchases I have made on anything either, including camera gear. They do have good customer service and a great purchase/returns system in place. Honestly, I think sellers "pawn items off" on Amazon like many people do on EBay and I am moving towards only buying directly from Adorama, and not even Adorama through Amazon, as it has no benefit to me and it costs Adorama more in selling fees to sell there anyway. Shipping costs more directly from Adorama, shipping is slower, but I have not had any of the hiccups with the products I buy from them. I am starting to have a hard time trusting the quality control of items sent to Amazon to sell, like it's a "NEW ITEMS SALVAGE LOT" where items that BARELY made it through QC or did NOT make it through QC with minor defect get sent to Amazon to be sold. I cannot emphasize enough that I have never had these issues buying elsewhere (other than Ebay of course!) In short, I have bought and returned 8 defective Tamron lenses on Amazon, but 2 Tamrons from Adorama were perfect, and so was my K5. I don't want to badger Amazon, they are just a website/selling point with customer service, and GREAT customer service at that. But I am having my doubts about some of the more tedious items that are being sold there (such as performance based electronics like camera gear). I TRULY THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH for communicating these things here on the Pentax forums. As long as I own a Pentax camera, I will donate money and time to these forums that are such a great place to share info and good pictures!!!

03-09-2013, 05:16 PM	#43
crossmr Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Liverpool, UK Posts: 318	Jay I ordered the same ones off Amazon (which came defective, and I got a refund on them) but they weren't from fotodiox, I believe they were from another supplier and same issue. Outside sticker says for pentax, inside says canon. What I've read on other places is that they're the same in this case. As far as Amazon goes, the first 2 orders I had off them were defective, which sucks since I'm all the way in South Korea and use a re-mailer. Great service, but I'm out the shipping on the items in this case. Amazon at least gave me a straight refund without even needing to send back the defective triggers. The yongnuo flash I bought I had to pay $25 myself to send it back for exchange.

03-10-2013, 06:03 AM	#44
JF Jayhawk Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Photos: Albums Posts: 40	Originally posted by crossmr Jay I ordered the same ones off Amazon (which came defective, and I got a refund on them) but they weren't from fotodiox, I believe they were from another supplier and same issue. Outside sticker says for pentax, inside says canon. What I've read on other places is that they're the same in this case. As far as Amazon goes, the first 2 orders I had off them were defective, which sucks since I'm all the way in South Korea and use a re-mailer. Great service, but I'm out the shipping on the items in this case. Amazon at least gave me a straight refund without even needing to send back the defective triggers. The yongnuo flash I bought I had to pay $25 myself to send it back for exchange. Man, crossmr, that bites having to pay 25 bucks just to return something!!! Just keep reading reviews on products and stay posted here in the forums before you buy something and hopefully you will be able to know what to expect and not have to do returns.

03-10-2013, 07:13 AM	#45
crossmr Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Liverpool, UK Posts: 318	Originally posted by JF Jayhawk Man, crossmr, that bites having to pay 25 bucks just to return something!!! Just keep reading reviews on products and stay posted here in the forums before you buy something and hopefully you will be able to know what to expect and not have to do returns. all the reviews in the world won't help when a product shows up DOA. The yongnuo is good, but the one I got was fried. Wouldn't fire at all. Sent it back, got a new one, and it works totally fine and I love it.