I was looking for a solution to a growing problem. There are a ton of weekend cowboys shooting weddings and they have made it tough for everyone. Ministers and priests are getting fed up with the noise and disruptions of these inexperienced shooters that don't respect the service.
They no longer want shooters anywhere near the front of the church. It will allow me to set a camera up on a tripod to shoot on it's own, giving me a couple images I would not otherwise have. It could also go on the balcony to get that perspective. Since the camera is unattended, the composure is static but a few shots are better than none.
So I picked up this remote on Ebay:
It's very cool and cheap ($60). You can do interval timing, Time lapse, use as a wired remote, as a wireless remote, timed photography, lock for bulb exposures. Plus as an interval timer, it will take infinite shots till the card is full unlike the not so smart 99 limit in the camera.
The remote claims 80 meters and my quick test shows that and more. It's 2.4Ghz and walls, buildings etc don't stop it. I put the camera in the back yard and when on the other side of the house. It fired every time. It has a little delay sequence, so if the camera is in AF, before it fires, it sends a signal to the camera to AF and then shoots.
You could easily set the camera up near a bird feeder and step away to get good close ups of birds etc.
I just thought I'd share this for anyone looking for a good remote solution. This unit works well.
It's only flaw so far is the battery door on the wired remote. I found it didn't stay on as tight as I wanted and I put some tape on it. I'll tidy that up later. This part serves 2 functions. First the button on the top gives you a wired remote to simply take photos. It does not have to sit on the hot shot but has that feature for the wireless application.
The second use is wireless. It's the receiver that sends the signal to the camera from the hand remote.
The hand unit can be used as a wireless remote and when wired to the remote socket, gives you all the extra features above.
The thing even came with Duracell's!! not some throw away batteries. Nice touch.
Specs from the seller's listing (Ebay item: 220615765841, Seller ID: jiaxichen1985)
Timer delay:
0s to 99hrs 59min 59s in one-second increments
Exposure time:
0s to 99hrs 59min 59s in one-second increments
Interval:
1s to 99hrs 59min 59s in one-second increments
Number of shots:
1 to 399,-- (unlimited)
Power source:
Two AAA 1.5V LR03 alkaline batteries
Battery life:
Approximately two months of continuous shooting with a delay of 5min, an exposure time of 4min 56s*, and an interval of 5min. Use of the illuminator will reduce battery life.
* this is using the wireless feature to shoot in bulb mode. For longer exposures, the Pentax wired remote can go forever and would work better.
Operating temperature:
-20 -- +50? (-4 -- +122?)
Dimensions:
Approximately 155 x 40 x 18 mm (6.1 x 1.6 x 0.7 in), excluding projections
Weight:
Approximately 105g (3.7oz), excluding ferrite core
Length of cord:
Approximately 850mm (33.5in)z
Package contents:
Timer Remote x1
Receiver x 1
AAA Battery x2
CR2 Battery x 1
English Instruction Manual x1 (yes and for the most part, you can understand it)
Last edited by Peter Zack; 07-23-2010 at 03:34 PM.