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I'll try to keep this thread updated as I experiment with it.
Got the JrX's yesterday and tested on a K20D w/ an AB1600. I'm getting the Nikon RPCube DIY hack cables today so I'll be making those this weekend and testing w/ my Nikon flashes.
Only one misfire out of 50 shots or so testing yesterday. Sync speed of 1/180 is no problem with them. They also fire and sync at the full 3FPS frame rate of the K20D which I was surprised at (the AB was set at a relatively low power...probably 1/16).
They also include a *mono* 3.5mm plug to put into the AB to disable the optical slave. Why oh why wouldn't they just include a stereo one...it works fine as well and would have been useful for my DIY RPCube hack :-P
Comments on physical design:
- one of my Tx knobs is a lot looser than the other so it's easy to nudge out of position, so I might need to exchange it :-P
- the plastic for the case/knobs ironically feels cheaper than the RF602's plastic; rubber on the knobs would have been better and the knob setting ridge could have been painted white (I'll probably do this w/ some whiteout or fingernail polish)
- the knobs could use some position indicators drawn on the case; there's no way to turn a group off, then set it back to the previous position with the current setup
- the knobs could use detents because you don't know when it's turned back on once you turn it to the lowest position and go one step up; this is where I wonder whether a digital readout setup would have been a better idea (up/down bumps power levels and you can easily add "fire everything" or "adjust this one group" to the UI")
- they need some sort of four position slider to enable each group at a time and all groups. When I do studio setups, I meter each light separately, then turn them all on and do a metering of the final setup; because of the lack of indicators, this technique is impossible currently unless you physically go over and pull power plugs out or turn bees off
- not sure why they only put in a 6 position DIP switch on the TX...there's space for more that they could have used for stuff like "modeling lamp on/off" and "disable all groups except this one" (for the functionality above)
- also think it's a screwup not to include a cable that connects the RX to a PC sync port which most flashes have
All in all, I'm happy with the setup. It's fairly annoying to fiddle w/ a flash's power level when it's high up on a lightstand and this lets you meter and set power levels easily from the model's position.
Cost wise, it's ok for a reliable setup w/ the added functionality. The same time last year, the only option at this price point was cybersyncs. Competition is good
Last edited by kenyee; 10-02-2009 at 06:16 AM.