19 April 2009
I've had a new pair of Yong Nuo CTR-301 receivers and a PT-04 transmitter for about a month now, and they've been working very nicely for me.
I purchased these to replace an increasingly failing set of old eBay triggers -- PT-04/RF-04.
The first thing notable about the new CTR-301 receivers, is that they do away with the tall build with the hinged L-bracket in favor of a more compact, flatter build. There's a hotshoe on top, and a 1/4-20 thread on the bottom, and there are no longer PC-sync ports. The threaded bottom makes for a quick and solid connection to the umbrella bracket, light stand, monopod, or tripod. I've not missed the hot shoe-style connector yet.
I occasionally use the optical slave capability when I have the strobe handy, but no the transmitter -- I can just set the pop-up flash to manual 1/32 power and use the slave strobe that way.
In the time I've been using these things, I've mostly used the radio, and I've not thought much about them. I just set them up and go with no troubles. As I get outside more, it'll be interesting if they stay as reliable, but so far, indoor one-room use has been great. It's a relief to not have to worry about triggering the strobes anymore.
Filed Under: Photography