This morning I was woken up by the mailman who had a package for me, from China. Whoohah, I was instantly on, as I knew that could only be… something good… something I’ve been looking forward to… something… from… Gadget Infinity! Any Strobist fan knows that Gadget Infinity is heaven for both your photography, wallet, and inner flash photography geek.
I had ordered some “eBay triggers” now branded Cactus V2s which are cheap, inexpensive radio slaves. I also ordered some knock-offs of Gary Fong‘s LightSphere. I got both the cloudy and translucent ones.
Gary Fong is a real OG – and a kitch one at that. Voluntarily or not, he is The Tupperware King of Flash Photography. Look here if you don’t believe me:
I’ve always liked Tupperware. Being born in 1979, I was a child when Tupperware was marketed via home parties, and touted as the worlds seventh wonder, and boy did I believe that with my whole heart. After a tupperwere we kids went to school the day after to proudly boast that “we now have Tupperware at home”. Crazy, but the feeling has stuck. I decided I needed such a Lightsphere thingy.
It is not just for the intended use I got it. I intend to use it for softening up my flashes when using them with umbrellas and softboxes like the Lastolite EzyBox. I also intend to use them off-camera, as portable solutions to quick’n’dirty jobs in the field.
Cactus V2s aka eBay triggers
I also ordered some inexpensive Cactus V2s triggers, as I sometimes trip in my sync cables, and don’t trust the optical slaves on my Nikon SB-26 flash units outdoors. I was disappointed to realise I should have gotten some V2 because the “V2s” version will not trigger studio strobes. I had overlooked that detail.
PocketWizard vs. PovertyWizards
The build quality surprised me, in that they are better built than I had feared, yet still kinda cheap. But hey, they are just flash triggers, not fancy stuff. It continues to amaze me how some photographers lust for those pie-in-sky PocketWizards, which, while good are simply overkill for most photographers.
Elinchrom Skyport Universal vs. Cactus V2S
I originally contemplated the Elinchrom Skyport Universals, but figured I wanted to try the cheaper alternative first, and if they didnt work, I’d just shrug my shoulders and get the Elinchrom Elinchrom Skyport Universals instead. I think that is rational.
Verdict?
Well, I ain’t used them yet! But will report back, right here on this blogga. Until then, see you in CyberSpace!
Gary Fongs going to make millionz