Nov. 6, 2008 Last time I discussed the A900’s lack of a popup flash and the need for a $500 HLV-F58AM flash unit if you want to trigger the Sony Alpha wireless flash system. The hope is that Sony may offer another method to wirelessly trigger remote flash units with the A900.
Sony could offer some sort of less expensive optical trigger, which would be capable of serving as a master for the Sony wireless system. But why optical? True, the Sony wireless system, derived from the original Minolta optical wireless system, is excellent. Maybe more than excellent. But optical flash systems have limits, which is why most top pros choose wireless radio triggers.
Radio triggers work at longer distances, don’t need to be in line of sight of the camera and work reliably in brightly lighted conditions.
Unfortunately, as as far as I am aware, there are no radio triggers that will attach directly to the Sony Alpha flash shoe. Nor are there receivers designed to attach directly to any of the Sony or Minolta dedicated flash units that are fully compatible with the Alpha dSLRs.
No radio trigger for the Sony hot shoe?
Most(all?) of the radio triggers on the market are designed to attach to the standard, old-style hot shoe employed by the majority of cameras not manufactured by Sony. The receivers either attach to the foot of the older style flash shoe, or plug into the old-style PC sync port. That leaves Sony Alpha users out of luck, unless they attempt to cobble up a home-brew solution utilizing adapters. Setting up a radio trigger system with adapters isn’t rocket-science and I always encourage users to experiment with modding their gear. Still, it is disappointing that no “off-the-shelf” radio trigger is available for the Alpha.
Am I the only one who is flummoxed that Sony hasn’t stepped up to address this deficiency? I mean, this is Sony we are talking about. How many radio engineers do they have on their payroll? They may not be the be-all and end-all when it comes to radio technology, but they come pretty close. Walkman personal stereos, clock radios, component stereo equipment, car receivers, boom boxes, cordless phones… you name a piece of radio equipment; and Sony has probably produced a version of it.
Except, of course, radio triggers to accompany their line of Alpha dSLRs.
It’s not that there isn’t a market out there. The A100 was said to sell 360+ thousand units in the six months it was available in 2006. I don’t have exact sales figures for 2007, but with an entire 12 months to work with and the introduction of the outstanding A700, I have to believe the numbers well exceeded 2006. We are still in 2008, of course, so figures aren’t available, but with the A200, A300, A350 and A900 all joining the A700, it wouldn’t be surprising if Sony dSLR sales easily exceeded both 2006 and 2007 combined. That is a lot of Alphas.
Then there are the Minolta Maxxum dSLRs. The Maxxum 5D and 7D sold well and most of them are still in service. Minolta also sold truck-loads of the non-dSLR Dimage 7 variants, which begat the similar Konica-Minolta Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) cameras; the A1, A2 And A200 (not to be confused with the Sony A200). These units share the same hot shoe and flash circuitry as the Minolta Maxxums, making them fully compatible with the latest flash units from Sony.
There are still millions of Maxxum film cameras hanging around. Film may be all but dead, but the Maxxum 9 film SLRS are still trading for well over $100 – $600 on ebay. Maybe those are being bought by collectors, but I have to believe at least some photographers are buying those used film SLRs to use, not sit in a display case.
Of course, not all of the owners of those millions of cameras are potential flash trigger buyers. Some photographers never use flash, especially off-camera flash. Others are satisfied with the current optical wireless flash available with the dedicated Sony flash units. Still others will fire their off-camera flash with sync cords, or use adapters to use standard radio wireless flash.
Even so, there are have to be a good percentage of users who would be eager to add a Sony brand wireless trigger on their Alpha or Minolta cameras. And don’t forget, Sony is in this dSLR thing for the long-haul. Which means millions more Alpha cameras will appear in the future. How many of those new Alpha owners will be looking for a radio trigger solution?
Radio flash triggers — why aren’t there any to fit the Sony Alpha?
Sooner or later, someone has to step up to the plate and offer a comprehensive radio trigger solution for the Alpha series. I don’t really care who it is…if the PocketWizard folks or Metz, Bowens, Quantum, MicroSync or someone else comes forward with a reliable solution, I would be happy.
But consider Sony’s clear advantages in this area.
In addition to the radio engineering experience I alluded to earlier, Sony owns all the specs, the pin-outs and the internal technology of the Alpha system. The third-party makers have to disassemble off-the-shelf cameras and flashes to determine this information, and they have to hope they don’t miss something significant.
Sony also has access to all the special components: flash shoes, dedicated sync connectors, etc. If you are a third-party vendor, you have manufacture your own components, since you can’t just order a package of components from a supplier somewhere.
Finally, Sony has a huge built-in advantage in brand recognition. When the third-party makers create a radio trigger for the old style flash shoe, they can sell the same basic unit to Canon, Nikon, Pentax and other shooters. If Nikon or Canon were to develop their own trigger, the third party vendors would still have plenty of other customers. If they develop an Alpha shoe radio trigger, the only people they can sell it to are Sony (and Minolta) shooters. That is fine…unless Sony steps up with their own branded solution.
Could any radio trigger maker compete with Sony?
If Sony enters the fray, how does a third-party trigger maker compete in the Alpha arena? Sony’s Alpha components are generally excellent, so you probably won’t be able to beat Sony on quality or performance.
Sony will probably also beat the third-party makers on appearance. True, the look of a radio trigger device has no impact on it’s performance, but you can’t argue that a trigger with a matching finish and a big orange Alpha logo won’t be more appealing to the majority of Alpha shooters.
That leaves price as the only way a third-party maker could compete against Sony. But here Sony holds all the cards. Sony generally prices their stuff on the high side, but if they wanted to compete against a third-party interloper. all they have to do is come in somewhere close to the other guy’s list price.
I don’t have any hard figures, but I would guess that if most Alpha users had their choice, they would buy a Sony brand trigger, even it it was ten or twenty dollars more expensive. Even if the Sony product was thirty or forty dollars more, Sony would probably still outsell it’s competitors. To compete against Sony in the radio trigger arena, you would probably have to price your trigger at least $50 less than Sony.
Sony, of course, is in the driver’s seat. They could bring their mythical product in at a price point where no high-quality aftermarket trigger could compete.
Of course, this is simply my own musing. I have no idea if or when Sony will offer an Alpha radio trigger. I don’t know if any of the third-party makers are really taking a look at offering a dedicated Alpha radio trigger.
Interestingly enough, two separate Alphatracks readers: Paulo Rodrigues and a reader named Dave, commented on my earlier post to explain how they rigged up a wireless radio flash system for the Alpha hot shoe. You can see their DIY flash trigger notes here. I have been considering an attempt at something similar. If I do, I will do a full report on Alphatracks.
I am convinced that the market is there and the A900, with it’s lack of a built-in optical trigger, creates a real need for this sort of product. Sooner or later, someone has to address the need.
Are you listening, Sony?
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Good post. I have also created a homebrew radio trigger for studio lights, but it was unreliable and have ended up using my Sony GN56 hot-shoe mounted as an (expensive) optical trigger for them.
I’m using an a100 so triggering the GN56 off camera is ok, although there have been a couple of occasions that it couldn’t ‘see’ the flash from my pop-up.
Definitely agree with the general thrust of your post that a Sony branded radio trigger (that works with Sony flash) is highly desirable, particularly to bring wireless flash to the a900.
I briefly investigated this problem for a particular project but gave up (partly because I didn’t totally understand all the issues and partly because none of the local camera stores had a clue). But now Sony has the FA-HS1AM adapter which allows you to mount a Pocket Wizard on the camera. While I think it’s ridiculously overpriced ($129), it *seems* like this is at least a partial step in the right direction? But can a Pocket Wizard trigger a Sony flash unit remotely?
Adrian said: “But can a Pocket Wizard trigger a Sony flash unit remotely?” What is the answer? I understand what is needed in the camera end but what is needed in flash end?
Have you guys checked out Radio Popper? They do RF->optical conversion and it seems that the beta testing works for Sony Alpha/Minolta flashes. The range for the Radio Poppers are around 1000-1200′, so you get nice TTL exposure control through the Radio Popper.
They have them certified with Canon and Nikon and are working on OK’ing the Sony/Minolta flashes.
I think this is a new trigger.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Wireless-Flash-Remote-Trigger-for-Sony-Alpha-2-Receiver_W0QQitemZ350207830846QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCamera_Flash_Accessories?hash=item518a036b3e&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12|66%3A2|39%3A1|72%3A1205|293%3A1|294%3A50
Hello photo buffs,
I have been using Sony Alfa DSLRs for about three years. I also wondered why Sony did not offer a wireless trigger system for their A series DSLR cameras other than their popup to off camera HVL-F series flash units. I did a search on e-bay and on Amazon. I found wireless triggers for use on Sony DSLRs advertized on both sites. None of them were manufactured by Sony, most were made in chine or Japan. I have been using a hotshoe mounted trigger on both my Sony A100 and A350 for years now. At first I had problems getting it to work on the A100 but, after a few tries I was able to make it work just fine. I had to make sure that the transmitter and receivers were securely conected. I have had no problem with the A350, I use them often.
Search e-bay, B&H or Amazon for Flash Trigger for Sony DSLR and you will find several of them for about $35.00. The brand names that I use are YongNuo (China) & Fancier, (China) Receiver & Transmitter sets. Extra receivers can be purchased for about $19.00 each and will work on studio strobes wired or wireless
Be a little patient with them and they will work fine for you. Both brands offer 8 channels to enable you to use them without interfearing with other photographers.
I think that most people are inpatient and do not take the time to work with them. They work fine for me and the price makes me very patient. Just because they are made in China does not mean that they are junk. I don’t mind keeping a couple of hundred dollars in my pocket and still getting the job done.
Good luck folks
PS: No I am not from China
I have both an A900 and an A700 body and have a F58 am flash and a Min9olta 5600 flash. Both flashes work on the 700 as remotes when triggered with the pop up flash. When I try to use the F58 am as a trigger and F56 as a remote It will not fire the remote nor will the test button work a test fire. The f 58 works great as a stand alone hot shoe mounted flash.
Whatcan I do to make the A900 work with a remote Sony has not given me an answer after several weeks of waiting.
George W.
George,
I am at a loss, as the F58AM should work as trigger on the A900. Sony never said it would trigger the Minolta 5600, but since it will trigger the equivalent F56AM, I would expect the 5600 to work.
You could invest in a HLV F20AM (https://alphatracks.com/archives/144) as Sony states it will work as a wireless trigger on the A900 (and presumably the A850).
I will look into this further and get back to you.
— Tom
Hi, folks. I am a professional wedding photographer who has bravely built his business around two A700’s and two Sony 56 flashes. I have been using the Alienbees Cybersync trigger and receiver for over 2 years now to provide RF triggering of my 56 flashes mounted on stands. Let me regale you all with my experiences.
First, I cobbled together a trigger set using the cheap Chinese triggers available on Ebay. These did work, but not reliably. One flash would fire, then the other would fire, and occasionally both would fire. This was simply not suitable for professional wedding work.
Next, I bought the Alienbees triggers (a trigger and two receivers). These work very reliably, but I have always longed for a system that would allow the high speed shutter function of my flash units to work for shooting scenics of people on bright sunny days (using faster than 1/200 shutter speeds to maintain bright sky details while illuminating my subjects with the strobes and keeping the flash in sync. Then, I heard about Radio Poppers, which are purported to maintain flash sync at high shutter speeds by “sensing” the signals when your camera fires, and transmitting those signals to your flashes, through the IR port on the front of the flash, along with the flash trigger pulse.
I finally bought the Radio Popper PX units. I was sadly disappointed with them, not because they would not trigger the Sony flashes (they did) but because programming them is a nightmare. Instead of giving you tiny switches you can set, or a neat USB programming method where you could program them with your PC as some other flash triggers offer, you have to remember a complicated series of LED codes on the display, refer to the manual, remember weird button press sequences, and it was a disaster. They also did not remember your settings when you removed the batteries!
I had read earlier that some Sony folks had some success with the Radio Popper P1 triggers. After reading up on them, I found that the P1 trigger is a much simpler turn on/turn off arrangement. Radio Popper agreed to let me trade the PX units for a set of P1 units (even trade). Once I got the P1s, I installed them, and they worked great…or so it seemed. I shot a wedding with this arrangement 2 weeks ago, and sure enough, the high speed shutter function did work, and you could put the flashes in TTL mode and adjust flash output from the Flash Compensation control on the camera (NICE!). The Radio Popper P1 did transmit the signals to provide that level of control, so I thought I was good to go (and very happy).
However, once I got in the “heat of the action”, the P1s did not maintain proper sync for every shot. I would fire the camera, looking right at the flashes, and they were going off, but were not syncing every time. Often they did, but often they did not. As a result, I had a lot of shots with no flash sync. I finally had to break out the Alienbees units and hook them up to get through the night.
There is a sync setting you can adjust on the P1s, however, I have not had extensive time to play with and experiment with this. Also, finding a way to mount these units on the flash in an elegant way is nearly impossible. They’re bulky and clunky. Hot glue and velcro can be your friend here.
Also, the P1 design has a flaw in battery replacement. You have to unscrew the base with a mini screwdriver to change the battery. Not practical when you shoot weddings, where everything happens so fast, you don’t have time for breaking out tools and fiddling. I modified mine with a dremel, cutting a rectangle out of the bottom so I can simply pop the AA battery in and out easily.
The other problem is the triggering. Placing the P1 transmitter on top of the 56 flash would not trigger the receivers. It could not sense the right flash pulse signals. The only thing that would trigger the receivers was mounting the transmitter over the pop-up flash with a plastic mount that RP provides. However, when the pop-up flash fires, your lens will cast a lens shadow at the bottom of your photos (indoors), unless you cover the pop-up flash with black tape.
If you have any specific questions on my setup or experiences, you can e-mail me at captainmercury1 at gmail.com. I’ll do what I can to help. I don’t check that address often, so be patient for a reply.
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