Aputure Trigmaster Plus 2.4GHz transceiver review
We were kindly given a number of Trigmaster Plus 2.4GHz units to take out and see how they operate. These new triggers are similar to the existing 433MHz versions, with a few added features, including waking up flashes from sleep mode.
Specifications
The Trigmaster Plus is a wireless transceiver made by Aputure Limited of China, who make a variety of products to help you with your photography. It is small in size when compared to the bulkier PocketWizard and Atlas transceivers. In a clear area, the stated range is 100 metres. There is a handy locking pin for Nikon flashes to lessen the chances of them slipping out. The feet are plastic and there is no locking ring, but it feels sturdy enough when attached to the hot shoe of the camera. There is a light stand mount located on the back of the unit.
Box Contents
1 x Trigmaster Plus Transceiver 2.4GHz
1 x 2.5mm to 3.5mm cable
1 x 2.5mm to Sync cable
As it was a Nikon version I was testing, the 2.5mm to Nikon Remote Port cable for remote trigger of the camera was supplied.
Controls
The On switch is located to the right side of the trigger, with the 2.5mm jack ports on the left. The front is home to the switch between receiver and transceiver mode, the test button and the channel button. You are able to attach a flash to the front with the hotshoe and mount it to a lightstand with the standard mount on the rear.
Operation
When using the Trigmaster Plus as a trigger, you would set the one mounted to the camera to the TX/RX position, and the one attached to the flash as RX. The test button is not really used for firing the flash, you have to press it partly down and then press the channel button. Can get rather fiddly with holding the camera and trying to press two buttons. If the Trigmaster is set up as a remote for the camera, partly pressing the button will autofocus the lens before fully pressing, taking the shot.
Flash Sync
The Trigmaster Plus was able to sync all the way to 1/250th of a second with the D700.
Range
On the range test with a D90 and 80-200mm f2.8 lens, with the camera use in landscape position, and the aerial on the Trigmaster pointed up, I could get all the way to 130 metres. To get past this, turning the camera into portrait position and keeping the aerial in the same way it was, I could push the distance up to 200m, then no matter how the camera or trigger was used, the flash wouldn’t fire.
Conclusion
Pros
- Small form
- Surpasses the printed 100m range
- Reliable triggering
Cons
- Button layout for testing the flash
The Trigmaster Plus 2.4GHz is in production now and will cost around the £90 mark. For this you get a reliable trigger with a multitude of functions that can cover more than enough range for most people. If you can live with having to grasp your camera in a certain way so you can press a couple of buttons for testing a flash, then keep the Trigmaster Plus in mind.
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Is it better than a RF-603?
It’s better than the RF-603 and actually i have tested it 3 times for a range and each time i reached about 300 meters. The test button is a little bit weird, but there is reason for it. When you are trying to do interlinking. For example, you attach one Trigmaster plus to the flash, one on the camera(linked to the camera with a cable, so in fact in shutter release mode) and the 3rd one like a shutter release. So, when you press the test button, you don’t trigger the flash, but only the camera which triggers the flash. That’s all.The device is surprisingly reliabe and i expect more to come from Aputure.
I have been using a pair of Trigmaster Plus 2.4G transceivers since December 2011 and I can only report good things about them.
They just work, unlike some of the cheap alternatives I have used over the years. Like anything that runs from batteries, they do show a drop in performance as the battery charge drops. Primarily range gradually drops off, which isn’t normally a problem within a studio or home environment. The shutter sinc speed suffers at 1/250 on very low batteries, buy this can be overcome, changing to 1/200 until the batteries are completely drained, when they just don’t work.
There is never that uncertain time, of whether they will fire the flash or not. If the batteries are good, they work and if the batteries are poor they don’t.
When I bought these I got an amazing deal on eBay paying less than £40 (40 pounds stirling) for two, I see they have gone up since then, but still an excellent buy.
It’s a great product, just buy it, use it & forget it’s there.
PS. if you have an appropriate lead, you can rig them to fire two flash guns from one unit switched to RX mode, as I discovered by accident the other day while figuring out how to mount one of these attached to an old Nikon SB-24 onto an adaptor bracket for a Bowens soft box. The lead I have, is fitted with a spare hotshot connection. I plugged in a second flash & it was triggered too. That’s cool.
Hi is this Aputure Trigmaster Plus Transceiver compatible with Trigmaster II receiver ?
Yes.
Is it better compare to the Pixel Opas ?