Bumper Xmas budget flash trigger review

Recommendations

Whatever the outcome of this review, it may be out of date rather soon. We have a sample set of the new Cactus V5 transceivers on the way to us from the manufacturers, Harvest One, for evaluation. The Pixel Bishop, a successor to the Soldier TF-37X, is also on the horizon.

Pixel Soldier, Aputure Trigmaster, Yongnuo RF-602, MeiKe MK-RC7 & Phottix Strato

The best

If you’re after the best all-round flash trigger for under $100 a set, I would recommend the Phottix Strato or the Pixel Soldier both for their feature sets and sheer ease-of-use. While the Strato is a little bit more expensive, the TTL pass-through may be indispensable for your needs. On the other hand, I personally prefer the Wireless Flash Grouping on the Soldier. If you were to wait a little longer for the Pixel Bishop to come out then you will get both features in one.

The best value

On the extreme low-budget front, it’s a toss up between the RF-602s and MK-RC7s. Yongnuo seems to be a bigger company with a larger distribution network and this would probably inspire more confidence in the long run. Cables and extra receivers are easy to come by. The extra shutter release features on the MK-RC7 and Aputure Trigmaster are nice, though.

Overall, you can’t go far wrong with any of these triggers. If I received a random set for Christmas, I’d have little to complain about. But there’s a chance I’d mischievously sell them for a set of Stratos or Soldiers.

As for cheap TTL triggers, that’s a waiting game…

Where to buy

There is a quantitative comparison of these and many more radio triggers in our flash triggering guide.

Have we missed something important? Let us know in the comments below.

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