Bits and Pieces - 4/24/06

I have been trying for about a day to get a couple of articles posted. But Blogger.com, through whom I publish Strobist, is acting weird. Fortunately for me, it is not just me and my remedial-level coding skills. (I always suspect that first.) Turns out many other bloggers spent last night cursing at their computers, too.

It seems to be doing better now, but the catch-up traffic is such that it is like trying to get around in Washington, D.C. during rush hour. So I am gonna let it settle out a bit, and will be throwing more stuff up later.

In the on-deck circle, I have a full review of the ~$50 (or less) Nikon SB-24 strobe. Short version: It is an absolute steal (used, at this price.) Grab a couple while you can.

Also coming is a breakdown on the sub-$175 light kit, which is largely a compilation of a half-dozen or so posts. But this "starving student" set-up cannot be beat for dollars spent vs. picture improvement value.

And maybe most exciting, is news of this remote trigger supplied by Alert Reader Neal Vaughan:

16-Channel-Wireless-Digital-Slave -- $30.00 "Buy-it-Now" price on eBay.

(Thanks, Neal.)

Neal uses them at his paper. From what I have seen, they are not perfect, but for the money they may be a great solution for those who cannot spring for Pocket Wizards.

The verdict seems to be decent range (~150-180 feet,) and they work fine as long as the batteries are fresh. It is apparently a voltage level thing, because they do not like Ni-Cads (or Ni-MH's) which typically run at 1.2 volts each instead of 1.5 volts for the alkalines.

Note that you'd need a PC-to-PC cord if you were using them with, say, a PC-socket Nikon SB series strobe. But those are easy to find and I will have links up when I get ahold of one to review.

(Anyone who is using them, please e-mail me your experiences.)