Phottix Strato II Wireless Flash Trigger

Over a year ago, I was invited to join a short photography class with Ken Go and learned how to use wireless triggers. After the class ended, I immediately went to Greenhills to get my own set and try it out at home.

I bought a couple of Phottix (PT-04 II) wireless triggers which costs about Php3USD 0.05INR 4EUR 0.05CNY 0.37+k for the whole set. That’s the only time I ever heard of the brand until last week when the local distributor contacted me asking if I’d like to check out their whole line-up.

The test units I got was these Phottix Strato II series, probably the latest in the line. These wireless triggers allow you to be more creative and flexible with your shots, especially when you’re using a dSLR and independent flash.

The triggers are attached to the camera (transmitter) and the flash (receiver) so you can trigger the lights wirelessly, up to 150 meters and operating at the 2.4GHz frequency.

They work with a number of flashes for Canon and Nikon as well as strobe lights if you want to do it in the studio. Tried this one at home but since I did not have any tripod for the flash, I was a bit limited with my sample shots.

Here are sample shots I took using the Phottix triggers attached to my Canon 7D and the Canon Speedlite 580EX II.

The one above was shot with the flash positioned at the top left corner while the photo below was shot with the flash smack right on top of the subject.

These are very simple examples but with additional flash and bigger space, I could probably do something close to this.

There are actually so many practical and creative uses for the triggers although I rarely use the ones I bought since I moved to the Canon S95 from the 7D.

• Use multiple remote flash to light a subject.
• Light a subject from a considerable distance (in this case, up to 150m).
• Fill up dark areas or shadows with light.

They’re actually pretty easy to use and operate. Runs on two AAA batteries each and can trigger the flash as fast as 1/250 of a second.

Not sure how much they retail locally but from the Phottix online store, the two-piece set goes for $98PHP 5,751INR 8,305EUR 93CNY 713 and the single set costs $57PHP 3,345INR 4,831EUR 54CNY 415.