Inexpensive radio trigger

On the 18th match day of the Bundesliga in the current 2009/2010 season, I used a behind-the-goal camera for the first time. As I "only" have a Nikon D200 as a second camera and a shortest focal length of 17mm - actually 25,5mm - this was not an optimal combination for a behind-the-goal camera.

I couldn't turn the ISO high enough to expect sharp images because the D200 has too much noise - or: the light in the HSH Nordbankarena is not good enough 😉 Furthermore, the focal length is not short enough to capture the entire goal in one place to be able to take a picture. But this is necessary if you want to be able to catch shots on goal that come from both sides.

For me it was more of a test for more important games to see whether the technology could actually be used.

I set up the camera so that I could capture any headers on goal at the – for me – long post. I was sitting on the sidelines of the field. That was a reasonable compromise for me since I didn't have a shorter focal length available.

I set the camera completely to manual and thanks to the hyperfocal distance at aperture 4 at 3,6m, everything from 2,1m to infinity is automatically in focus and I can also switch off the autofocus. Of course, I could have used the autofocus with the radio trigger, but I didn't need that because of the optics used.

As a radio trigger I used the really inexpensive Yongnuo trigger, which is for example at enjoyyourcamera.com for around €60 (no affiliate link). The trigger can not only be used for remote triggering of cameras, but also for flashes, but cannot transmit an iTTL signal. That's why it's so inexpensive, because other systems - which also support iTTL - cost many times more. Well, I don't need iTTL to trigger a camera anyway.

The receiver is placed on the camera's hot shoe and is relatively small. The release cable goes into the corresponding socket. This is solved a little differently for each camera and that's why you have to buy the right set from Yongnuo for your own camera. Fortunately, the set for my Nikon D3 also fits the D2 cameras, D300, D700 and also the D200. (UPDATE: The remote shutter release is now only available without a cable and the appropriate camera release cable must be purchased separately. The advantage is that for different cameras only one cable and not a complete set has to be purchased.)

The transmitter has a release button and can be easily activated. The transmitter can also be plugged into the hot shoe and will then always trigger when the camera you are holding in your hand is also triggered. This leads to a flood of images, but in the digital age that is no longer a problem.

In the first half, the camera was behind the HSV goal while I was sitting on the sideline in the 5m space of SC Freiburg. Since a football field must be 105m long according to European guidelines, I can now assume that the radio trigger actually bridges the 100m straight line promised by the manufacturer - as the picture of Frank Rost in the crowd in front of his box shows. And this also works when there are a lot of people between the sender and receiver.

By the way: if several people use the same system, it is possible to choose different channels.

For the price, the radio trigger is definitely worth recommending if you want to trigger cameras remotely every now and then.