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The ability to use your flashes off-camera presents you with ideal lighting conditions to capture well-lit subjects. When you get the best wireless flash trigger, you will be able to control multiple flashes simultaneously as you take photographs. It also allows you to be flexible on where you position your speedlight.
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With a broad wireless transmission and several trigger functions, the Pluto Trigger tops the list of the best wireless remote flash triggers. It enables you to control external flashes at various levels to illuminate spaces properly.
I take you through the main features of the best wireless flash triggers. What makes them outstanding, and address any concerns you may have concerning wireless flash triggers.
Coming with a little bit of everything, the Pluto Trigger ensures it attends to numerous
The trigger connects to a smartphone via Bluetooth, a feature you won’t enjoy with the Godox XPro-C wireless flash trigger. When you note the battery icon turning into a spinning icon, the connection is taking place. This process is pretty unintuitive if you don’t know what to check.
The trigger features 24 different modes. From the tap mode that offers instant trigger to time interval modes like the bulb mode, it provides you immense versatility when triggering your flash for cameras like the Canon 6D.
While it is the priciest trigger included, the numerous ways of triggering your flashes for flash exposure bracketing or HDR are what make it my best wireless flash trigger.
Built with a larger LCD than the Godox X2T-S, the Godox XPro-C TTL is a legible and easy-to-use flash trigger. Its menu is also less challenging to use than that of the Aodelan FT-8.
Unlike the Aodelan FT-8, it has dedicated group buttons. This makes it a cinch to pick groups by pressing the buttons. Different from the other Godox flash triggers on review, you get 16 flash groups, an upgrade from the five the others can manage.
An exclusive feature you won’t find in the other Godox triggers on review is the TCM function. When using TTL mode, this feature allows you to determine your previous flash settings, especially on Nikon cameras.
My main complaints are the absence of Bluetooth connectivity and backlit buttons like the Godox X2T-S, hence less versatile in terms of usage.
The YONGNUO RF-603C II is an upgrade from version I that had fewer and inferior features to play around with during photoshoot sessions.
Unlike the first version, which had buttons at the top, this unit has buttons on the side. It, therefore, allows you to adjust the trigger depending on the white balance, something that was challenging with its first version.
You can handle up to 16 channels which, though lower than the 32 you get with Godox XPro, is better than the eight channels the Aodelan FT-8 offers.
Its most notable difference is the 1/320 synchronization speed which is faster than other options on review, including the Godox triggers at 1/256. This feature allows you to shoot faster action with ease.
While having superb functionality, it does not support TTL mode like the Godox triggers, hence not the best when shooting moving subjects.
If you want a wireless flash trigger that you can use when working with a wide range of setups, the Neewer Flash Trigger might be your ideal choice. Like the Aodelan FT-8, this trigger is compatible with Olympus, Panasonic, Fujifilm, Nikon, and Pentax cameras for real estate photography.
Just like no driver would want a car that breaks down in the middle of a race and lacks a mechanic to fix the issue, no photographer would want a flash trigger that shuts down in the middle of the shoot due to power issues.
Fortunately, like the Godox X2T-S, the receiver and the transmitter of this flash trigger use AAA batteries which are widely available and simple to replace, enhancing reliability. The main downside of this trigger is that although it does not consume too much power, it drains the battery of your camera, particularly when shooting timelapse.
If you want a studio-quality setup in the real estate interior, you will love the flexibility of this trigger. Typically, it features 16 varying channels with a transmitting range of 98 feet, allowing you to light interiors using multiple strobes at a go without experiencing any interferences between them.
However, if you are capturing in a room or backyard crowded with objects or people, you might have challenges using the trigger consistently as its range gets affected by varying factors such as obstacles.
While it resembles its less pricey predecessor, the Aodelan FT-8, the Godox X2T-S, includes additional features and slight design adjustments to let you use a flash to light interiors.
It features more buttons than the Aodelan FT-8. Its dedicated buttons absent in the Aodelan FT-8 make it a lot easier to control several flashes simultaneously.
As my best durable wireless flash trigger, Godox X2T-S has Bluetooth support which is absent in the Aodelan FT-8 and XPro triggers. This feature allows you to operate the X2T-S and your flashes compatible with the Godox app without having to hold them.
While it offers some benefits unavailable in the XPro, you are still limited to five flash groupings and no TCM to determine the used settings.
The Aodelan FT-8 is compatible with a wide range of hot shoe flashes, enhancing versatility when capturing different properties using different cameras, including the Canon 80D and 70D. The flash features a synchronization speed of 1/250 sec, allowing you to capture more frames per second at large apertures.
The flash trigger provides you with eight channel receiver and transmitter units with an operating distance of 650 feet, significantly preventing interference from other flashes that might be in the vicinity of your operating position.
However, in real-life situations, with walls, obstacles, and other interferences, you'll find that the range can be significantly reduced.
Additionally, the trigger operates on a 2.4GHz frequency, which can be susceptible to interference from other devices that operate on the same frequency, such as baby monitors, Wi-Fi routers, and cordless phones.
With a built-in antenna, this flash trigger receives and transmits clear signals between several wireless points, ensuring an efficient and effective operation. This flash trigger comes with LED indicators, allowing you to know the operating status of your trigger, whether on or off.
A remote flash trigger gives you the flexibility of placing a wireless flash near the main subject and then triggering the flash remotely without a physical connection to the camera. However, not all wireless remote flash triggers are the same, and some are more versatile than others.
The following features can help you choose a wireless remote flash trigger that meets your distance requirement. The table below highlights some of the crucial things you should look out for when buying a wireless remote flash trigger.
| Flash Trigger | Flash Sync Speed | Range | Groups and Channels |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pluto Trigger | 1/20s | 328 feet | 6 and 16 |
| Godox XPro-C | 1/8000s | 328 feet | 16 and 32 |
| YONGNUO RF-603C-II-C3 | 1/320s | 328 feet | 16 and 32 |
| Neewer Trigger | 1/200s | 98 feet | 16 and 16 |
| Godox X2T-S | 1/8000s | 328.1 feet | 5 and 32 |
| Aodelan FT-8 | 1/250s | 650 feet | 5 and 8 |
The common wireless connectivity types you can find in most flash trailers are infrared, radio, and Bluetooth. Most triggers using infrared connectivity have a limitation of distance and obstacles. For instance, the trigger might not be able to communicate with the flash if there is a wall between the trigger and the flash.
For more versatility, consider going for a wireless flash trigger that features Bluetooth connectivity, such as the Pluto flash trigger. This allows you to connect it with other devices that use Bluetooth connectivity, such as a smartphone.
You may photograph vast interiors and exteriors, so you'll need a trigger with a wide transmitter range to cover the whole scene.
The Aodelan FT-8 has the broadest at 650 feet. However, a 328-foot range is sufficient for most interiors and exteriors. This makes the rest of the triggers on the list efficient enough for most real estate property shoots, even when shooting rooms without windows.
Triggers and receivers must be on the same channel to communicate. If you have multiple softbox lights or different photographers in a room, you can set your own trigger to a particular channel. In this way, you can operate your lights without triggering the others.
Moreover, the groups enable you to set flashes to various exposure levels while firing them simultaneously.
The Godox XPro-C and YONGNUO RF-603C-II-C3 let you use 16 groups and 32 channels. The Neewer Trigger follows with 16 flash groups and 16 channels. Meanwhile, Pluto Trigger can work on 6 groups and 16 channels.
Wireless remote flash triggers require power to send the wireless signal. That means the trigger needs a battery to power electronics. In most cases, wireless flash triggers use one or several AA batteries or lithium-ion batteries.
When choosing the trigger, you should consider whether the accessories, like batteries, are rechargeable or not. You should also consider the power rating of the batteries, so they don't die even before the camera battery or the flash battery dies.
For instance, the Pluto wireless flash trigger comes with two lithium-ion batteries that can give you extended battery life, allowing you to take a large collection of photos before they die.
Like other camera equipment such as lenses and flashlights, wireless flash triggers come in different construction qualities that affect their weights. Keeping in mind that you might hold the wireless flash trigger with your hand throughout the photo session, you don't want something that can exhaust you or cause muscle fatigue.
It is, therefore, advisable to go for a compact and lightweight wireless flash trigger such as the Yongnuo RF-603. Keep in mind that you might need to make a trade-off between features and construction quality and the lightweight design. This is because most lightweight triggers are less sophisticated.
The rear curtain sync is a camera flash sync mode. When using this mode, the shutter opens and closes for a duration of time, depending on the settings of the shutter speed. The flash sync mode happens when the flash fires at the rear curtain or at the end of the exposure.
The TCM transform mode in the camera flashes transforms the TTL to Manual. Normally, the flash function converts the flash and camera calculations in the manual setting when you are shooting in the TTL mode. The TCM mode can also change the flash value in the TTL mode to magnification mode as the output value.
Nearly every low-light camera comes with a hot shoe that helps you to mount your flash on it. The wireless flash trigger comes with a transmitter which you are supposed to mount on the camera, and a receiver to attach to the flash.
The best wireless flash trigger should allow you to control your flashes from at least 328.08 feet. You should also consider its ability to separate your flashes into various groups to ease operation and help you use the best flash for real estate photography.
