Thursday 22 January 2015

Are there downsides to a wireless (infrared) remote shutter release?


I have a Nikon D7000 and I see there are a couple remote release options from Nikon: the (wired) MC-DC2 and the (wireless) ML-L3 which is also about 40% cheaper than the wired remote.


Are there any good reasons one would choose the wired remote instead of the wireless, especially given the price difference?



Answer



Infrared triggers can lose their minds when in the presence of sunlight or a strong IR source. The sun puts out SO much IR the receiver can't see the signal unless its window is in shade or very close to the transmitter. They do work really well indoors or at night though, and cost less than the radio triggers.


And, just as a FYI, a toilet-paper tube taped over the window can help the receiver pick up the transmitter's IR burst when there is a lot of IR noise as it helps the receiver's "eye" see the right IR source.


For that matter though, even PocketWizards can get confused when in the presence of lots of radio noise or certain transmitters. I had a shoot where I had receivers on both sides of me lock-up multiple times. I'd used them in the same location several times before with no problems, and the only difference was the announcer was using a wireless microphone. I'd have loved to have wired up sync lines and turned off the wireless that night.


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