Elinchrome EL-Skyport Radio Synchronizer Overview

For quite a long time, I used Cactus v2 as radio synchronizers for flash. They are relatively inexpensive, small in size and quite suitable for studio shooting. But as I wrote their reliability in low temperatures leaves much to be desired. Lots of better.

When there was a question about buying something more practical, I first looked at PocketWizard for a long time. They are super reliable, working at a distance of up to 500 meters. But there is one "but": the price is about 6000 rubles. And you need at least three, and preferably four.

At that moment I paid attention to the EL-Skyport synchronizers from Elinchrom , which cost about 3,000 rubles each. I will briefly tell you about them.

Dimensions

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I will begin, perhaps, with a comparison of sizes. It says a lot:



Not only is PocketWizards more than all of them combined, but they also have a huge antenna. Skyports also have an antenna, but it is foldable and only five centimeters long. True and the distance they have less: 120 meters on the street, not 500.

Receiver

The receiver is a black plastic box that weighs unexpectedly a lot for its small size. This creates a justified impression of strength and solidity. On the front there is a work and charge indicator, a power button and a channel selector. The on / off button is very vague: you press and you cannot turn it on, then it turns on the first time.

At the top there is a connector for the charger. The receiver has a built-in lithium-ion battery. One charge was enough for me for a month and a half of work. Now still holding the second. Charges unnecessarily long: about 4 hours.

On the left side is a group selection slider. I will tell about it later. On the right side, there is an antenna, which, to improve the quality of reception, must be parallel with the transmitter antenna.

Included with each receiver is a handy strap, a bunch of adapters to different connectors and a huge case into which three receivers and a transmitter fit. There are no wires for PC connectors among adapters: the studio orientation of the device is noticeable here.

Transmitter

The transmitter is about one and a half times smaller than the receiver. On the front panel there are buttons for changing the brightness of the pilot light, testing receivers and channel selector. On the right side there are switches for power and group selection. On the right, as on the receiver, is the antenna. The transmitter is powered by a large battery-tablet. I have never changed.

The choice of the group turned out to be comfortable. You can, for example, install a key light source on the first group, and a background light on the fourth group and check them independently during shooting. And you can switch to the All position and use all groups at the same time.

If I have practically no complaints about the receivers, the transmitter is an order of magnitude worse. First and foremost: there is no fixation in the camera's shoe.



This led to the fact that one day I, having thrown the camera over my shoulder, touched him with my elbow, he safely fell from a height of 10 meters and scattered into pieces. (I sat on the ceiling beam in the gym and photographed climbers). After that, he was safely glued with tape, and then glued with glue. At the same time, I drilled the missing holes for fastening the strap: now it is securely attached to the camera and will not fly far.

Secondly, it is very easy to hit the power switch by putting the transmitter in the bag and leaving it on. At some point it may unexpectedly turn out that the battery has sat down. (It will be necessary to put a spare in the bag).

Overall impression

Despite these shortcomings, the overall impression of the system is positive. I have never noticed any false positives or non-positives (the flash which failed to charge or the receiver not turned on is not counted). They are small in size, and if not worn in their original case, they easily fit into any photo bag.