Lightning triggers enable you to capture those elusive daytime strikes, they are simple to use and I have been testing one from overseas.  Read on to learn more about these devices and my review and trial of the PatchMaster (c) Lightning Trigger.


 THIS FINE PRODUCT HAS BEEN UPDATED, REVISED AND STREAMLINED!  I WILL BE TESTING THE NEWER VERSION THIS STORM SEASON ALSO.  THE ADDED BENEFITS ARE THAT THE TOGGLE ON/OFF SWITCH HAS BEEN DELETED AND A USER FRIENDLY SLIDE TYPE NOW FITTED, SENSITIVITY ADJUSTMENT SWITCH FOR CHANGING LIGHTNING INTENSITY, ROBUST STREAMLINED HOUSING.  THIS UNIT IS CONSTANTLY BEING IMPROVED,   THE UNIT OFFERS VALUE FOR MONEY, ECONOMY AND EASE OF USE.  I CAN VOUCH FOR ITS SUCCESS RATE IN LIGHTING CAPTURES, I'VE CAPTURED MORE DAYTIME STRIKES THAN I EVER HAVE.

 

NEW! PatchMaster III*

LightningTrigger

(new images on the 2011/12 chase page using the Patchmaster VIII!)

Get images like this!

 


 

 


 

 

 

 

The PatchMaster II Lightning Capture! - Lightning Activated Electronic

Shutter Release for

Canon EOS 40D, 50D, 5D, 5D Mark II, 7D, 1D, 1D Mark II, 1D Mark II N,

1D Mark III, 1D Mark IV,


1Ds, 1Ds Mark II, 1Ds Mark III, D30, D60, 10D, 20D, 20Da, 30D

 

All camera brands accommodated for.  Nikon, Pentax, Sony, Minolta, Olympus!


2 Year Warranty Against Manufacturing Defects!

 

I am the Australian Distributor for the PatchMaster IIi Lightning Trigger.  I have a limited stock for Nikon type #1 and Canon type #1 now.  Please email me at darwintrio@bigpond.com for details.

CLICK DIRECT TO THE MANUFACTURER HERE!

 

*LET THE MANUFACTURER KNOW YOU SAW THEIR PRODUCT ADVERTISED HERE, IT WOULD BE APPRECIATED.

 

PRODUCT REVIEW FOR BOTH DAYTIME AND NIGHTTIME CAPTURES USING THE DEVICE INCLUDING IMAGES (C) StormscapesDarwin.com (c) Mike O'Neill

 

 

 

 

 I was pleasantly surprised at the prompt shipment of the device.  Erin at PatchMaster sent me one the devices to test and review as I was having some grief with my previous triggers bought a couple of years ago.  I wanted to find out just how good this device was given it's less dearer competitors that are available.

 I did not put too much pressure on myself to straight away expect 120% success rates, but initially i tested the device indoors fitted to the camera. The three pin plug to my Canon 1DsMKII fitted snuggly and the hotshoe mount was also a nice snug fit.  No problems so far.  I placed the camera on the benchtop and adjusted my settings to roughly what the indoor lighting was inside my home.  I used a second camera with flash to fire at the trigger to review lage time and sensitivity.  First firing of the flash did not prompt any response from the trigger but this was half expected as the camera was in 'sleep' mode!  Second fire...beautiful, worked fine. I nfired several shots from differing distances and also different angles to see if the trigger would detect light from the side, and behind.  Wonderful!  My camera fired repeatedly for all the second camera flash fires at it.  Lag time was pretty much a non event due to using a high speed CF card to process images quickly.

 

All I had to do is wait for some daytime storms to test the device.  Storms arrived that very afternoon so I set my camera up, checked my settings and adjusted for the light conditions.  Okay...let's see what happens.  Triggers don't always capture every strike, so don't expect miracles to happen!  What the trigger does is raise your success rate if the bolts are close enough or pulse several times so that the trigger can detect the lightning and fire the camera.  Obviously the closer the strike the more chances you have of getting it, but BE SAFETY CONSCIOUS.  Do NOT put yourself in danger by waiting until the storm is on top of you day or night to get the trigger to capture the lightning.

 There are several brands of triggers avaiable and even the most expensive one will not capture every strike.  Okay...the storm is coming, I can see lightning.  Several strikes within eyeshot about 15km away...trigger does not fire.  No problems there, my expectations excell the trigger!  Storm is a little closer now but the trigger does not detect daytime strikes and this was observed to be simply the lightning not pulsing enough for detection.  One thing must be remembered also, the ambient light outside can sometimes mask the lightning if it is not close enough so what you may see pulse, the trigger will not.

After missing a few daytime strikes the skies had darkened a little with the brewing storms and the strikes were more visible and a little closer this time.  Success!  The trigger is detecting flashes within the storm that I cannot see and is firing the camera.  A good sign.  So obviously the ambient light outsdie was interferring with the trigger's sensitivity.  Large strike in front of the car -GOT IT!  Another strike...got that one too.  Now I am a happy purchaser!

 

 

 

Trials have been done using the daytime functionability of the trigger, but it is apparent that the sensivity was factory set so as to not be overly sensative and create superfulous captures constantly - which is a smart  move.  PatchMaster are recalibrating the devices and making constant improvements as my review went online in Dec 2010.

 Okay...nighttime testing was flawless.  The darker the skies got and by nightfall the trigger was picking up all the right lightning.  It would discard any weak flashes, which is a Godsend - and when strikes grounded or lightning was crawler or streamer type it picked it up and fired the camera. I do not normally use a trigger at night simply because there's no need per se...but testing the unit was wonderful at night. 

 

 


 This was close!

 

The overall first up impression has been wonderful.  The price is extremely well thought out for such a device and for me, I would save some dollars and purchase somethng that works jsut as good as the expensive units.  You won't get all the strikes, but the ones you get will be one-off shots - so be happy with that!  I would highly recommend the unit and if you have any problems with the fittment or anything else with the device, PatchMaster will expeite repairs or warranty honors to the device given their two year guarantee.  Want one?  Contact me if you live in Australia or you can find PatchMaster on EBay.

 

Happy hunting - stay safe and if you recommend the unit to a friend, tell them you saw the first Australian review here

 

 Additonal Information:

The PatchMaster's core team consists of 3 MSc and 2 BSc Electronics&Communication Engineers who work in leader Electronics and Telecommunication companies of Turkey. All products are developed, assembled and inspected by the same core team.

 



Depending on the storm, lightning flashes can last for several hundred milliseconds (ms) and contain dozens of strokes each occurring approximately 40 milliseconds (ms) apart. The PatchMaster Lightning Capture! has a response (lag) time in microseconds (us) level but total lag time depends on your camera's shutter lag time. You can find the shutter lag times for some Canon models below:
Model Shutter Lag Time
Rebel XS / 1000D 90ms
Rebel T1i / 500D 90ms
Rebel XSi / 450D 90ms
Rebel XTi / 400D 100ms
Rebel XT / 350D 100ms
EOS 50D 59ms
EOS 40D 59ms
EOS 30D 65ms
EOS 20D 65ms
Model Shutter Lag Time
EOS 10D 80ms
EOS 7D 59ms
EOS 5D Mark II 73ms
EOS 5D 75ms
EOS 1D Mark IV 40-55ms
EOS 1D Mark III 40-55ms
EOS 1D Mark II N 40-55ms
EOS 1DS Mark III 40-55ms
EOS 1DS Mark II 40-55ms

Disclaimer
• Lightning can be DANGEROUS. We are not liable for any damage or personal injury associated with the use of the PatchMaster Lightning Capture!. The PatchMaster Lightning Capture! is intended for use only as a camera shutter release device and is not for any other purpose.
• In rare cases, strong static fields will cause the PatchMaster Lightning Capture! to false trigger. In such instances switch the PatchMaster Lightning Capture! off and remove from the static field.
• The PatchMaster Lightning Capture! is not waterproof. It should be treated and handled with the care of a camera and should not be dropped and/or exposed to extremes of heat or moisture.
• All camera functions may not be available when using the PatchMaster Lightning Capture!.

 

Shipping
• Instructions will be provided to test the PatchMaster Lightning Capture! until a real storm hits.
• Registered mail is the default shipment method. Tracking number will be supplied.
• It usually takes 7-10 days to receive your package. Please contact us in case you have an issue with delivery.
• Import duties, taxes and charges are not included in the item price or shipping charges. These charges, if any, are the buyer's responsibility. Please check with your country's customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to bidding/buying.
• Shipping fee declared in this listing is final, you will never be asked for extra shipping & handling fee unless you request another shipping method.

 

 

more reviews and images as they happen ( added 8 Nov 2011)