Inspired by Moose for photographing birds during nesting season I went in search of a solution. A solution to keep me over 10 feet away from my subject and still be able to trigger my camera. I have a Nikon D300 so this particular device might not work on every camera in the world, but by use of its interchangeable cable design it does for most. From Canon, to Nikon and Sony…etc.

My frustrations with finding a device began when I heard the price of Nikon’s 9.8 foot extension cord (something against an even 10 feet?) According to B&H Photo it’s 80$! There is no way in hell I’m paying 80$ for copper wire and a cable that may contain lead in the state of California. To be fair if you check B&H’s summer catalog it lists for 70$… (get a price quote from them if you really want to go that route) WOW what a bargain! Sarcasm aside I sought out a different solution. I did what most people in the 21st century do, search Google for other products. I found a few remotes, but they are old technology and still not within my price range. Taking the next logical step when no company in the US of A makes a product you want; I searched eBay.

Searching eBay I came across a few decent looking and well received products. Unfortunately a lot of them use CR 123 batteries; both expensive and impracticable. Finally after searching I found the Phottix Plato N8. It takes AAA batteries (convenience and I only use rechargeables which are better for the environment as well as recyclable) and looked light weight with simple operation. There are plenty of videos and at least one other review out there. What I wanted to do was add more views and a description of the product through use and application. All the snapshots I took will be in a gallery for all the angles I could thinking of taking a picture for.

When the unit arrived it came in a presentable package with an insert and a pamphlet of instructions (see gallery.) Everything was spelled out on the pamphlet on how to use the device. There is also an instructional video out there that explains its function in video form for those that prefer to not deal with written text :-p. The construction of the device appears to be well built. I dropped the main transmitter unit by accident and it fell flat and continues to work. The battery cover to both devices could be an issue for some. The covers are not attached and must be handled carefully as without them you can’t complete the circuit. They slide in and stay in just fine.

Experimenting with the device lead me to an issue that I later solved. I almost always have my D300 in continuous high mode. The trick was that 9 out of 10 times when you choose single shutter release and hit the button it fires off two frames. I am not to sure why it’s doing this, but a quick remedy is to just put it in regular shutter release mode on the camera body if you want to prevent this. Say if you have limited shooting capacity  or you don’t want too many duplicates. The remote works just like a shutter release cable. You can half press the button on the wireless remote allowing auto-focus operation. If you don’t want it to auto-focus every time just put the camera in manual auto-focus and pre-focus where you want. A huge factor for me is also the dual communication. What’s the point of walking 100+ feet (goes amazingly further, more on that in a moment) if you don’t know the camera is taking photographs?! The top of the remote will have two green lights that stay lit when half pressing to let you know it’s within range.

Speaking of range; I wanted to test how far away it truly can fire that shutter. The unscientific way of testing was setting her up on a tripod and taking a walk. I had Dina stand by for confirmation and security of the gear. I set the Camera on a tripod with my Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 and set the zoom to 35mm. When multiplied by a 1.5x crop factor it works out to almost 50mm. An angle of view equal to our own eyesight. I used my shoe counting off paces toe to heel tip. I was able to walk in front of the camera with the unit facing forward and get the camera to fire with little problem at 800 paces or unscientifically around 800ft! This sucker is only rated for 320ft. I couldn’t point the device right at it, I had to arch my shot just a tad to get a good shot from ~800ft.) These are in wide open scenarios with little to no RF interference. So results I’m sure will vary. To be fair I wanted to test the device facing the other way. Since normally we will be photographing in the direction behind the camera and not in front of it.

Walking with the device turned around and the device facing in the opposite direction (fits in the hot shoe both ways) I was able to get to about 500 paces or approximately 500ft being able to get a shot off. In my tests these were near maximums. I had to do some fiddling of the remote direction to get it to shoot 500ft or so and in the other direction of 800ft it was shooting quite well. This device goes more then the 320ft stated and I would stay in that range to make sure that you get constant shooting without worry.

Keep in mind this remote has dual functionality as it can plug right into the attaching cable and can be used as a wired remote; however you do need batteries in the remote to work. Battery life appears to be quite good as I have run some tests and it is as fast as hitting a wired remote release. It also has a 2second timer mode that counts out 2 seconds on the remote (not the camera), a continuous shutter mode where it pumps out five shots in succession, and a bulb mode that operates just like locking the shutter release in. You will have to put your camera in continuous high, continuous low, or bulb in shutter priority to take advantage of this. In a single shutter release mode on your camera it will not keep sending the signal for repetitious shooting.

(Pardon the ugly plastic. It comes pre-applied for protection. Has a glossy front that loves finger prints. Not really a concern though.)

Curious about all these modes I sought a solution for star trails! Star trails involves taking a series of images on a locked down tripod of the night sky over a period of time. Then compiling them on your PC. I have purchased the MC-36 remote and I detest its price and remedial superiority to the interval timer in camera. What I decided to do (after finding bulb mode on the remote didn’t work) I tried the continuous mode on the remote. I took a piece of rubber I had laying around and strapped it to the remote release on the wireless remote using a rubber band. Wallah! I had continuous shooting that did not stop after 100 continuous releases! Nikon puts a limit (somewhere around 100 shutter releases depending on which camera you have) on how many shots can be taken with one held press of the shutter; even with a remote cable (or in this case wireless) release. Why I have never gotten an answer. Why a professional grade camera can’t fire 100+ images in one session is beyond me. Especially when the CF card, buffer and 30″ or so exposure would allow for it. Please note I locked down the wireless remote in that 5 pulse continuous mode. For reasons why see here. Your only limitation of course is battery life. Living in NYC I can’t actively test its battery life, but it held up way past 100 shots so I am very happy. Will save me a ton on some big expensive remotes that are available. I checked the time stamp on my images and it fired off two seconds back to back and occasionally with a one second gap. A one second gap came standard with the MC-36 so to me it is a fine trade off.

All in all it appears to be the best product on the market. The dealer however makes me very upset. I had an on going dispute with them as it took a century to ship. I wanted this for spring and as spring was waning it came. It took them a week at least for the item for ship. That is because I inquired about what different cables would cost so I could use the device with different cameras. With that request they held my unit up for shipment. I never asked them to do so and it even said they do not combine shipping on their auction page. So what’s the deal?! It took three weeks to find out when it would ship or if it even had. Not until I said I won’t buy a cable until I know the unit even shipped did they tell me the status. 1.5 months later I got my item! Obviously my situation may have been a rarer case, but none the less I thought I should share ( and per encouragement of my friend and great photographer Thomas Goodwin.) The business is called HKSUPPLIES and the user is etefore. It’s a hard deal to pass up at 45$. Just don’t ask about extra cables until after you get your item to prevent a hold up. By the way the cables cost around 9$ in case you are curious. That took a while too, heh.

Pros -

• Convenient AAA Batteries.
• Compact & Light.
• 300ft+ range in unobstructed space.
• Two way communication to know if the device is still able to trigger the camera.
• Wireless and attached modes.
• Halfway depressing button allowing activation of auto-focus and vibration reduction from afar.
• Interchangeable camera-to-unit cables purchasable via contact with Hong Kong supplier eBay account for ~9$.
• Low price point of 45$ plus free regular shipping.
• Came with four free AAA batteries, Toshiba. (Get rechargeables, Maha Imedion brand come pre-charged, can be charged over 500 times and hold 85% of their charge up to a year!)
• Multi-Directional; not limited like an infrared beam would be.
• Sturdy Build
• Multi-function operation (2sec timer, single shutter release, continuous 5-burst mode, bulb)
• Main wireless unit mounts in hot-shoe.
• Built in security to prevent interference or cross triggering. They come pre-configured, but you can re-sync yourself.
• Able to shoot star trails with solid lines and not dash lines (see more here.)

Cons -

• Made in China (nothing better else where though)
• Long shipping period so plan ahead. Anywhere from 1-3weeks. Aim longer then shorter.
• Low re-sale
• Out of country support (They definitely try to help and be attentive, but be very clear as to what you want and keep it simple!)
• When connecting the remote directly to the camera via the cable it still requires batteries.
• Battery covers are not attached, so be careful!
• Top of remote loves fingerprints.

Update 3/19/2010: I have had a mixed experience with their customer service. Make sure to be clear, well documented, and precise with your complaints/concerns/exchanges/returns. I had a major issue with the 10-pin connector wire. I contacted them a total of 4x before getting a response out of them. Very upsetting. The problem with the cable was it just wouldn’t work unless it was hanging out of the socket. My other 10-pin devices were flawless so I knew the cable was the problem. I finally got my replacement cable. However they never told me when it was sent. So unfortunately this is discouraging to deal with them, they however offer the best/most convenient product on the market it seems. They also seem to have replaced the cable with a coiled spring like cable. Maybe they knew of the issues? Either way I thought I would share. All the best.

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