When was the last time you ran across a bargain in photography? That long, huh?
This is the best and most affordable photo gadget I've run across in years! I bought this for architectural and fireworks photography with my Canon 5dII, but it does much more. First, there is the main button. Press it halfway and it focuses your camera. Push all the way and the camera fires. Slide the main button up, and it locks the shutter open for "Bulb" time exposures.
Use the "set" button to program the timer to trigger the camera up to 100 hours in the future.
Program it to fire off one frame after another every second/minute/hour forever.
Program it to fire off ten frames at twenty second intervals thirty hours from now--or any other combination.
Program it to take a 30 second time exposure starting five minutes from now.
The instruction manual is a bit puzzling, so it is best to just connect the trigger to your camera with the three-foot cord and play with it. THEN read the instructions, which are a tough slog.
The unit appears solid and well-made, and is powered by two standard "AAA" batteries which last for months. I've uploaded a few fun pictures of the unit.
UPDATE: I've been using this product for months, mainly for architectural photography. It still works perfectly and I haven't changed the batteries! Digital Timer Remote For Canon EOS, 1Ds, 1D, 50D, 40D, 30D, 20D, 10D, D60, D30, D2000, 1v HS, 1v, 1Ds Mark II, 1Ds Mark III, 1Ds, 1D Mark II, 1D Mark II N, 1D Mark III
Found this thing for $27 and thought it had to be to good to be true, well it's true! The unit works great, mind you it doesn't have the best in the way of a manual, but with a little play and following the on screen prompts you should have no problems. It is worth every penny I paid and have no regrets. Considering that the can version of this is 7X the price you really can't go wrong! Get it while it's cheap and enjoy!
I have been looking at remote timers for my Canon 5D Mark II for some time now. I had a hard time justifying Canon's price on the TC80-N3... when all that is really needed is the electronics to remotely trigger the camera. I found this device, on Amazon, for $100 LESS than the Canon version. Bottom line... this device works perfectly. You never know about the longevity of "after market" products like this, but it seems to be solid enough to do the job for quite some time. And after saving $100... I'll take my chances!
For the most part I like this timer. I got it to replace my canon (Canon TC-80N3). I do a lot of startrails photography and wanted a few improvements in the Canon timer (e.g. it is limited to 99 shots and you cannot see all of the timer info on its screen when it is running, namely, the number of shots remaining). This Neewer timer fixes these both.
The odd thing I ran into, is that for low interval settings (time between shots), it either ignores it, or has an incorrect value. For example, when I set the interval to 7 seconds, the interval seems to only be 3-4 seconds. When I set it lower than 5, it seems to ignore the interval altogether. This is not a show stopper because the workaround is to just set a bigger value and then check it before shooting (I sometimes use the interval to check the lens between startrails shots). Has anyone else seen this problem?
The other minor problem is that the start button can be activated much easier than the Canon TC-80N3 if it is in a tightly packed camera bag.
I gave this 4 stars because of the interval anomaly and start switch "problem", described above. Other than that, this is a great value and I recommend it.
As the old saying goes..."you get what you pay for". In this case, that's EXACTLY how I feel about this remote. After doing some extensive research for a cable release/remote timer for my Canon 5D Mark II, I knew I didn't want to spend $140 plus for a genuine Canon remote and figured that I would simply be paying for the Canon name. So, I opted to buy this remote instead and save myself $120 or so.
My initial impressions of the remote when I opened the box were great. It looked good, and felt sturdy and solid. The only thing that I didn't really like was that there wasn't an "off" switch on it. So, to save batteries, I would have to just take the batteries out. Okay, no big deal. I could live with that. It was only $16 bucks after all.
So, the day came when I needed the remote on a shoot. I plugged it into the camera, set the settings on the remote for what I wanted, and....NOTHING. I unplugged it, plugged it back in, tried it again, and...NOTHING. After spending a frustrating 30 minutes trying this and that, I realized that the problem was with the plug that inserts into the camera. It had to be HELD into position on the camera in order for the remote to trigger the camera! The cheap plastic plug that comes with this remote simply doesn't hold tight enough to the camera to keep a solid connection. I tried everything I could think of short of taping the plug to the camera, or hiring someone to sit there and hold the plug in for me. Nothing worked.
I realize that overall this remote has gotten good reviews (one of the reasons that I decided to buy it in the first place). And for someone that isn't going to be using it a lot, or has someone with them when they are using it to hold the plug into the camera, then it's probably worth the $16 and a little frustration in getting it to actually work as advertised. However, if you're someone who needs their equipment to function 100% of the time with no hassles, then this is NOT the remote for you. Do yourself a favor and buy the real deal from Canon (Model TC-80N3). I know, I know...it's $140! But trust me...when you're on a shoot, or that perfect opportunity presents itself for a great shot and you have to rely on your equipment, you'll thank your lucky stars that you invested in the real deal. - Time-lapse - Canon - Photography - Camera Remote'
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