There's something undeniably cool about photos of high-speed blink-and-you-miss-it subjects like balloons mid-burst or flashes of lightning. But, unless you've got the reactions of an about-to-be-swatted fly, they can be tricky to take. Luckily, more and more remote triggers are cropping up which use sensors to ensure you always capture the moment, no matter how brief. The NeroTrigger is the latest such offering which incorporates light, sound and laser sensors, among other things.
Giving competition to the likes of the ioShutter and Triggertrap (which can use the sensors of your smartphone), the NeroTrigger works with most DSLRs, and includes built-in sensors which can be used to trigger your camera shutter. The compact 90 g (3.2 oz) device measures just 62 x 32 x 94 mm (2.4 x 1.3 x 3.7 inches) and can be mounted on a hot-shoe.
Users connect the NeroTrigger to their camera and external flash via 2.5mm and a 3.5mm trigger ports. Because this is a standard connection, users won't need to buy multiple NeroTriggers if moving between cameras or even brands – just the connecting cable will need to be switched. Out-of-the-box Nerotrigger is compatible with Canon, Nikon, Sony or Pentax cameras and, while it will work with other brands, users will have to supply their own cables.
An LCD menu (with a 132 x 132 pixel resolution) is used to select the desired triggering function and make adjustments to factors such as sensitivity, delay, frame count and exposure length. Lightning Mode can be triggered by any sort of lighting change – such as the flash of fireworks, sparks or lightning – with sensitivity levels set between 1 and 99, while Sound Mode is ideal for capturing things like a popping balloon or breaking glass.
Time Lapse Mode takes the guesswork out of producing cool-looking time-lapse videos by allowing users to set exposure and interval parameters (how long to keep the shutter open and the length of interval in between) as well as limit the total number of frames to be taken. Laser Mode means the camera can be triggered when a laser beam, fed to the device, is broken – which could come in very handy if shooting fast-moving objects.
HDR Mode lets you bracket a series of images so that they can be combined in post-production, while DIY Mode allows users to attach external sources to the trigger via a dedicated port. This option is only really for people who know what they are doing and have an understanding of electronics (there's a warning in the manual stating that you use it at your own risk) ... but it really opens up the potential of the device for those that do.
The 2x AAA battery-powered NeroTrigger is available now in a selection of bold colors (red, orange, green, black, pink or blue) for a price of US$200. It ships with cables to connect your camera and flash.
Source: NeroTrigger