YN PT-04 Triggers – The New Kids on the Block

A while ago now, I decided to jump on the strobist bandwagon and get myself some cheap wireless triggers from ebay. Well, that purchase turned a bit sour (you can read about it here if you want). A few weeks after, another set caught my eye. They were branded as Yongnuo (YN) PT-04 TM V2s wireless flash triggers. They were a much better price than any others I had seen, took AAA batteries and said they worked with my 430EX. So I ordered a transmitter and two receivers to see what they were like. So here is my small review of these new units. Photos and more words in the full post.

I ordered my units through the ebay store called “Next Digital” as they were the cheapest at the time and had offers for free shipping. The transmitter and receiver set came to $24.90 US with free shipping and the second receiver was around $20 US. So all up, around $45 AUD at the time with the then exchange rate. Shipping from Hong Kong to Australia surprisingly only took a week.

The units themselves look a lot like the Cactus V2s ones that they quite obviously are bred from. The transmitter is about the same size as the Cactus one but the finish on it is matte instead of the shiny finish on the others, it is a bit edgier as well. The receivers are where they are most different. For one, these ones are a lot larger but that is to accomodate the two AAA batteries inside them as opposed to the small, hard to get CR2 in the Cactus units. The channel selection switches on these units are also on the outside instead of under the battery cover which is so very easy to use. It means that I don’t have to fiddle around so much to change the channel of my units. Other than that, they both have the same RF internals, L bracket and hot shoe on top. One thing worth noting is that these receivers have lost the PC sync terminal that was on the others. That may be a problem to some.

A big advantage of these units over the last ones that I had is that they work flawlessly with the Canon 430EX which is well known for being a pain when used with some cheap wireless triggers. It popped a few times randomly on the default channel the first time I used it, but changing the channel fixed that. I have since tried it on all the channels for a good length of time each and had no misfires or random popping.

I have found the range with the stock units to be excellent. I have gotten up to 25 metres range outside before they began to misfire and I believe that after I perform the antenna mod on them, that will more than double. I am also able to sync at 1/250th sec (max sync speed of my 40D) 4 out of 5 times with them too and have 100% sync reliability at 1/200th sec. This is with the batteries that shipped with them inside.

The sellers also claim that they will work with the current Cactus V2s transmitters and receivers but I am yet to test that claim. Hopefully will be able to do that soon and I will be sure to post the results here.

These receivers do add a bit of extra height under the flash unit when compared to the others on the market. This is especially noticeable when using the combination on a lightstand with an umbrella. A few times now, I have had to angle the receiver backwards a bit to keep the flash pointing towards the centre of the smaller umbrellas we have.

And finally, to prove that they will fire the 430EX…

So all up, what do I think of them? I think they are great pieces of gear, especially for the price I paid for them. They have worked every time I have needed them to, they work with my flash units. The height of the receivers has been a bit of a problem but nothing that I can’t work around. I will probably replace the tightening screw that came with them for a wing nut some time soon so it is easier to tighten and loosen the L bracket as it is sometimes hard to get a good grip on it. Other than that, they have more than exceeded my expectations. If pocket wizards are well out of your price range and so are Elinchrom Skyports and you want something that will just work, go for these. You can’t go wrong with them.