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New SMART 3 triggers from TRT-Electronics

TURTLE-Balage
in Industry

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The long-awaited SMART3 trigger has arrived! 🐢

We’ve received tons of valuable feedback from you – our customers – and based on that, we’ve made several improvements that make the TURTLE not just one number higher, but truly smarter, more powerful, and more practical!

The SMART3 series now comes in a brand-new, elegant box that protects it during transport and offers space for your optical cable, a spare battery, and of course, the USB charging cable.
The package includes both USB-A and USB-C cables, making charging easy no matter what type of charger you use.

You asked – we delivered!
SMART3 is available not only in TTL, but also in MANUAL version, and it includes every feature that truly makes it SMART! 💡📸

The main specifications can be seen here — of course, there are differences between each trigger, but the core additional features are the same across all models.

 Key Features – SMART 3 Version

  • User-replaceable battery with 3× the capacity of previous SMART 1–2 models

  • USB-C connector for charging and configuration

  • Reinforced switches and robust connector for LED or sync cord output

  • "SMART" button to check battery status with led flashing

    • 4 flashes = 100%

    • 3 flashes = 75%

    • 2 flashes = 50%

    • 1 flash = 25%

  • TTL & Manual mode switching via the camera menu – even underwater

    • First curtain

    • Second curtain

Package Includes:

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    • Like 3

    Finally a user replaceable battery and USB-C, neat!

    It looks like the LED plug has been improved too - good to see, these were sometimes very hard to unplug.

    Edited by makar0n

    • Like 1
    • Author
    On 6/13/2025 at 10:15 AM, makar0n said:

    Finally a user replaceable battery and USB-C, neat!

    It looks like the LED plug has been improved too - good to see, these were sometimes very hard to unplug.

    Yes .

    Many things have changed in the new Turtle 3. We tried to implement the requests we received from you, our customers. I believe we’ve managed to reach several important milestones.
    I trust that many satisfied users will enjoy using the new product. :)

    • Like 1
    • Author
    On 6/13/2025 at 10:33 AM, Susa said:

    No TTL/Manual for A1 II, A7R5, A9III?

    The Manual/TTL switching function is not available on all Sony cameras, and we aimed to find a solution that allows every Sony model to switch underwater between TTL and pre-flash-free modes.
    This led us to monitor the "WL" (Wireless) function in the camera's signals, and when it is activated, the system switches to the configured mode. This setting can be customized in the Setup program for Sony cameras.

    This alternative mode can be set to First Curtain, Rear Curtain, or Strobe mode, which activates between shutter speeds of 1/10 sec and 2 sec.
    You can read more about this feature on our blog.

    https://www.trt-electronics.com/blog/stroboscope-mode-with-smart-triggers/70/

    • Author
    On 6/12/2025 at 4:19 PM, CaolIla said:

    and no Canon 🥴


    Hi

    These products are now available, but we haven’t given up on making the Canon system work reliably across all camera models. Unfortunately, since Canon’s pre-flash behavior differs from other systems, each trigger must be individually configured for each camera and strobe combination. This is an enormous task.

    Manufacturers who tie their Canon triggers to a specific housing or camera body have an advantage, as they only need to focus on one trigger–one body pairing.
    As far as I know, currently there is no underwater trigger that works perfectly with all Canon cameras.

    We’re doing our best.
    The manual Turtles in the Series 3 line will be released soon. After that, we’ll be able to focus more on the Canon TTL issue.

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    • Thanks 1
    5 hours ago, TURTLE-Balage said:

    The Manual/TTL switching function is not available on all Sony cameras, and we aimed to find a solution that allows every Sony model to switch underwater between TTL and pre-flash-free modes.
    This led us to monitor the "WL" (Wireless) function in the camera's signals, and when it is activated, the system switches to the configured mode. This setting can be customized in the Setup program for Sony cameras.

    This alternative mode can be set to First Curtain, Rear Curtain, or Strobe mode, which activates between shutter speeds of 1/10 sec and 2 sec.
    You can read more about this feature on our blog.

    https://www.trt-electronics.com/blog/stroboscope-mode-with-smart-triggers/70/

    Thanks! But TTL is possible for Sony A7R5, A1 II? Because its not mentioned in the first posting.

    I don’t use TTL, but I’d like a trigger that emulated Canon speedflash so my R5 camera will let me set rear-curtain.

    • Like 1
    • Author
    7 hours ago, Susa said:

    Thanks! But TTL is possible for Sony A7R5, A1 II? Because its not mentioned in the first posting.

    Absolutely. :)

    • Author
    8 hours ago, Susa said:

    Thanks! But TTL is possible for Sony A7R5, A1 II? Because its not mentioned in the first posting.

    Absolutely. A7R5 was tested few years ago. The A1 II was tested by my friend last moth and use the SMART-2 for that. The SMART 3 works with that also.

    • Author
    2 hours ago, jlaity said:

    I don’t use TTL, but I’d like a trigger that emulated Canon speedflash so my R5 camera will let me set rear-curtain.

    Our manual trigger knows 1St curtain/2nd curtain switching and switch automatically to HSS over the flash sync.

    https://www.trt-electronics.com/shop/e-turtle-2-manual-trigger/46/

    I can test the R5 this week and write you here. :)

    • Like 1
    • Author
    5 hours ago, christophe chellapermal said:

    hi are the ttl/hss protocals working with the seaflash ? also on the nikon trigger i see the backscatter hybrid works with sony protocol is that right?

    thx

    The i-TURTLE SMART 3 is compatible with the following strobes in TTL and Manual modes via camera menu control.
    High-Speed Sync (HSS) is available when enabled in the camera menu and supported by the strobe.

    Tested and supported strobes:

    • Ikelite DS160

    • Inon Z240 / Z330

    • Sea & Sea YS-D2J MILC

    • Sea & Sea YS-D3

    • RETRA PRO-X MILC

    • Ikelite DS230

    • Seaflash 160D

    • Seaflash 60D

    • RETRA PRO MAX

    • Apollo 3

    • Apollo S

    • AOI UIS P

    • Backscatter HF-1

    • Sea & Sea YS-D3 DUO

    Note:
    The Backscatter HF-1 works in TTL mode if you set it to SONY mode. I personally tested this strobe during a liveaboard trip in the Red Sea in April.

    For more details and real-world testing photos, check out our blog post:
    👉 SMART3 Prototype Testing in the Red Sea
    Although most photos feature the AOI UIS P, I also used the HF-1 during the trip.


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    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1
    • Author

    I hope I was able to reply to everyone. If I missed someone, feel free to reach out to me via Instagram or Facebook chat. :)

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    • Like 1
    • Author
    5 hours ago, christophe chellapermal said:

    hi are the ttl/hss protocals working with the seaflash ? also on the nikon trigger i see the backscatter hybrid works with sony protocol is that right?

    thx

    Right!

    On 6/16/2025 at 9:01 PM, TURTLE-Balage said:

    Our manual trigger knows 1St curtain/2nd curtain switching and switch automatically to HSS over the flash sync.

    https://www.trt-electronics.com/shop/e-turtle-2-manual-trigger/46/

    I can test the R5 this week and write you here. :)

    Test is done with success. R5 works with the s-turtle 2 manual.

    Tested function was 1st curtain / 2nd curtain and HSS with retra pro max. :)

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    • Thanks 1
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