Anglerfish Trigger - remote slave sensor

Has anyone any experience of the Anglerfish Remote Trigger?

http://www.anglerfishlighting.ca/remote-trigger-v30.html

This looks like an excellent solution for the irritating problem of trying to keep a snoot into the right position.

I'd want to be able to fire an Inon Z240 optically - and I'm currently using Inon fibre optic cables.

Thanks!

Lots!

They are excellent. I have v1 and v3. They use L type fiber optic cables.

I use them for snooting-LSD on a Gorillapod and the strobe triggered via Anglerfish. I think it is by far the best way of using a snoot.

The only issue is that switching them on/off can be a challenge for some. I have no issues doing it, but some others seem to!

Adam

Thanks Adam - very good to know.

I appreciate that this might seem a dumb-ass question.... but what's the arrangement? I'm assuming the Anglerfish and fibre optic cable plug in to the disconnected/remote strobe? What then activates the Anglerfish/remote strobe? Does the remote strobe need to be able to see the flash of an on-housing connected strobe? I'm assuming the Anglerfish can't "see" the flash of an in-housing strobe fibre optic initiator?

The manual doesn't actually explain. Perhaps it so blindingly obvious and I'm just being thick!

Hi Tim,

The Anglerfish responds to a camera mounted flash and is triggered by this firing.

It does need to see the on-camera strobe in order to fire but is very sensitive.

Adam

Many thanks, Adam!

Hi Adam, what would you say is difference between v1 and v3? I have two Pete Ledell remote sensor they work well.... but the flat face i think is limiting a bit side light, is the angelfish better with getting light from the side...have you tried to trigger them far away? I can triggers Pete from quite far, wondering if these are even more sensitive. Thx

I understand the main difference is that the V3 has a user replaceable battery whilst the V1 has to be charged using USB.

I have used Peter's slave triggers and some of their ancestors which were designed for dry caving and waterproofed!

I have also used Anglerfish v.1 and v.3.

I think they are both the most sensitive triggers that I have used thus far. They both seem to trigger equally well, and the only difference seems to be charging vs battery and Tim has mentioned.

Both use fiber optic to trigger the strobe, which is definitely easier than electronic sync cables and offers options underwater.

Adam

I was wondering how folks attach the trigger to whatever is holding the strobe, eg, a Gorillapod

Velcro? Tie-wraps? Other clever, ingenious solutions?

Hi Tim,

The trick is not to attach it!

I carry mine attached to a bungee lanyard with a double ended bolt snap.

Depending on the environment, I either:

1. Place the Anglerfish on the sand pointing toward the triggering strobe or,

2. Get my buddy/guide to hold it pointing at the strobe.

Case 2 would apply in situations where placing the Anglerfish would damage the environment. In this case, you are unlikely to be able to set the snoot strobe on its Gorillapod, so this will likely need hand holding too.

Do you want to borrow mine to try them out?

Adam

Much appreciated, Adam. That’s great food for thought.

And thanks very much indeed for the offer to try them out. That’s really kind. I won’t take you up on it though - thanks. I can see the concept and may well get one to take to Bonaire in a couple of months.

Hi guys, for the remote strobe itself, i too thought that a gorillapod would make a suitable underwater tripod.

Any experience to share on which model is right, and what sort of strobe attachment you would need?

Also, would you need to attach some weight onto the tripod?

I was planning on the Gorillapod 325 to use with an Inon 240 strobe. The underwater weight of the Inon is well within the weight limitation of the 325.

I thought I'd use a ULCS ball (the AD1420) on the Gorillapod and could then remove one Inon strobe with its clamp from my system and attach it on to the Gorillapod/ULCS ball.

I'm not sure whether that setup would require an underwater weight or not! Hmmmmm.....

I take Adam's point entirely though that sometimes you can't place a Gorillapod because of the nature of the reef. It would though provide a nice grip for my beloved dive mate who will have to hover with the snooted strobe and Anglerfish trigger. (Man, I love that woman..... )

I was planning on the Gorillapod 325 to use with an Inon 240 strobe. The underwater weight of the Inon is well within the weight limitation of the 325.

 

I thought I'd use a ULCS ball (the AD1420) on the Gorillapod and could then remove one Inon strobe with its clamp from my system and attach it on to the Gorillapod/ULCS ball.

 

I'm not sure whether that setup would require an underwater weight or not! Hmmmmm.....

 

I take Adam's point entirely though that sometimes you can't place a Gorillapod because of the nature of the reef. It would though provide a nice grip for my beloved dive mate who will have to hover with the snooted strobe and Anglerfish trigger. (Man, I love that woman..... )

The ballhead adaptor sounds appropriate.

For the gorillapod itself, id be tempted to go for a much sturdier version also allowing to position the strobe higher, like the 5kg one. Dont you think so?

Also i am afraid the whole thing could easily be buoyant and a mess with the slightest surge, so id like ability to attach 1-2kg weight onto the tripod.

I plan to shoot this mostly on much dives so no risk of damaging the environment

I used the Inon modular underwater tripod with a remote strobe a few weeks ago and think it is absolutely the ideal solution!

http://www.inon.jp/products/armsystem/uwtripod.html

I have a Gorillapod SLR ZOOM that works OK. Aiming can be challenging as the Gorillapod tends to flex and then return to its position. With snoots, this little "wobble" can be enough to make the snoot miss its target. The tripod was much better

Adam

Hi Nicool: I thought about a heavier Gorillapod but when I checked the u/w weight of an Inon strobe, it seemed to me that the 325 was plenty strong enough. As for the buoyancy characteristics, I don't know till I try it. But securing a small weight, if necessary should be pretty straightforward: a couple of tie-wraps and a small carabiner should do it. I'm sure Adam knows though.

Really liked the look of Adam's suggestion of the Inon tripod (and can certainly understand the Gorillapod wobble). Until I saw the price. Gasp.

Hmmmmm..... just when you though u/wphotog was crazy expensive .... you get into snooting.

Hey ho.

I used the Inon modular underwater tripod with a remote strobe a few weeks ago and think it is absolutely the ideal solution!

 

http://www.inon.jp/products/armsystem/uwtripod.html

 

I have a Gorillapod SLR ZOOM that works OK. Aiming can be challenging as the Gorillapod tends to flex and then return to its position. With snoots, this little "wobble" can be enough to make the snoot miss its target. The tripod was much better

 

Adam

What did you like about it?

It surely looks like a neat design, but thinking about costs, if what you enjoyed is the rigidity, i am thinking you could just achieve that with the ultralight tripod clamp and any 3 regular underwater strobe arms (as tripod legs) + screwing a ball mount on top, on which a regular strobe clamp would give you flexibility to adjust the orientation of your strobe.

As far as stability is concerned, id just attach 1-2 kg lead to the tripod clamp (with a regular rope), which would lower down the center of gravity and stabilize the whole thing.

Am i missing anything?

Hi Nicool,

The more moving parts you have on a support, the more to go wrong and misalign. I have always found that the ULCS type clamps are a pain to adjust as when you loosen one leg to adjust its position, all the legs go loose and lose their positions. To be fair, I have the same problem with triple clamps for lighting...it may just be me.

The Inon tripod is super stable. Once the legs are placed, they do not move. You can then use the head to precisely aim the snoot. Gorillapods etc. tend to move as you try and aim the snoot, which for tight snoot focus makes it awkward. My skill level makes it difficult to try and cope with too many moving things at once!

I guess you pay your money or nor depending on your perceived value of things! Sure, you can dangle weights off things and improvise, and it will work some of the time, but the best solution I have tried seems to be the Inon one. I'm sure that there are others that I have not tried which may be cheaper.

Adam

Quite agree on the triple clamp thing, Adam. I'm sure they are actually designed for people with three arms. It's not just you!

The Inon does look good. What legs did you use on the Tripod Hub? The choice seems to be between telescopic ones and something like the stick arms. Lengths can vary between 7.5 cms and 25+ cms. As the Tripod Hub includes a height adjustable central column I wouldn't have thought especially long legs were needed. Maybe 7.5 or 12 cms?

There's quite a useful Inon fact sheet with height information using various leg combinations.

http://www.divervision.com/pub/inon/UWTripodSystem_ArmSpecChart_En.pdf

I used these:

For use with a snoot, you do not need really long legs. I guess the length depends somewhat on which snoot you are using. The Retra snoots are quite "long" so you need sufficient clearance to be able to angle them straight down. My sweet spot is about 25-30cm. The extendible center column tend to disturb the center of gravity, so are fine for tuning the snoot's position, but can make everything a bit "tippy"

Adam