Fuji fans: RoboSHOOT remote TTL trigger comes to US retail (and soon, Canada as well!)
posted Tuesday, April 12, 2016 at 7:59 AM EDT
These days, there are a whole lot of different remote TTL flash setups on the market. Every once in a while, though, we see a product which is just a little bit different, and that certainly looks to be true of the RoboSHOOT TTL trigger for Fuji X-series cameras.
In fact, we've already revealed one unique attribute of the RoboSHOOT in our opening paragraph: As of right now, it's your only option for wireless TTL flash on the X-series. There are a fair few other remote flash systems out there for Fuji shooters, but they all require manual flash control. Perhaps even more impressively, though, one variant of the RoboSHOOT is also cross-brand compatible.
Yes, really! According to its maker, Serene Automation, the flagship RoboSHOOT RX-20 receiver unit allows TTL off-camera flash not only with Fuji's own EF-42 and EF-X20 strobes and the Fujifilm version of the Nissin i40 strobe, but also with several Nikon Speedlight strobes. There are also third-party reports of the setup working with the Nikon variants of the Metz 52AF-1 and Yongnuo YN-568EX, among others.
The RoboSHOOT RX-15 receiver differs from the RX-20 in only two ways. It lacks the Nikon flash support of the RX-20, and also forgoes an external sync port which can be used to trigger low-voltage strobes. In other respects, it is identical, using the same 2.5GHz, 2Mbps ISM radio to communicate between master and receiver units, and providing support for four different flash groups.
The master units, meanwhile, also come in two flavors. The flagship MX-20 master unit has camera and sensor ports that the MX-15 lacks. The former can be used to trigger shutter / focus operation on the camera, while the latter can be used with external sensors or switches to trigger operation. Additionally, the MX-20 unit has a Bluetooth radio which its MX-15 sibling lacks, allowing it to be controlled from Android or iOS devices. This opens up a range of options, including manual flash output and zoom control, +/-3EV of flash exposure compensation, intervalometer and timer functions, remote shutter release and editable profile bracketing.
And now, the RoboSHOOT-series devices are available not only direct from their manufacturer in the US market, but also at retail, thanks to a partnership with distributor OmegaBrandess. For those a little further north, shipments to Canada are set to commence towards the end of this month, with Industry Canada compliance having just been received.
The Master units are only sold in a bundle with the receivers, while you can pick up more receivers separately, should you wish. The entry-level MX-15 / RX-15 kit costs US$260 or thereabouts, while the flagship pairing of MX-20 / RX-20 devices costs US$380. Alternatively, you can pick up the entry-level MX-15 master with the Nikon Speedlight-compatible RX-20 receiver for US$300 together. Additional RX-15 receivers are priced at US$130, and RX-20 receivers at $160. Both receivers can be mixed-and-matched with either of the master units.
More info can be found on the RoboSHOOT website.