Canon TC-80N3 Remote

[rogerg]

Several months ago I purchased a cheap eBay substitute for the Canon TC-80N3 Remote. It has always had battery issues - I put a new CR2032 in and the next day it's flashing empty battery. It seems to keep running, but always tells me empty battery. Also the adjustments with the buttons and dial are not ideal (but are functionl).

Does anyone have the true Canon TC-80N3 Remote to comment on how they compare to the eBay cheap ones?

I'm considering buying a true Canon TC-80N3 Remote from eBay for $180ish. It's an important piece of my equipment so I need it to be reliable.

Thanks,
Roger.

[mswhin63]

I have been using the cheapie, when i first bought it the battery was low as well, but with a replacement battery it hasn't failed as yet. I have been removing the battery when not in use (or opening it up a little).

I now use a battery pack which timer on-board although i still have the remote, I don't use it much now.

[Dennis]

Hi Roger

I purchased a genuine Canon TC-80N3 remote some 1½ to 2 years ago and have just checked it, with the original Canon supplied battery, and it appears to be working okay in terms of scrolling through the various screens and options.

I’ve used it mainly as a “dumb” release and even then, only maybe 10-20 times during that period.

Even though Canon accessories can be expensive, for accessories that I judge to be vital and complex (mainly electronic & electro-mechanical) I tend to buy the original Canon product where there is a risk of a single point of failure or potential harm to my camera and lenses.

Cheers

Dennis

EDIT:
I should add that my reasoning is based upon the simple belief that Canon design engineers would specify reliable electronic and electro-mechanical components and that Canon are likely to maintain a better control over the materials and manufacturing processes for their products.

This is just an educated guess, so I could be wrong!

[Octane]

Dennis,

I agree with you 100%. My philosophy with hardware and software accessories goes along the lines that I've spent good money on equipment, why should I skimp on accessories.

Also, you get what you pay for.

H

[allan gould]

I have had the legit version of this release and checked it out last night. Still running on the original battery after 3 + years. You do get what you pay for, I'm afraid.

[rogerg]

Ok...

So I bought the cheap one thinking "well, can't hurt to give it a try for only $25" .. seems I've tried and failed now so will just go with the Canon one.

Thanks for the replies.

[jjjnettie]

I paid $45 for my knock off a year or so ago. (mid shelf quality?)
I've only just changed the original battery the other week.
It's served me faultlessly during that time.
When I consider how many hours of service it's given me, often spending the night steeped in dew, I'd recommend them.

[adman]

I had been having battery issues with mine - until I started to remove the battery between imaging sessions. It is a little bit of a pain, but nothing compared to the battery running out halfway through the night. The cheapie ones don't have an on/off switch, nor do they turn off automatically after a period of time.

I have been thinking of strapping one or two AA's on the back and wiring them in with an on/off switch. Cheaper, longer lasting batteries, easy to change in the dark....cant go wrong! :question:

[troypiggo]

Not sure which eBay one you bought, but I haven't had any trouble with the Aputure one and I hear others here have similar good experience. I've had mine for, I dunno, couple of years. Only just replaced the original battery a week or 2 ago. I had left it in all that time, the LCD screen always on. Obviously doesn't chew much power. I've decided to take the battery out when not in use this time, see how long it lasts.

I wonder if the "new" battery you bought has been on the shelf a while?

[rogerg]

Interesting. Mine is an Aputure one too (at least that's the name on it...). I have heard from other who haven't had battery issues. So there must be good ones and dud ones out there.

Who knows re the batter. I know it had several years left on it's expiry.

[tempestwizz]

As another who has bought the genuine article, I have had faultless service for somehwere near 4 years now. I have changed the battery once in that time. I'm expecting to change it again soon. It has operated in the sub-zero temperatures of Canberra winters, and withstood idleness duringthe scorching summers.
Note that there is no 'OFF' switch. It stays ON whilever a battery is inserted.

[bojan]

Mine is Aputure, and battery needed replacement after a year and half.
I seriously doubt that "cloned" timers are really much different from "original" ones.. Being in electronics industry for whole my professional life, I simply KNOW that almost every big brand is using other no-name manufactures and just sticking their own labels for many non-critical products..
And, even if this is not the case here (with Canon original timer), everyone today is using the same parts and components for their gadgets (microcontrollers and other logic circuits, resistors, caps and so on). so everyone ends up with very similar performance of their products.

So the proverb "you get what you pay for" is simply not true any more.... (probably it was true in the last century.. but not always :-) )

[bloodhound31]

My Aputure one is running perfectly as it always has.

[bojan]

BTW, if you really want to spend that money.. why not buy 4 or 5 cheap ones from ebay instead for the same amount?
One in a car, one permanently on the mount, one in the jacket pocket..

[[1ponders]]

I have Aputure and I've still got the same batteries in it after two and some years. Mine uses 2xAAA though, not CR2032 and the screens on all the time.

[rogerg]

I'd prefer just one, that works, rather than several cluttering various places. I only need it for one camera which is always in my camera backpack with accessories like the cable release.

[rogerg]

That's interesting there are different designed of the Aputure that use AAA vs CR2032.

[bojan]

Well, if one goes faulty, you will have a plenty of backup :P

[rogerg]

If the backups are in the same place I am ;)

[Dennis]

Just a few observations and thoughts.

Recently I was looking at key boards and the two most popular big name brands were Logitech and Microsoft, along with several no-name brands that were much cheaper.

One thing that I noticed is that the Logitech and Microsoft models had keys that felt nice to the touch and would be a pleasure to use on a daily basis.

The no name brand models had lousy tactile feedback of the keys and their plastic chassis just felt cheaper = thinner and less substantial. They flexed when twisted. The battery compartments on the keyboards and mice were more difficult to access and it was clear to see that thinner materials were being used. On those still tethered with cables, the cables were thin and short. Generally, they looked like they were built to a price.

So, although a few factories might manufacture several re-badged products on their flexible production lines, there is always the possibility that the big name brands may specify certain (approved) components and materials as well as certain assembly, testing and packaging requirements, which differentiate their re-badged products from the non name brands?

So, there may well be a case, for critical items, that you do indeed get what you pay for?:shrug:

Cheers

Dennis

[Octane]

Dennis,

Still with you, 100%

No-one in this thread with the authentic Canon hardware has made a complaint (unless I've missed one) about the timer remote not working correctly, or dying on them, etc.

H

[bojan]

And that is worth 5x the price.. :eyepop: ?
I mean, 5 cheaper ones will DEFINITELY last longer than one single "original".

[leon]

Mate if you want quality you pay i have two Canon remotes and they just do not let me down, yet I agree, expensive, but will last a life time, you get what you pay for.

leon

[bojan]

But mate, I can say the same for my $37 Aputure :-)

And I can use the rest of the $140 budget for something more important.. ..

[Dennis]

I think that when we make discretionary purchases for our hobbies, a whole range of factors come in to play and I do respect the choices of others.

Price is indeed one factor and a very important one at that, as is how we will use it, how it performs and “feels”, how often we use it, criticality, ease of purchase, support & service (if its not a throw away item!), etc.

Whilst there is no absolute certainty that a Canon product is guaranteed to last a life time and a non-Canon product is doomed to early failure, in my experience, unless you can design and build something yourself to a known standard and capability, I have found that products from organisations such as Canon seem to have a more defined quality and performance capability.

For those products that I choose to buy which are critical to the enjoyment of my hobby, I will look at non OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) products seriously and try to make sure that I am comparing apples to apples before I purchase a 3rd party product over an original one.

Certainly the OEM’s like to play the fear, uncertainty and doubt card against 3rd party products but then again, with Forums such as Ice In Space, these discussions should assist members in making a purchasing decision more suited to their own needs.

Cheers

Dennis.

[Octane]

Bojan,

My opinion: it is worth 5x the price.

I'll happily pay it. I am not the type to skimp on any gear that as Dennis mentions, is critical to the enjoyment of my hobby, or something which makes me some money from a job.

If the alternative works for you, then great!

H

[bojan]

H,
yes, alternative works, that's for sure, and it works well, and not only for me.

There is one big difference between you and most of others here - you are professional photographer, and I fully understand your professional attitude.
As a professional electronics engineer myself, I also want and I do use the best available equipment I can get hold of (and it is very expensive, trust me) .
The price paid for the equipment is then passed on to customers.
Further, equipment to be used for business is an investment, and is also tax deductible, while gadgets that amateurs use are not. And we (amateurs) do not have customers :-)

That is the main reason why I insist on "good enough equipment" approach when hobby is concerned.

Since most of people on this forum are just amateurs (like me), I strongly believe they should be told about alternative and cheaper ways - how to get more bang for a buck, in other words.

Of course , sometimes the cost can not be compromised (like in optics).. so it is better to spend hard earned money where it really must be spend because there is no alternative .. like plastic lenses etc.

[acropolite]

I'm like Dennis, I like to buy genuine whenever I can and this extends to most of my purchases, however, I too bought the knockoff timer remote, the original chinese battery was flat in weeks, I replaced it and no problems 12 months on. I haven't had the chance to use the original Canon model but I'm very impressed with the knockoff.

[davewaldo]

Can these timers be used when the camera is tethered to a laptop?

ie. Can you set it to take a bunch of 5 minute frames and they will automatically download to the PC?

Cheers

[rogerg]

For me I like to buy genuine but price factors in to it. It's a blury line. In general I would be on Dennis and H's side of the midde line.

With this cable release I thought being 1/6th the cost it was worth a shot at the cheapie fully realising I might lose the $30, as it was only about $30 it was worth the risk. But having had one failure, it's not worth a second one to me, it's back to the genuine article in this particular case.

I've also realised just how useful this particular piece of equipment is ... previously I'd always just had a single button cable release :)

[h0ughy]

i have 4 cable releases - 2 apature ones a onther chinese brand and a canon - all work well for both the 20D's and the 350d's. the 350D one also works with the pentax K10D - i have a mix of AAA and Cr2032. yeah you pay for what your get - mine have had a hard life LOL well and truely used. I have had one lemon - a apature one. the newer chinese one i bought allows me to get 999 shots - good for timelapsing

[luigi]

I have two of the cheap ones for different cameras. The oldest is 3 years old and the other 2 years old. Never had a single problem with them. I don't think the remote is critical enough to pay for the Canon word on top of the plastic.

[bojan]

Yes, it can.
I was using it with FocusAssist (http://www.xmission.com/~jstanley/focusassist/ (http://www.xmission.com/%7Ejstanley/focusassist/)), and it downloaded both jpg (recognised and displayed on the screen by this software) and CR2 file.

However, I would not recommend this method, because:
- if you have laptop connected already , then you should use one of the software timers (like Canon's utility).
- USB cable, connected to camera while exposing and downloading the images was reported to cause noise, visible on the images (I noticed the slightly increased noise floor in form of banding).

BTW, the whole purpose of those little gadgets is to AVOID the necessity of having laptop in the field..

[bojan]

That is not a surprise.
Both original Canon timer and those non-OEM 's are assembled in the same plant in China, with the same technology and using the same components (OK, maybe not exactly the same plant.. but you know what I mean :-) ).

The reasons why Canon's timer apparently does not have bad reports (and this statement should be properly backed with data) could be one or combination the following:
- There are not many of "originals" out there (because of the high price) compared to cheap ones, so according to simple statistical logic, there will be more complains for cheap ones.
- For cheap ones there is no warranty (but, for the price, who cares!) so people tend to complain.
- Most problems (90% I would say) with electronic gadgets in general are dodgy batteries and associated mechanism (contacts). This is the reason why many vendors never include batteries with their products.. and if they do, those will most likely be the cheap ones (you guessed right, in both cases they want to reduce the cost)

[Dennis]

If this is a serious statement, then I think that you should qualify it by explaining how you know, as opposed to believe, that this is the case.

I have worked in electronic and electro-mechanical industries that do their designs in-house, but sub contract component procurement, assembly, testing and packaging, etc. to 3rd party assembly plants BUT they also specified, in detail, which components went into their products, types of wiring used, thickness of contact plating, who is approved to supply those components, how the final assemblies will be tested, etc.

It wasn’t just a case of “assemble 10,000” and then “right at the end we’ll stamp the 1st 5,000 with Canon and the last 5,000 with a generic name”.

Cheers

Dennis

[adman]

The best way to figure out the quality of an item is to see which one people would pick if either:

1. Money were no object
2. The prices were the same.

I certainly know which one I would go for in this case.

Adam

[bojan]

Of course it is a (semi) serious statement and of course, you are right in terms of manufacturing specifications for parts and assembly of products and how subcontracting is done and why (and it is always and only done to reduce the manufacturing cost).

However, let me clarify a bit further:
By "same components" I meant the components - namely micro-controllers, LCD's, keypads.. all those things that go into commercial products today are of very similar, industrial quality - except components used specifically for life support and/or military applications - they are all designed with this end application in mind, then individually 100% tested with traceable record and therefore 10x more expensive (and we are not talking about this here).
So my statement about "same" is based on knowledge of what is available on the market today for usual, everyday, consumer appliances.

I do not have a specific knowledge of Canon electronics products.. including this timer.
But, I still consider myself qualified to make general statements about their electronics products here... from the user and bystander point of view.
Canon's timer is made of usual materials - plastic case, standard PCB, standard parts, plastic cable with moulded connector.. and 5x price difference between this and cheaper product which is otherwise the same (or very similar) in both appearance and functionality simply does not go under my hat. Someone here doesn't have a right price...

But, at the end of the day, everyone makes his/hers own decision on how to spend their money.

clear skies,
Bojan





Adam,
The quality of an item is not determined by which one would have been picked up if price is the same..
It can be determined very accurately by observing the failure rate over the prolonged period of time in use, under the controlled conditions.. and this information is what we do not have here, for neither of those two product we are discussing in this thread.

[Harpspitfire]

i bought an ebay junker myself about a year ago- still works like new and no issues!

[adman]

Thats right. As consumers, all we have to rely on are reviews of the product, and our own gut feeling when we pick it up to look at it and feel it. My point was that if you were in a store, and there were two timers sitting side by side, one genuine canon and the other a generic brand, for identical prices, I think that most would go for the canon one.

When you are building a brand like Canon, part of that image is the actual quality of your products, which some of your customers will know by prior experience but probably the biggest part of the brand is its perceived quality, and that warm fuzzy feeling you get when you buy the genuine article. People pay a lot for warm fuzzies.



Now, if we don't have access to this information (which as consumers we clearly don't) then how can you be so sure that the Canon one isn't worth its price ;).

Without that information it just boils down to peoples individual judgement on quality and their tolerance for the price which is an argument nobody is going to win.

Adam

[Dennis]

Quality has many dimensions. One can be defined as “fitness for purpose” and clearly in Roger’s case, something here was not fit for the purpose, as his unit failed prematurely, in the field, at the worst possible time.

It might be the case that the Canon TC-80N3 and the generic brands are “the same” in terms of their mechanical, electrical and functional properties (assumption here), but people may choose the Canon brand because of some perceived and/or real extra value.

I know that a Ford or Holden will get me safely, reliably and comfortably from Sydney to Brisbane, but if I had the choice, I’d much prefer to make the trip in a Ferrari. Ford, Holden and Ferrari are all quality cars in that they are built to a defined standard, priced accordingly, fit for the purpose intended, reliable, etc but the experience of owning the Ferrari is something else!

Hopefully Roger hasn’t become too alarmed with this particular route that his original post has deviated down!

Cheers

Dennis

[asimov]

I'll just keep using my CANON RS60-E3 & an egg timer for anything over 30s :lol:

[bojan]

Yep, you are 147% right here.. and that was precisely my point from the start of my discussion.

I am very sure that this discussion clarified couple of issues.. "warm fuzzies" in particular ;)

[Dennis]

Hi Roger

I just did a search on POTN and found a few hits where users reported problems with the battery life and the Aputure unit.

It seems that at least one user investigated further and discovered that although the low battery indicator came on, the battery was okay and it appeared to be a fault with the indicator.

It looks like you are experiencing the same issue; the battery has not been drained, it’s just that the indicator is in error?:shrug:

Cheers

Dennis

[rogerg]

Could well be the same problem Dennis. I have had times when I think it really is going dead, because the backlight dosn't work, or the numbers get wiped, but I have wondered if that's just faulty buttons also. So it could be that the battery is fine. Of course if it is fine then I'd never know when it really is going dead :)

[[1ponders]]

I've had the numbers fade as well Roger, but as soon as I warmed it up the numbers came back. Could it be a similar problem?

[asimov]

Guys, I want one of these for my 400D. I only have 2 questions. Do they operate the mirror flip, & can you set the time frame between mirror flip & the start of the exposure?

[leon]

John, what do you mean by Mirror Flip, that is a new one on me, you have lost me here.

Leon

[Octane]

Leon,

John's referring to mirror lock-up -- where the mirror flips up, stays put and then the shutter fires.

It's used for stabilising and removing vibrations. Most often useful in astrophotography if you have a big long OTA and also when doing macrophotography. In fact, it's useful in all situations. I find it helps.

H

[hotspur]

Phew,a long read of the threads on this one.A tricky thread-money vrs quality.

I bought the 'look s like' on for $28 which included postage from H.K,I asked a few more experienced people and they had no problems with the cheapie,and these people are involved in much higher end photography than me.

It would also appear many on this thread have the cheapie and given it a good work out in harsh conditions-dew,wet etc.

To my mind,I agree that if one spends large amounts on L glass and bodies one should not skip on most of the extras,for example lens hoods,these items are on the L that cost heaps,so I would always get the orginal canon,so to with filters.

But when I had to get a remote for the new 50D I considered all of the different view points.And decided to give the cheapie a go,reason-if it did not work ,only a small loss,its not part of the lens,i.e a cheap hood may go on,but not come off-or could damage front of lens.

Most people give a good vote for the cheapie,and at that price you could have two.I would agree with Bojan on this one.there really is no dicernable difference,and I will take a chance with the cheapie.

yes,you get what what you pay for with glass,but sometimes with other stuff you dont,I paid $500 for my Kedrick dew eliminator system two years ago-all in the bin,just did'nt work very well at all right from the beginning,and it was supposed to be the 'Ferrei' of dew eliminators.

there are plenty of photographers on various photography sites and a large amount of them give the vote to the cheapie,and they have a vast amount of experince.so that was a good enough endorsment for me.

[rogerg]

To directly answer your questions I think the answers woudl be "No & No", unfortunately.

[asimov]

Yes sorry, mirror lockup is what I meant. So it doesn't do it? That's a bugger!:confused2:

[bojan]

Well, maybe yes in some cases.

When camera is in mirror lock mode,

- the first pulse from timer triggers the mirror
- the second pulse triggers the shutter.

That means, when you have a camera in mirror lock mode, you have to program the timer to 2x number of exposures...

The good news is, mirror lock is not really needed at long exposures (low-light conditions), those couple of tens of miliseconds while the whole assembly is shaking will have very minimal impact on image, if any.
However, when you have a lot of light (Moon, daylight photography) 1 milisecond of camera-optics vibration could be detrimental to the end result.
So if you are taking sequence of frames, say every couple of seconds or so, you can simply program your timer for double the number of frames (with appropriate delay between them) and that's it.

If you need to take frames with very long delay between them (minutes, hours..), then I guess this method will not be practical.. it will still work, but I think the battery may not last that long (I think camera draws substantial current when mirror is locked - wil test this at some time.. having in mind the coming Moon eclipse :-) )

You can still use some programs to do that (If I remember correctly, Shoestring Astronomy used to have application that does mirror lock, with programmable delay). For this to work you have to have a custom build cable - it is not hard to make it.

[Dennis]

Hi John

Just from a purely physical connection perspective, the Canon brand TC-80N3 has the proprietary Canon N3 connector which has 3 pins which plugs into the body of the camera and I think it only fits the pro or semi-pro bodies such as the 1D series, 5D series and the 40D/50D/7D series (some assumptions here).

I think that the 400D, 450D, etc series have a 2.5mm stereo jack so you cannot directly plug in the Canon TC-80N3

But, the good news is that I think that the Aputure brands can be purchased with either style connector – I’m not sure, so check them out before you buy?

In terms of the other functions you ask about – I don’t know if the 400D has MLU.

Cheers

Dennis

[Octane]

The 400D will have mirror lockup as a custom function. : )

H

[asimov]

Thanks guys, but just to clear a few things up. Yes the 400D has the mirror lockup function as a custom function as Humayun states.

All the earlier model DSLR's (400D included) will only take the 2.5mm stereo jack, as Dennis suspected.

I definitely get vibes from the mirror flipping up If I don't use the mirror lockup option but this depends on the FL your exposing with & the flimsiness of the mount/tripod/etc. as to weather you actually notice the problem in subs.

To be on the safe side, I like to flip the mirror up out of the way of the sensor, wait 2 seconds then start exposing. If the option is on the camera, it's a no brainer to me to use this option to try to achieve better images.

[asimov]

BTW heres the one I want. I just can't find out 100% certain that I can use the (timed) mirror lockup option using this particular remote.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Timer-Remote-Canon-400D-350D-450D-550D-1000D-R8A9-/130403200869?cmd=ViewItem&pt=AU_Cameras_Photographic_Accessor ies&hash=item1e5ca2ef65

[Dennis]

Hi John

Mirror Lock Up on my Canon 40D can be set by C.F III-7 to Enable which is “1”.

When set like this, during normal operation, I have to fully press the shutter release button on the Canon 40D once which then locks the mirror up.

The next (2nd) press will then actually make the exposure.

I don’t Enable this as in the early days, I thought that I had taken a photo with the 1st press and it took me some time to remember it only exposed the frame with the 2nd press.

On the 40D MLU does not work with Live View because effectively, when using Live View, the mirror is already locked up.

Like you, I tend to get double stars if I don’t use MLU and that’s with the C9.25 on the Tak EM200, so I wait 10-15 seconds before exposing the frame once I’m in Live View.

I haven’t yet worked through all the issues, but I think that I once hit a brick wall in that couldn’t use Remote Live View on the PC with EOS Utility to takes automated interval shots of longer than 30 secs.

I have to manually start and stop each exposure for shots longer than 30 secs.

It seems that often, with this stuff, you don’t get to know whether or not it will do what you expected, until you buy the item and use it!

Cheers

Dennis

[bojan]

This looks exactly the same as my Aputure unit.
You can use it as I described earlier in the thread (I do it this way with my 400D).
B

[hotspur]

Yes,the last paragraph of Dennis's post is correct,some of this stuff one has to use in the field,to really be sure what is does,or does'nt do.

these photography forums are a big help.threads like this can help with what gear does do in unusual field applications such as astronomy etc.

I think I will book mark this thread,as there is some good information coming to the surface,

cheers Chris

[asimov]

Thank you for that Bojan:thumbsup:

[bojan]

Finally I found links to freeware timer applications, see below:
http://www.stark-labs.com/DSLR_Shutter.html
http://www.dphotojournal.com/canon-hack-shutter-release-for-canon-dslr/

[rogerg]

Well, my new genuine Canon timer control arrived a week or so ago and I had a bit of use with it. It’s interesting to now compare the genuine Canon one to the Cheapie one.

They are extremely similar, there is no doubt about that. If my Cheapie one was not broken, I would be happy with the Cheapie one, it does feel slightly cheaper but not significantly. Ignoring price of the Canon one and battery problem of the Cheapie one I do prefer the Canon one.

I will list the similarities and differences for you to make up your own mind.

Similarities:
- Same CR2032 battery
- Same weight and balance in the hand
- Same physical size except for cord length and plug dimensions and shape
- Same arrangement of buttons and dial
- Same screen size and position
- Same icons on-screen and buttons
- Same capabilities in terms of functionality

Differences:
- Canon buttons are somewhat easier to press, more responsive
- Canon dial seems less prone to incorrect increments/decrements
- Canon plug “snaps” in to place in the camera rather than the Cheapie one that just pushes in to a point, the feel of the Canon one snapping in and knowing its snapped in properly is nice
- Canon plug looks different (silver, not all black)
- Canon cord is slightly shorter (about 10cm difference)
- Canon cord is slightly more matt in appearance
- Canon backlight is slightly better in terms of contrast and brightness
- Canon does not have low battery problem my Cheapie one did
- Canon came with a manual that is quite useful for understanding the functionality. As I remember it the Cheapie came with a leaflet but wasn’t as helpful, but I cannot find it now to directly compare.
- Branding and labelling is different (including the label on the back being different size)
- Canon one came in a nice Canon box

So, I will be keeping the Canon and getting rid of he cheapie.

[[1ponders]]

DSLR Shutter (freeeee) works well, but then so does Images Plus for the same job (but for a price). Still tied to the laptop though and the ol' serial connection. Once the connections are made though they are great, especially if you want to use mirror lock and for some, the ability to set different exposure lengths for HDR

[asimov]

I received mine yesterday. I purchased the one that Dennis linked to (Phottix TR-90).

Trying to use it the way I want to (MLU along with ICNR) is proving to be really hard to work out - Everytime I set the actual exposure length IE 1 min - it will take exactly 1 min for the MLU to actuate....I must be doing something wrong somewhere..