Canon TC-80N3 Remote

[asimov (John)]

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

[bojan]

Originally Posted by adman

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

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?

Cheers

Dennis

Originally Posted by 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.

[rogerg (Roger)]

Originally Posted by 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?

Cheers

Dennis

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] (Paul)]

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 (John)]

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 (Humayun)]

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 (Chris)]

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 (Roger)]

Originally Posted by 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?

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

[asimov (John)]

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

[bojan]

Originally Posted by asimov

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

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]

Originally Posted by 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?

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 (Humayun)]

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

H

[asimov (John)]

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 (John)]

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-...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

Originally Posted by 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-...item1e5ca2ef65

[hotspur (Chris)]

Originally Posted by 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

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 (John)]

Thank you for that Bojan