Skip to content

Four channels, and no system at all

Andoer WanSen AC-04, 4 channels, 30 m

The cheapest trigger here at 17 €, with four channels, a 1/250 s sync claim and a cable for cameras with no hot shoe — and no system, no groups and no stated power source.

Andoer WanSen AC-04 flash trigger set with transmitter, receiver and sync cable

Andoer WanSen AC-04, 4 channels, 30 m

The cheapest trigger here at 17 €, with four channels, a 1/250 s sync claim and a cable for cameras with no hot shoe — and no system, no groups and no stated power source.

Radio system named
None. Five bullets describe a set, a sync speed, a fit, a cable and a range, and no radio system and no frequency appears — less even than the 433 MHz stated by the trigger above it. What arrives in the box works together, and the page gives no basis for saying what else ever will
Camera mounts supported
Canon, Nikon and Sony reflex bodies with a single-point hot shoe, in the third bullet. Single-point means the central firing contact only, so nothing is passed but the signal to fire — and the fourth bullet adds a connecting cable for cameras and transmitters, so a body without a usable shoe can still trigger the set
Channel and group counts
Four channels, in the first bullet, and no groups. It is the smallest channel count on this shelf — the trigger beside it offers sixteen — and four is enough to avoid a clash in a quiet room and not in a busy hall
Remote power control
None. Nothing on the page describes adjusting a light from the transmitter
Metering and sync modes claimed
A highest sync speed of 1/250 second, in the second bullet, and nothing else: no metering, no high-speed sync, no named modes. For a manual studio set that is the honest minimum, and the figure is above the sync speed of many bodies
Power source
Not published on the listing. Neither the transmitter nor the receiver has a cell type or count named, which on a two-piece radio set is a real omission — the trigger above it at least states two AAA cells for its receiver
Amazon reference
B00NTXUQ4U (same reference on 5 Amazon marketplaces)
EAN
0702411269198
  • Seventeen euros, the cheapest way to get a manual flash off the camera on this shelf
  • A connecting cable supplied, so a camera without a usable hot shoe can still fire the set
  • No system and not even a frequency named, so nothing can be said about future compatibility

Best for: Getting one manual studio head off the camera for the least money, on a reflex body with an ordinary hot shoe.

≈ 17 €
Check price on Amazon

Specifications

Radio system named
None. Five bullets describe a set, a sync speed, a fit, a cable and a range, and no radio system and no frequency appears — less even than the 433 MHz stated by the trigger above it. What arrives in the box works together, and the page gives no basis for saying what else ever will
Camera mounts supported
Canon, Nikon and Sony reflex bodies with a single-point hot shoe, in the third bullet. Single-point means the central firing contact only, so nothing is passed but the signal to fire — and the fourth bullet adds a connecting cable for cameras and transmitters, so a body without a usable shoe can still trigger the set
Channel and group counts
Four channels, in the first bullet, and no groups. It is the smallest channel count on this shelf — the trigger beside it offers sixteen — and four is enough to avoid a clash in a quiet room and not in a busy hall
Remote power control
None. Nothing on the page describes adjusting a light from the transmitter
Metering and sync modes claimed
A highest sync speed of 1/250 second, in the second bullet, and nothing else: no metering, no high-speed sync, no named modes. For a manual studio set that is the honest minimum, and the figure is above the sync speed of many bodies
Power source
Not published on the listing. Neither the transmitter nor the receiver has a cell type or count named, which on a two-piece radio set is a real omission — the trigger above it at least states two AAA cells for its receiver
Amazon reference
B00NTXUQ4U (same reference on 5 Amazon marketplaces)
EAN
0702411269198

On the listing

Five single-line bullets. A WanSen AC-04 trigger set with 4 channels; a highest sync speed of 1/250 second; a fit for Canon, Nikon and Sony reflex bodies with a single-point hot shoe; a connecting cable for the camera and transmitter, so a camera without a shoe can still use the trigger; and a maximum range of 30 m in open space with no interference.

Not even a frequency

Every other page on this shelf names something. Godox names its X system and lists the lights. NEEWER names its Q system with channels and IDs. The set beside this one at least gives 433 MHz. This page names a model number and a channel count, which means the box is the system and nothing outside it is accounted for.

Four channels, in a quiet room

Enough when nobody else is firing anything nearby, and short of the sixteen offered three euros up this shelf. Channels are insurance against other people, and the premium here is small.

A cable for cameras with no shoe

The most thoughtful line on the page. Older bodies and some larger-format cameras have a sync socket and no shoe worth using, and the cable covers exactly that case for no extra cost.

Thirty metres, with its conditions

Open space, no interference — stated, rather than claimed bare. It is the same figure as the two sets above it, and the qualification is what makes it credible.

What runs it is never said

No cell type, no count, for either half of a two-piece radio set. The 20 € set beside it states two AAA cells for its receiver; this one leaves a buyer to find out.

Availability

Between 17 € and 26 € on the German and French Amazon stores when this page was last checked.

The British Amazon store carry it too, priced in local currency. Those amounts are deliberately absent from the range above, which reads euro stores only.

On the Italian and Spanish Amazon stores the asking prices sit more than 1.6× above the cheapest country. A difference that wide usually means a reshipper rather than a seller on the ground, so they are kept out of the figures above.

Nothing came back from the American Amazon store at all, so the button for that country runs a search instead of opening an entry that is not there.

Everything in this section is the figure Keepa carried on the day of the last update to this page. Availability and prices shift without notice.

Prices quoted in this text were read on 13 September 2026. The live price is at the top of the page.

More flash triggers

  • Godox X5F flash trigger in black, a small hot shoe unit with a locking ring

    Godox X5F for Fujifilm, Godox 2.4G X system

    A 20 € transmitter that belongs to a named system — Godox 2.4G X — fires the maker’s studio heads by name, and has no power switch and no channel count.

    Radio system named
    The Godox 2.4G X system, named in the title and the third bullet, which then lists what it reaches: the AD100Pro II, AD200Pro II, AD600Pro II, AD600BM II, iT30Pro, V100, V480 and the Lux Master models. This is exactly what the hub above asks for — a system named on the box, with the lights that speak it enumerated, so the consequences of the purchase are visible before it is made
    Camera mounts supported
    Fujifilm, named in the title and listed body by body in the second bullet: X-Pro2, X-T20, X-T2, X-T1, GFX50s, GFX50R, X-T30, X-T4, X-T3, X-S20, X-T5, X-Pro1, X-T10, X-E1, X-A3, X100F and X100T. One camera system, named explicitly — which is the gate the hub above describes, since the contacts behind the centre pin differ between makers
    Channel and group counts
    Not published. Five bullets name the system, the cameras, the compatible lights, the mounting and the battery, and no channel or group figures appear. The cheapest trigger on this shelf publishes 16 channels; this one publishes none, which is the odd gap on an otherwise precise page
    Remote power control
    Yes, but narrowly, and the third bullet is careful about it: used off-camera the X5F can adjust the power of the iT32 only. It will fire other Godox X-system lights and cannot change their power levels. That is a real limitation stated plainly rather than left to be discovered
    Metering and sync modes claimed
    High-speed sync support, named in the first bullet, and TTL in the product description. No sync ceiling in fractions of a second is published here — the flash it partners quotes 1/8000 s — and no metering protocol is named beyond TTL for Fujifilm
    Power source
    A built-in 3.8 V 100 mAh lithium cell that charges only when the unit is attached to the iT32, about 3 hours to fill, giving up to 16 hours of standby. The closing bullet also states there is no physical power switch: status is shown by coloured LEDs, and the charge level appears in the flash’s own menu
    Amazon reference
    B0G25HKMXQ (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    0767637542913
    • A named system with its compatible lights listed by model, from the AD100Pro II to the V480
    • Fujifilm bodies named individually rather than described as universal
    • No channel or group counts published anywhere

    Best for: A Fujifilm body already inside the Godox X system, where the named light list is the reason to buy and the iT32 is the flash it drives.

    ≈ $20 / £18 / 20 €
    Check price on Amazon
  • NEEWER QZ-N flash trigger with a touchscreen display on a camera hot shoe

    NEEWER QZ-N, 2.4G Q system, touchscreen, 1/8000 s

    The dearest trigger here at 93 €, with a touchscreen, five groups, thirty-two channels, remote power from 1/256 to 1/1 and high-speed sync to 1/8000 — and it fires Godox lights as well as its own.

    Radio system named
    The NEEWER 2.4G Q system, with its own lights listed — Z3R-N, Z2PRO-N, Z2-N, Z1-N, Z880-N, NW760-N, S101-400W Pro, S102-400W Pro, Q4, Q4PRO, Q6, Q300, Q200 and Q120 — and then the unusual part: Godox iT32, V1 and V100 flashguns and the AD200 Pro II and AD100 Pro II outdoor heads are supported too, with current firmware. A named system that also reaches into a rival’s is rare, and the Q6 head in this catalogue is among the lights it drives
    Camera mounts supported
    Nikon, listed at length in the closing bullet — Z9, Z8, Zfc, Z50, Z30, Z5, Z6, Z7, Z6 II, Z7II and reflex bodies from the D4 and D5 to the D7500 — with one explicit exclusion: not compatible with the D810. An exclusion stated plainly is worth more than a list that implies everything works
    Channel and group counts
    5 groups, 32 channels and IDs from 01 to 99, with channel search, over a range given as 328 feet — about 100 m. It is the most granular addressing on this shelf: groups to control lights separately, channels to avoid others, and IDs to separate two photographers using the same channel
    Remote power control
    Yes, in full: flash power from 1/256 to 1/1, plus or minus 3 EV of exposure compensation, modelling light control and group control, all from the touchscreen. The second bullet adds automatic or manual zoom from 20 to 200 mm, which sets the beam of a compatible flash from the transmitter
    Metering and sync modes claimed
    TTL, manual and strobe, with 1/8000 s high-speed sync and S1 and S2 optical modes, in the first two bullets. The first carries a working note: the single-contact mode must be disabled for TTL and strobe to function. It is the only trigger on this shelf claiming metering and high-speed sync at all
    Power source
    A 1000 mAh lithium cell, fully charged in 2.5 hours, with a real-time battery display and firmware upgrades, in the fourth bullet. The same bullet gives the forced shutdown gesture — hold the power and test buttons together — which is the kind of detail that only appears after people have needed it
    Amazon reference
    B0G4QVWJTX (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    0191073129207
    • Five groups, 32 channels and 99 IDs, the most complete addressing on this shelf
    • Remote power from 1/256 to 1/1, exposure compensation, modelling light and zoom from 20 to 200 mm
    • Ninety-three euros, more than four times the 17 € Andoer

    Best for: A Nikon body running several NEEWER Q or compatible Godox lights, where power, zoom and modelling light are set from a touchscreen rather than at each head.

    ≈ $84 / £80 / 93 €
    Check price on Amazon
  • VBESTLIFE flash trigger transmitter and receiver pair in black with a sync adapter

    VBESTLIFE 16 channels on 433 MHz, transmitter and receiver

    A transmitter and receiver set at 20 € offering 16 channels, a 1/250 s sync claim and a jack adapter — and naming a radio frequency where every other trigger here names a system.

    Radio system named
    None — the third bullet gives a working frequency of 433 MHz, which is not the same thing. The hub above says each trigger belongs to a system named on the box, and that the system decides which flashes can ever join the set. A frequency says which band the radio uses; it does not say who can talk to whom. Nothing on this page names a protocol, so compatibility begins and ends with the receiver in the box
    Camera mounts supported
    Pentax is named in the second bullet, which credits the transmitter with a unique contact design suited to Pentax and other cameras. The fourth bullet adds a 3.5 mm to 6.35 mm adapter for studio flashes, and the shoe carries the fire signal only — so on any camera it will trigger, and it will pass nothing else
    Channel and group counts
    16 channels, in the title and the first bullet, credited with strong interference resistance. No groups are published, which is the distinction the hub above draws: channels keep two photographers out of each other’s way, groups let one photographer control lights separately. This set offers the first and not the second
    Remote power control
    None. Nothing on the page describes adjusting a flash from the transmitter, so every light in the set is set by hand at the light — which is what the hub above calls the difference between a trigger and a controller
    Metering and sync modes claimed
    A highest sync speed of 1/250 s, in the third bullet. No through-the-lens metering and no high-speed sync is claimed, and no mode is named — so the claim is for ordinary sync at a stated ceiling, which is an honest position for a 20 € set
    Power source
    The receiver takes two AAA cells, not supplied, named in the fifth bullet with low consumption and long life. The transmitter’s power is not stated
    Amazon reference
    B07THWWJWS (same reference on 5 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    0715990757208
    • Sixteen channels and a claimed 30 m range for 20 €
    • A 3.5 mm to 6.35 mm adapter in the box, so it reaches studio heads with either socket
    • A frequency named instead of a system, so nothing can be said about what else will ever join the set

    Best for: Firing one or two manual studio heads on a budget, where the set that arrives in the box is the whole system and will stay that way.

    ≈ £21 / 20 €
    Check price on Amazon

Elsewhere in the camera bag

  • JJC set of three PVC grey, white and black cards with their clip strap

    JJC Three PVC cards, 130 by 100 mm, 18 % and 90 %

    Eleven euros for three waterproof PVC cards publishing both 18 per cent grey and 90 per cent white — the only page here to give two reflectance figures.

    Reference type
    THREE CARDS in PVC — an 18 per cent neutral grey, a white and a black — in the second and fifth bullets, described as colour-calibrated reference cards and called a must for light balance and photographic exposure
    Stated reflectance
    TWO FIGURES, and this is what separates the page: 18 PER CENT for the neutral grey AND 90 PER CENT for the white card, both in the second bullet. Ninety per cent is what a white reference should reflect — a true 100 per cent surface does not exist — and publishing it means the white card can be used for exposure as well as for white balance. No other page on this shelf gives a second figure
    Patch count and published values
    Three cards, no patches. The 59 € Calibrite here is the only patch chart on this shelf
    Surface finish
    PUBLISHED IN FULL, in the third bullet: NON-REFLECTIVE, highly scratch-resistant and WATERPROOF, in durable PVC. Non-reflective is the property that matters — a glossy card throws a highlight into the middle of the reading — and waterproof is what lets a card be used in rain and wiped afterwards
    Size
    130 by 100 mm, in the first bullet, described as medium. Marginally larger than the 12.7 by 10.2 cm ChromLives here and a fraction of the 30 by 30 cm Lightdow
    Supplied case
    No case: a strap with a DETACHABLE CLIP, in the fourth bullet, described as compact, robust and light in pocket format, easy to carry on a wallet or a key ring. The same solution as the ChromLives — attachment rather than storage
    Amazon reference
    B07Z4N8Y19 (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    6972502073032
    • Both 18 per cent and 90 per cent published — two reflectance figures
    • Non-reflective, scratch-resistant and waterproof PVC, all stated
    • No case, and no colorimetric values

    Best for: Outdoor work where the card gets wet, and any shoot that needs a white reference as well as a grey one.

    ≈ £9 / 11 €
    Check price on Amazon
  • Lightdow folding grey card opened to 30 by 30 cm beside its carry case

    Lightdow 30 by 30 cm folding, 17.8 % reflectance, density 0.74

    Eleven euros for a 30 by 30 cm pop-up card that publishes 17.8 per cent, a density of 0.74, a 2 per cent tolerance and an eighth of a stop of error — the only measured card here.

    Reference type
    A DOUBLE-SIDED POP-UP card — grey on one face, white on the other, in the fourth bullet, which says it simplifies the technical questions of exposure and colour correction under varying light and names weddings and fashion shows as where that matters. It springs open like a reflector rather than being a rigid card
    Stated reflectance
    17.8 PER CENT, in the first bullet — and the honesty of that figure is the point. "Eighteen per cent" is the nominal standard; 17.8 is what this surface actually measures, published alongside a DENSITY OF 0.74. Density is the logarithmic form of the same property, and giving both is how a manufacturer shows the figure came from an instrument rather than a catalogue
    Patch count and published values
    Two faces, no patches. What it publishes instead is unique on this shelf: a MAXIMUM DEVIATION OF 2 PER CENT in the second bullet, and a MAXIMUM METERING ERROR OF ONE EIGHTH OF A STOP in the third. A tolerance is what turns a claim into a specification
    Surface finish
    Not described — the one gap on an otherwise measured page. The 11 € JJC here publishes non-reflective, and on a 30 cm surface a sheen matters more rather than less
    Size
    30 by 30 cm, in the title — NEARLY SEVEN TIMES the area of the 130 by 100 mm cards on this shelf, and FOLDING, with a carry case supplied. A large target can be metered from further away and photographed in the frame for later correction; a folding one still fits in a bag
    Supplied case
    YES — a carry case, in the title and the fourth bullet, which is what a sprung folding card needs. The fifth bullet adds a 90-day return and replacement guarantee for quality-related problems
    Amazon reference
    B00HT9MA1W (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    0616983848487
    • Seventeen point eight per cent and a density of 0.74, both published
    • A 2 per cent deviation and an eighth of a stop of metering error — the only tolerances here
    • The surface finish is never described, on the largest card here

    Best for: Metering from a distance at a wedding or a show, where the card has to be large, fold away and be trusted to a fraction of a stop.

    ≈ $15 / £13 / 11 €
    Check price on Amazon
  • Belmalia set of eight black anodised step-up rings laid out in order of size

    Belmalia Eight step-up rings, 49 to 82 mm

    Eight anodised rings from 49 to 82 mm for 11 €, each stepping up one size, and screwable into one another to reach the gaps between.

    Mounts joined
    NONE — and this is the distinction the word "adapter" hides on this shelf. These are filter-thread rings: they join a larger filter to a smaller lens thread, in eight steps from 49 to 82 mm. No camera mount is involved at any point. The 95 € Canon and the 185 € Nikon on this shelf are the mount adapters; three of the five pages here, this one included, are rings
    Contacts present
    None, and none is possible: a filter ring sits at the front of the lens, where there is nothing to communicate with
    Functions claimed
    One: fitting. The first bullet says larger filters or converters can be used on lenses of smaller diameter, and that is the whole claim. Nothing is passed, nothing is powered, nothing is lost
    Optical elements
    None. The rings are hollow metal, which is why they cost 11 € and change nothing about the image — the intro above reserves corrective elements for adapters working against the flange distance
    Tripod foot
    Not applicable
    Aperture ring
    Not applicable
    Build
    Anodised aluminium, in the third bullet, described as stable, dimensionally true and light. The fourth bullet claims precisely cut threads that neither tilt nor jam, and the second says the rings screw into one another to reach intermediate sizes — 49 to 58 through two rings, for instance
    Amazon reference
    B00OE7B0UE (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    4054438653150
    • Eight consecutive steps from 49 to 82 mm, with no gap left in the sequence
    • Anodised aluminium rather than plastic, at 11 € for the set
    • Steps UP only: a smaller filter cannot be put on a larger lens with these

    Best for: One set of large filters shared across several lenses, where every thread in the bag is 49 mm or more.

    ≈ £8 / 11 €
    Check price on Amazon

All flash triggers