Phottix Cleon Remote Release: Thumbs Up

Photographers face a simple problem: How to be in the photographs they are taking. How many special occasions' images are sans one family member due to his or her duties behind the lens? What about vacation photos? Are there photos of your husband and kids standing in front of famous landmarks, without you?

In the distant past photographs used shutter release cables to be part of the shot. They were bulky contraptions that used a mechanical push button or squeeze ball to trigger a shot. Luckily, the progress of remote shutter releases has kept pace with the high-tech world of digital cameras.

Enter the Phottix Cleon Wired/Wireless Remote Control Set. This handy device has a multitude of uses and models are available for many Canon and Nikon digital single lens reflex cameras (DSLRs). The Phottix Cleon set includes two components, a receiver unit and a transmitter unit. The receiver is plugged into the remote port on a DSLR. This receiver can also be attached to the camera's hot shoe flash adaptor to keep it secure. Using the hotshoe is an aesthetic choice, it doesn't effect or power the unit.

What does it have going for it? It's small and lightweight. The receiver and remote can be stored in any gear pouch on your camera bag. It offers 16 different frequency channels that you can quickly change if you find someone using the same frequency as you. The red and green LEDs on the receiver unit give your easy-to-see visual feedback when using the remote away from the camera: No more guessing if the photo has been taken. Both the remote and receiver come with batteries, and the remote offers a range of 100 meters (320 feet), without obstacles.

The receiver unit does more than receive signals from the remote unit; it also acts as a wired release, offering you the ability to take photos without pressing the shutter release button on the camera. After switching the receiver on you can take photos by pressing the button, or, you can switch the receiver to Bulb mode. For the shutterbugs into astrophotography or trying to capture night images, this is a great way to trigger a bulb exposure without pressing the shutter release on the camera, causing it to shake and leading to a ruined image.

The Phottix Cleon comes into its own with its multifunction remote. The receiver/remote combo offers four modes: Single, continuous, 2-second delay, and bulb. Single is as it sounds, half-press the button on the remote to focus. The green LED will illuminate when the camera is ready. Fully depress the button to release the shutter. The two-second delay will trigger the shot two-seconds after the remote button is depressed.

The continuous and bulb modes require the camera being set up those modes before setting up the receiver/remote. Switch the camera set up to continuous mode or set to the shutter speed to bulb. The remote button is depressed for three seconds, until the remotes red LED turns off. In continuous mode the camera will continue to take photos, or in bulb mode the shutter will stay open, until the remote button is half-pressed to end the program.

I tried the Phottix Cleon Wired/Wireless Remote Control Set on my Canon EOS Rebel XTi / 400D. It was easy to attach and use. Using both the bulb and continuous modes properly takes a little practice, much like using the rest of your DSLR system. My only gripe would be the frequency channel selectors on the receiver and remote. Both are exposed. Other than being an aesthetic problem, I was worried about the switches getting knocked out of position. This isn't a worry, both are well recessed and require a small screwdriver or toothpick to flip.

The really neat possibility this system offers is using one remote and mutliple cameras. If you have receivers on, say, 3 cameras, and all were set to the same frequency, you could use one remote to trigger all, at the same time. That offers interesting possibilities.

The Phottix Cleon Wired/Wireless Remote Control Set is a winner. It offers family photographers a chance to easily get into the picture, and more advanced shutterbugs a way to improve their studio work and night images.

The Hong Kong-based Phottix make a number of photo accessories, including battery packs, lens hoods and filters, and flash diffusers. The Phottix Cleon can be found on the web at Hong Kong Supplies.