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Having used the Cyber Commander for a while now, I have a couple observations that I'd like to share, both for PCB, Inc. as well as those who might be considering adding this product to their setup.
First, I have to say that acquiring the CC has made a distinct positive difference in my ability to shoot my subjects (almost always table-top products for an international consumer products company). The ability to save configurations and quickly change back and forth between them when shooting a series of similar products has enabled me to not only streamline my process, but also to improve the quality and consistency of my shooting. I don't make these claims lightly.
I initially thought that the meter would be a "nice to have" thing, but not a big deal for my shooting. I always shoot a gray card while tethered, and fine-tune the light levels by measuring the results of test photos while setting things up. As it turns out, I have ended up making good use of the meter capability by homing in on the appropriate exposure much more quickly than the iterative method I use to use. I still have to fine-tune it, but I'm rarely more than 0.2 stops away from where I need to be now when shooting test shots. That speeds up the process significantly.
I ordered the CST along with the CC, and I'm very glad I did. I can see where the entire system would be much less convenient without it. Having to pull the CC off of the shoe mount and then putting it back on would be a pain, and would potentially risk moving the camera between shots when I'm shooting composites (which I do quite frequently).
In fact, now that I've used it for a while I would actually prefer that the CC had not even been designed to work as a shoe-mounted trigger at all. I would gladly give up that capability if it meant that the CC could be a little larger, perhaps utilize an antenna similar to the CST, three batteries perhaps instead of two (which might enable the use of NiMH cells), and more user-friendly buttons. The joystick buttons are OK, but I have difficulty pressing them just the right way sometimes, especially when metering. A meter button on the same side of the CC as the dome would seem to be more intuitive, or perhaps simply a button that's easier to press accurately on the front. I know these features would come at some cost, but now that I've tasted what it's like to use this type of control, it would be an easy sell.
Some other wonderful additions would be:
- a quicker way to select "all" for the active lights, since it's such a frequent activity
- a quick way to turn off all modeling lights (and back on) -- this may not be as useful to other people, but it sure would be to me. I currently do this by selecting "Group 8", which I never assign any lights to. This effectively puts all my lights in standby mode when selected.
- larger (wider) graph when less than 16 lights are in use (which is most of the time for most people, I would think)
Even with the current configuration, a bunch of shortcuts could be had by checking to see if more than one "button" is pressed simultaneously (ie. if user pulls both joysticks down, select "all lights" or something along those lines). Since these are joysticks, there would be quite a few combinations of the two that would allow for shortcuts. For me, quickly being able to load different configurations would be wonderful... you could easily set this up if the UI for the CC would allow multiple button checking.
One frustration I currently have has to do with a process I have adopted when shooting. Once I've gotten everything set the way I need it for a given shot, I first shoot a "reference" shot with gray card for assistance with processing the subsequent photos later. I've determined over time that I get better consistency if I test fire the strobes first, wait for them to recycle, then shoot the actual image. This seems to bring all the lights to a common starting point when shooting. The frustration induced by the CC is that it appears I can't test fire the strobes as the first action after "waking up" the unit. No matter how long I wait, the test button won't fire the strobes if it's the first action after waking it up. Any other action first will then allow me to test fire them, but why should I have to do something else just to pop the lights?
I think I can safely say that the CC has changed my shooting process for the better, and you'd have to pry it from my cold hands to get it away from me at this point. I realize this is a "first generation" product, and I'm perfectly happy to be part of the initial wave. Given the possibility of having the unit now as-is vs. waiting for a more refined product, I'd want it now the way it is (warts and all). It's that good!
Regards -
David
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