Dating I Discoveriloveyou Discover I Love You Review: Phottix Cleon II Wire/Wireless Remote Control Set : Martin Pot - Photography Blog

I recently reviewed the Phottix Cleon wireless remote, which was released by Phottix in February 2008. Since that time, Phottix have not been resting on their laurels, but were busy designing a new and improved version.

A new model, the Phottix Cleon II, was released earlier this year, in January 2009. It provides a number of improvements and enhancements since the Cleon.

Thanks to earlier review of the Cleon.



The size and shape of the Cleon II transmitter and remote are identical to the previous model, the Cleon. However, there are a number of differences in the functionality of the Cleon II.

The back of the Cleon II transmitter indicates the model is "WXD-189", and this review looks at the C8 model of the Phottix Cleon II wireless remote, which comes with a cable that has an N3 connector to suit Canon 20D/30D/40D/50D/5D/1D cameras. I'm testing it on a Canon 50D body.

components: receiver, transmitter, camera cable, battery, wrist strap and clip

One of the immediately obvious differences between the Cleon and the Cleon II is the fact that the Cleon II does not have the receiver cable hard-wired into the receiver. Instead, one end of the receiver has a 3.5mm stereo plug, which goes into a corresponding 3.5mm stereo socket on the receiver.

This allows Phottix to manufacture a single model of receiver, and just provide different cables to suit different model cameras (this approach has also been taken with the Phottix Nikos digital timer remote).

I'll be taking a closer look at other differences between the Cleon and Cleon II in subsequent parts of this review.

A quick search on eBay indicates the Phottix Cleon II typically retails for about AUD$56 (approx USD$36), which is about AUD$10 more than the previous model Cleon.

Update: Phottix are now selling the Cleon II via their recently launched online store.



Specifications (as listed on the packaging):

Name of Product	Transmitter	Receiver
Power	12V / 23A	3V / CR2
Life of Battery	up to 3 years	20,000 Times
Smart Code System	16 000 000 combination codes
Range	100m (320ft) without obstacles
Monitor Light	Two color LEDs	Two color LEDs
Frequency	433 MHz

To summarise the differences between Cleon and Cleon II, I've listed them in a table. Note that this table does not include functionality that exists in the Cleon and in the Cleon II; it only lists the differences between the two models.

Name of Product	Cleon	Cleon II
release date	February 2008	January 2009
frequency	315 MHz	433 MHz
number of channels	16 (set with DIP switches)	16,000,000 (preset in transmitter)
transmitter-camera cable	hard-wired into transmitter	removable with 2.5mm plug
transmitter antenna length	75 mm	125 mm
2S switch	configured on receiver	configured on transmitter
multiple frames option	none	configured on transmitter
receiver power switch	4-position slide switch	hold down on switch for 3 seconds
terminate wireless bulb mode	half-press on transmitter	half-press or full press on transmitter

The Cleon II supports 16,000,000 different channels, and I found that I had to synchronise the receiver and transmitter before they would communicate. Once this synchronisation operation has been completed, it shouldn't be necessary to re-synchronise each time you use the Cleon II.

receiver

transmitter

To check if the transmitter and receiver are synchronised, turn on the receiver. Holding down the "set/power" button on the receiver for approximately three seconds will turn it on, and the red LED on the left hand side of the receiver should turn on.
Move the mode switch on the transmitter to "S/B" and hit the shutter button on the transmitter. If no LEDs light up on the receiver, then you'll need to synchronise them using the procedure described below.

receiver, showing two status LEDs and socket for camera cable

To synchronise the receiver to the transmitter:

• turn receiver on by holding down "set/power" button for ~3 seconds until right hand side LED turns on
• press "set/power" button on receiver 5 times until LED on left hand side flashes red
• press shutter button on transmitter
• LED on left hand side of receiver should turn off

Now that the synchronisation has been completed, half-depressing the shutter button on the transmitter should result in the LED on the left hand side of the receiver going green, and a full press of the button should result in this LED going red.

Note that multiple receivers can be programmed to respond to a single transmitter, allowing you to trigger multiple cameras with a single transmitter.

After removing the receiver's battery for several minutes, I re-installed it, and confirmed that the receiver was still synchronised to the transmitter, so it appears that the synchronisation is a once-off exercise that won't need to be repeated (unless you want to synchronise the receiver to a different transmitter).


rDating I Discoveriloveyou Discover I Love You Review: Phottix Cleon II Wire/Wireless Remote Control Set : Martin Pot - Photography Blog g I I wDating I Discoveriloveyou Discover I Love You Review: Phottix Cleon II Wire/Wireless Remote Control Set : Martin Pot - Photography Blog h n t t Discover Discover Dating I