Fstoppers Reviews the Elinchrom Skyport Plus System

For years, Elinchrom users have been complaining about the aging Skyport. A few months ago, the Swiss flash manufacturer finally released the brand new Skyport HS, and it is a great product. However, not everyone needs its advanced features. Some photographers couldn’t care less about technical stuff and only want their transmitter to do the job it is designed for: triggering the flash remotely. Well, that’s why the Skyport Plus was recently released.

The first iteration of the Skyport is now well over ten years old and was due for replacement. The Skyport HS was not it. It was meant to open up new possibilities to photographers that were until then not so practical. Hi-Sync made the HyperSync found in Pocketwizard very easy to set up and use, thanks to a great integration with the Elinchrom strobes lineup, especially with the HS Quadra head.

A few weeks ago, when Elinchrom announced the Skyport Plus, some people seemed to be wondering what it was meant for. After all, why release a second transmitter when the HS works more than well? The reason is very straightforward: budget and simplicity. The new Skyport Plus is everything the old Skyport was – affordable, light, small – but without its issues.

Build Quality

The improvements are noticeable already. The hot shoe is made of metal; gone is the plasticky thing that looked so fragile. To replace the antenna that always ended up loose after a few months of use, Elinchrom designed the Skyport Plus in a way that the whole unit can swivel, allowing for optimal radio transmission results.

Do you remember the tiny, annoying batteries the old Skyport required? It was the one you never found in any shop when you needed it. Well, it is gone! It’s been replaced by two AA batteries. Your assistant will thank you if you change your Skyport to the Plus just for that alone!

Interface and Features

Another very welcome improvement is the interface. While it doesn’t have an LCD screen, it is much better than the previous version. With the older Skyport, you had to resort to your user guide to find out how to change the pins to get a certain channel. Well, now the eight available channels are written clearly, and the activated one is shown by being lit up. The channels are also spread throughout the 20-channel range the Skyport Plus HS offers, meaning you will have a better chance of finding a free frequency in busy areas. The four groups are displayed the same way as the channels are, and they can be cycled through by the simple press of a button.

I am quite certain that every single Elinchrom user has encountered the issue of activating the speed mode by accident on the previous Skyport. Then, no flash would fire anymore. With the new Skyport Plus, the channel and the group are lit up in green for normal mode and in red for speed mode. The mode can also be changed with a dedicated button, making it almost impossible to have this issue ever again!

To be noted as well, the speed mode works better than the one available on the previous Skyport. I could use a flash sync of 1/1600 s with a Phase One and Schneider leaf shutter lenses without much of an issue. Sports photographers or people that shoot outdoors will appreciate the added range. The new Skyport Plus can trigger a strobe up to 656 feet (200 meters) away. It will also help if you are taking pictures in an environment that isn’t optimal for radio transmission (humid, flash hidden behind something, etc.).

Receiver Plus

Surprisingly to me, the receiver release was more exciting news than the Skyport, the reason being that the Receiver Plus makes Hi-Sync available to any strobe on the market! This means if you own a Skyport HS and a Receiver Plus, you can now plug your receiver into a Profoto, Broncolor, or any other flash and sync it in Hi-Sync mode. Obviously, the results will be best with units that have a long flash duration.

Owning a couple of Yongnuo YN0906, I was quite happy to see that it works well up to 1/8000 s! The flash duration of the YN0906 is so long that the Hi-Sync will allow me to freeze movement when needed and also not lose much power.

In terms of build quality and design, the receiver is very similar to the Skyport Plus. It also has four groups and eight channels, both displayed on the side and lit up in either green or red depending on the active mode. Unlike the transmitter, it cannot swivel, but it has a hot shoe mount to put a flash on top and a cold shoe to mount it on a light stand. Another difference is the presence of a USB port to be able to update it. I am not sure what Elinchrom would be able to add to the receiver, but who knows, perhaps TTL or something similar is in preparation! However, I wish that the Transmitter had a USB port as well, which doesn’t seem to be the case.

Price

The Skyport Plus is available for $89.99, while the Receiver Plus is $99.99. Both can be had in kit, with one unit of each for $139.99.

Compared to the Skyport HS, this is almost a third of the price. So, it is a very interesting option if having the Hi-Sync feature and 20 channels are not crucial to you. The other advantage I have to give the Skyport HS is the LCD screen. It allows you to know if you have already reached minimum/maximum power or not. When on location, that can be very handy. In the studio, it is more comfortable, but unless shooting very complex setups, it might not be a necessity.

What I liked

• Standard AA batteries to power the units
• Metal shoe mount
• Simple interface — no need to read the user guide
• Extended range of 656 feet (200 meters)
• Inexpensive
• Minimalist design

What Could Be Improved

• The swivel mechanism is a great alternative to the antenna of the previous model, but I wonder about its durability. Only time will tell!
• I wish the shoe mount would keep the weather-sealing of the camera body like the Skyport HS does.
• Power adjustment can only be done in increments of 1/10th of a stop; it would be great to press longer for a full-stop adjustment
• I wish both units would use 3.5mm sync sockets instead of 2.5mm for the transmitter and 3.5mm for the receiver. Be careful to take the right cord if you need it to sync to your camera!

Conclusion

For photographers that are looking for an inexpensive yet reliable flash triggering system, the Skyport Plus is the perfect choice, even more so if you plan on investing in Elinchrom studio gear or battery-powered strobes, or wish to use Hi-Sync.

The Skyport Plus HS is an amazing unit that is very practical due to its screen. However, it is quite big, and the interface can be overwhelming for beginners. On the other hand, the Skyport Plus does what it is meant for in all simplicity. The decision between the two will mainly be a choice of your need for Hi-Sync and for the 20 channels.

If you do not use Elinchrom strobes, having a Skyport HS and couple of Skyport Receiver Plus can make sense if you wish to use Hi-Sync. This is great news for anyone having either a mixed kit of studio strobes and hot shoe flashes or for people that need to sync up 1/8000 s but do not own any Elinchrom gear!