ST-III vs ST-IV - Which to Choose?

With the ST-IV now available, there are a lot of questions as to which trigger customers should choose, the ST-III or the ST-IV. In this Blog, we look at both of the Triggers and help give you a better idea of which trigger would best suit you.

Looking into the specifications and the usage of both these triggers, it may be interesting to know that they have a fair few things in common. Both of these triggers support TTL, High-speed sync and Rear curtain sync, meaning that they can be used with a wide variety of our flashes, whilst allowing you to use very in-depth and technical functions with ease. They both offer you up to 32 Channels to work with and having a working range of up to 100m in an open area. They both work from a 2.4GHz transmission radio frequency and are powered by 2x AA Batteries. So, in these respects, they are similar, but each of them do differ in their own ways. Another thing that these two triggers have in common, is that they both work as part of the ‘One system’, meaning that you are able to control your Pixapro flashes all from the same trigger, which makes adjusting much simpler.

ST-III triggers come with its own hot-shoe on the top, with TTL pass-through, which enables you to simultaneously attach a speedlite for use on-camera, or a third-party flash trigger to be used in conjunction with the ST-III trigger. This is a wonderfully helpful addition as it allows you to use two different flash systems together at the same time.

ST-IV triggers feature a much larger display screen, with dedicated group buttons, which makes it much quicker and easier for you to control the flashes and access certain features which you may be interested in using. The screen on the ST-IV is a very high-quality display, which is clear and vibrant, allowing you to see the options easily and navigate through the interface with ease.  One such feature that the ST-IV offers is the option for you to remotely adjust the Zoom for your flash, if your flash has that feature, making it easier to adjust your lighting and give you the best quality shot. The ST-IV also comes with a feature called ‘TCM’, which stands for TTL Converted Manual, and what this does is it allows you to convert your TTL exposure into a manual exposure, gifting you much more control. With the newest firmware update for the ST-IV, you are now able to control the power in 1/10th power adjustments on our mains powered flashes as well as our CITI400/CITI600 PRO, making it much easier for you to control the power of your lights.

In conclusion, whilst the ST-III and ST-IV have a lot of specifications and attributes in common, the ST-IV does win out with the added benefits. With an easier-to-use interface and more features available, the ST-IV is the option that will benefit you in the future. But if you still require on-camera lighting, or the trigger to be used as a pass-through, the ST-III would be the option to go for. The pass-through would allow you to use third party lights and triggers with your PIXAPRO equipment, which is not available with the ST-IV. In the end, this will come down to what you require from your trigger. But we can say, that both the ST-III and ST-IV, are of the highest quality and will be a wonderful addition to your set-up.