Lightning Trigger LT-IV
I love to photograph lightning, and one of the greatest challenges is to capture it during daylight. Photographing lightning at night is relatively easy, at least from a technical perspective, as we can leave the shutter on the camera open for long periods of time, but during daylight, we can't leave the shutter open very long as the image will be overexposed. Enter the Lightning Trigger.
A lightning trigger is an electronic device that senses the lightning strike and triggers the shutter for you. It's important to understand that the trigger doesn't do all of the work for you. The photographer must still set up the composition, determine the proper exposure, and pre-focus for the scene. With a lightning trigger, all sorts of new and exciting things are possible. Now we can do things that were previously impossible like photographing lightning in daylight and shooting into the setting sun.
My trigger of choice is the Lightning Trigger LT-IV made by Stepping Stone Products. This trigger mounts into your camera's hot shoe and connects via a modified remote-release cable. What makes this trigger better than the others is that it's essentially "plug-n-play" in that it has a Patented Automatic Gain Control that provides constant sensitivity day or night -- no old technology knobs to fumble over. I've owned four different lightning triggers, and I can say that while the LT-IV can't catch every lightning bolt, I've been more productive with it than I have all of the others combined. I consider it to be an essential piece of gear and one that you must have if you wish to photograph lightning.
Note: due to high demand for the LT-IV Lightning Trigger, it can take 4 weeks or longer for you to receive your order.