Remote shutters:

[Diane]

Any tips on choosing a remote shutter would be welcome. I have never used one at all. I've been off the site for awhile. too frustrated with dialup service. but I do continue to read & thoroughly enjoy the site.

Thanx
diane

[Carl in Louisiana]

Try checking this thread out on this same subject. Hope it helps.
Remote Shutter Release: Cable or Wireless?

[Manfred M]

I use both wired and wireless (infrared (IR)) units. I have not used a RF (radio) trigger. You can only use wireless IR if your camera is equipped to take it; these require that the camera has an built-in sensor. My amateur camera has this feature, while my pro camera does not (go figure...).

To use the wireless IR trigger, you have to have line of sight to the camera's sensor, otherwise it will not work and the range is limited. I've certainly used it at distances of around 10m / 30ft. The trigger for my camera does not have a lock, so if I want to shoot in bulb mode, I assume I would just have to keep pressing. It's pretty good, but not 100% reliable because of the line of sight issues. These tend to be the least expensive solution.

A wired trigger has a short cable. I use this a lot for long exposures on a tripod. It can be locked down when shooting in bulb mode to give very long exposures. It is 100% reliable, but you are limited to how far away you can be from the camera by the length of the cable. These tend to cost a bit more than the IR triggers.

I have not used any radio triggers. They tend to be the most expensive solution and have a longer range. There are simple ones that just release the shutter to more expensive ones that have intervalometers functions built in (i.e. they will trigger the shutter automatically over a time period).

[DanK]

Like Manfred, I use two, but I use wireless rather than IR. It depends on what you need it for. If you just want to get your hand off the camera to avoid vibration, a wired one is fine. My current one is Yongnuo, which you can get on eBay very cheaply. For a wireless, I use the Hahnel Giga T Pro II. It does all sorts of stuff. It will do timed exposures and delayed exposures, and you can program it to do a series of these. I use this mostly for night photography, where is a real nuisance to have to watch a stopwatch and close the shutter at the end of a long exposure.

[drjuice]

I use the remote commander that came with my Sony alpha-700. v

[SteveF]

I use Pocket Wizards. Damned expensive but, a 1600ft range, nice. Got a sekonic meter with a PW module in it too. Makes for measuring any flash very simple.

Sometimes given enough setup time I use the PW to fire another camera or two in different places. Biggest problem is the PW original trigger cables here in the UK for Canon are about £120.

[inkista]

I have a cable release, an IR remote, and RF remotes. Here's how I see it.

A cable release is the most convenient if you're working behind the camera.

The IR remote is more convenient if you're in front of the camera (self-portraits/group shots) because of the the sensor placement on the camera. Trying to use an IR remote from behind the camera can become an exercise in contortionism to get the light from the remote to hit the sensor on the front of the grip/in the recess between the lens and the grip. But, an IR remote is like a TV remote. You have line-of-sight and range limitations on their use, and outside in bright light, the range/reliability gets much smaller.

Radio (RF) remotes can overcome the range/reliability/line-of-sight issues, but are slightly more of a PITA, because you need to remember to haul two units: one to act as a receiver on the cable release port, and the other to be the transmitter in your hand as the remote.

I use the Yongnuo RF-602 flash triggers as my remote shutter release. A Tx/Rx set costs about $30 in the US. So, not particularly expensive. But only the Canon/Nikon shutter release cables for the RF-602/603 are relatively easy to find. The Cactus V5 has shutter release cables for nearly every brand, but are sold separately from the triggers. Most of the cheap manual flash triggers can do this trick, so you don't have to buy PocketWizards.

[revi]

Wrt to IR remotes: not all cameras have a sensor for those build-in.
As OP didn't mention for what camera(s) she wanted a remote, that
is something she should check herself.

Same goes (more or less) for the other options mentioned. One thing
I don't like about my Sony A330 is that there is no possibility for a
wired remote (and thus no wireless control either, apart from the
built-in IR) .

(From what I've seen, OP might be using a Panasonic DMC FZ-100
which seems to have a terminal for a wired remote, so wireless
might also be possible)