We spent thirty years buying timing systems, so we wrote the guide we never got. Everything here is sourced, and it includes the criteria where we lose.
Click any criterion to read its explanation and open the matching Academy article.
| Criterion | Lion Timing Pro | Lion Timing Advanced | Finish Lynx Scholastic | FinishLynx EtherLynx Vision PRO | TimeTronics Argus Club | TimeTronics Argus Pro | ALGE OPTIc3 | ALGE OPTIc3-PRO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5000 | 5000 | 600 | 6000 | 2000 | 3000 extra upgrade to 5000 | 3000 | 15000 | |
| 2064 | 2064 | 640 | 2048 | 1280 | 1280 | 1360 | 2016 | |
| yes best in class RAW Image Data | yes best in class RAW Image Data | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | no eXtremLuX extra € 2000 | ✓ | |
| ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |
| ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | |
| ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | payed upgrade | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | |
| ✗ | yes plus GPS module | ✗ | yes but not included | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |
| ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ? | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |
| yes optional but not neede to fully operate camera | yes optional but not neede to fully operate camera | not needed | yes optional but not neede to fully operate camera | yes Argus Interface Box needed Camera can not take start impuls directly | yes Argus Interface Box needed Camera can not take start impuls directly | not clear but not needed for operating the camera | not clear but not needed for operating the camera | |
| ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |
| ✗ | yes plus aproval server | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |
| ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |
| ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |
| ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |
| ✗ | yes extra cost | ✗ | yes extra cost | yes extra cost | yes extra cost | yes extra cost | yes extra cost | |
| ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | |
| ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | |
| ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | |||||
| 5990 | 5990 plus subscription 590.- per year | 5990 | 21274 | EUR 7,000 + timing box | EUR 17,000 + timing box | EUR 10,600 | EUR 17,500 |
Values are synchronized from the comparison sheet. Other text is shown exactly as entered.
A photo finish purchase is usually compared on camera specs. But races aren’t decided by a camera — they’re decided by a chain: capture → evidence → review → approval → publication, with a backup under every link. Five questions test the whole chain.
22 criteria, 8 systems, every cell sourced — including the ones where we lose.
Take to every demoFourteen questions that sort technology from branding — with our own answers printed underneath.
Know what it costsThe page this market never publishes: the true, event-ready total.
Understand it firstFree, and useful even if you never buy from us.
Coming from a specific system? FinishLynx alternative · ALGE OPTIc alternative · TimeTronics Argus alternative · ALGE vs FinishLynx. (SEO comparison pages — in the build queue.)
FinishLynx, ALGE and TimeTronics build serious, proven systems — we used their equipment with respect. Where they’re stronger, this guide says so. Our case is a different workflow and a different price logic, not a claim that their engineering is bad.
Is this guide neutral? No — we sell one of the systems, and we say so. What we promise instead of neutrality: every factual cell is sourced to vendor documentation, our weaknesses are in the matrix, and every competitor page includes who should probably buy that system anyway.