Mikes Images - Mike #4 wrote:
Pocket wizards are notorious for being huge and for having their bulky size cause the plastic "foot" to break off. The newer ones are worse in that respect since the vast majority of the plastic body needs to be replaced, not just the "foot".

I gave very careful consideration to the whole wireless thing after making some bad decisions. I have 4 Chinese ones that I'll damn near give away due to reliability issues. Also their batteries are not fun to find.

I ended up going with a very tiny and very well made unit marketed by Tamrac.
It's called a "Micro-Sync" and I've used it for 2 years without a single failure.



I know, a lot of people on here will tell you to get a PW, because that's what they have. They do work. They do break...often. I think Mark Twain said it best...

"Whenever you find you are on the side of the majority,
it is time to pause and reflect." Mark Twain

I use PW. They work perfectly, but every time I use them I am amazed anew at the unspeakable stupidity of the design ... and worry about breaking them at the foot. They are big, stick up too far, and the designers in a fit of epic contempt for the customer, DID NOT put any kind of flexible foot mount on them, which would have been easy to do and would have ended 99% of the worries of breakage.

Imageri by Tim Davis wrote:
You can use the Canon ST-E2 Transmitter. It will sit on your hot shoe. It will trigger both flashes plus control their ratios.

The only problem is that the trigger is infrared not radio, you can't use is it in bright sun because the sunlight will confuse the optical slave on the flashes. Other than that they are a great tool.

FotoMark wrote:

The only problem is that the trigger is infrared not radio, you can't use is it in bright sun because the sunlight will confuse the optical slave on the flashes. Other than that they are a great tool.

And also there is the Field Of View problem. The flashes have to be like somewhere in between 70 degrees horizontally of the st-e2 and and somewhere in between 45 degrees vertically. Thats a real problem if you want a flash off behind your shoulder or way off left and right for wide angles.  I gave up on infrared sensors so now i used Pocketwizards religiously. i have 5 of them lol.  You do not really need the multimax unless you want rear sync. the pocketwizard plus II transceivers are what i use.  Plus you can then get a sekonic light meter with built in pocketwizard capabilities

Mikes Images - Mike #4 wrote:
I ended up going with a very tiny and very well made unit marketed by Tamrac.
It's called a "Micro-Sync" and I've used it for 2 years without a single failure.

Can you use them to fire my flashes?

JBL Photography wrote:
Can you use them to fire my flashes?

Yup. Here's Google's results for sources of the equipment and info.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Ta … gle+Search

JBL Photography wrote:
I have a 430ex and the 580ex II I can trigger the 430ex off from the 580 and was told I needed to get a PocketWizard so I can take the 580 off the camera.  I don't know much about them so I don't know which ones to get.  Pocket Wizard Plus II or
Pocket Wizard Multimax.  Also are there others that I should be looking at or is Pocketwizard the only game it town.

I have a set of MultiMaxes, as I wanted the transceiver function before the Plus II was released. For almost everything most photographers need, a Plus II is plenty. About the only time it's likely to be a problem is if you're shooting in a constrained area with other photographers using PWs; the 4 channels for the Plus-series is a limitation. (The MM has a lot of other features, but they're more specialized, and you'll probably know if you need them.)

I've been using PW's for nearly 10 years, and have only had one problem--and that was with an older model I'd picked up used. Other brands may be as good, but I've had no reason to switch.

At the top of the forum there's a thread entitled Photography Talk: Rules, Resources and FAQ. In that thread, there are links to key MM threads. One of those is the Lighting, Flash, Ring, & Battery Strobe Reference thread, which has a large section on remote triggers--PW, Buff, Tamrac, Cactus, etc---in the Lighting Equipment post.

Imageri by Tim Davis wrote:
You can use the Canon ST-E2 Transmitter. It will sit on your hot shoe. It will trigger both flashes plus control their ratios.

That thing is almost as expensive as another speedlight.  If you're going to go with one of those, you might as well buy another 580 and have even more flexibility.

glamour pics wrote:
They are big, stick up too far, and the designers in a fit of epic contempt for the customer, DID NOT put any kind of flexible foot mount on them, which would have been easy to do and would have ended 99% of the worries of breakage.

If PW were smart, they would introduce a smaller sized shoe mount transmit-only module.

Mikes Images - Mike #4 wrote:
Pocket wizards are notorious for being huge and for having their bulky size cause the plastic "foot" to break off. The newer ones are worse in that respect since the vast majority of the plastic body needs to be replaced, not just the "foot".

I gave very careful consideration to the whole wireless thing after making some bad decisions. I have 4 Chinese ones that I'll damn near give away due to reliability issues. Also their batteries are not fun to find.

I ended up going with a very tiny and very well made unit marketed by Tamrac.
It's called a "Micro-Sync" and I've used it for 2 years without a single failure.



I know, a lot of people on here will tell you to get a PW, because that's what they have. They do work. They do break...often. I think Mark Twain said it best...

"Whenever you find you are on the side of the majority,
it is time to pause and reflect." Mark Twain

That's a good point. I have 9 PW. 4 of them have the broken foot syndrome.

okutake wrote:
I use pocket wizards. Don't like their design but they work flawlessly every time. I guess that's why they're the industry standard. The only reason to get the multimax is if you are shooting around a lot of other photographers and you are worried about crossing channels. If not, just get the Plus II's. Being transceivers and using AA's is an extra plus. You will have to get 3 of these to get your system to work properly. There are other options but I don't have much experience with them. I've used the cheap ebay triggers made in china and they are good enough for the novice if you use a cropped sensor but won't work for a pro by any means. Paul C. Buff (Alien Bees) Just came out with a trigger that sounds like it may be a good alternative for about $140 less. For any system that doesn't use transceivers I'd pick up an extra transmitter for backup.

Here I sit wondering how a cropped sensor syncs differently than any other dimension of sensor.  *grin*

Essential Form wrote:
Here I sit wondering how a cropped sensor syncs differently than any other dimension of sensor.  *grin*

I wish I could answer that one. I'm not sure what causes it, but for some reason those ebay triggers create a region of distortion on the edges of images created of FF sensors. At least the ones made by Canon. No issues found with my Pocket Wizards.

Brooklyn Bridge Images wrote:
Pocket Wizards are good but also the most expensive by far.
The cost for 3 PWIIs is about $540
For appox $280 you could buy an Elinchrom Skyport system that would prob cover all your needs.
Here is a review http://www.blewbmx.com/review,,skyport.php

youtube demo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlAjHQJsMbA
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/5 … Slave.html

I considered the skyports, but PW's with AA batteries and being transceivers won out. I also factored in a back up transmitter when considering skyports. You're screwed if your transmitter goes but with transceivers, it just means you're either out one strobe or have to use it with the built in optical trigger. Also you can pick up AA's anywhere, anytime in pretty much any country.

okutake wrote:
I've used the cheap ebay triggers made in china and they are good enough for the novice if you use a cropped sensor but won't work for a pro by any means.

What the hell does sensor size have to do with flash triggers?

Anyway, I'll let my Cactus triggers know they aren't good enough to be doing pro work. I'm sure they'll be bummed after they've put in such long hours for me.

Mikes Images - Mike #4 wrote:
Pocket wizards are notorious for being huge and for having their bulky size cause the plastic "foot" to break off. The newer ones are worse in that respect since the vast majority of the plastic body needs to be replaced, not just the "foot".

I gave very careful consideration to the whole wireless thing after making some bad decisions. I have 4 Chinese ones that I'll damn near give away due to reliability issues. Also their batteries are not fun to find.

I ended up going with a very tiny and very well made unit marketed by Tamrac.
It's called a "Micro-Sync" and I've used it for 2 years without a single failure.



I know, a lot of people on here will tell you to get a PW, because that's what they have. They do work. They do break...often. I think Mark Twain said it best...

"Whenever you find you are on the side of the majority,
it is time to pause and reflect." Mark Twain

Funny, I never had a problem with my PW-  I have used this set for over 8yrs-and I shoot primarily sports/journalism...so they have been banged around some.

JLRPhoto wrote:
Now that they cyber syncs are out, I might be curious about those, but they weren't an option at the time.  I do know that the pocket wizards are tried and true, and while you have to pony up a little more cash to buy a set, they DO work, Every Time, Period

I have written up a little report on the cybersyncs (just got them) but its not up on the web yet.  The thing to be aware of is that they will only do 3 frames per second (vs. claimed 12 of pocket wizards and a tested 5fps with a cactus trigger (but this misfired occasionally at the receivers as might be expected with their reliability record) so you can't rattle two frames off in rapid succession.  It seems to be the transmitter that can't do over 3fps so all flashes won't fire.  They consistently and reliably fail above this.  Their delay is good though and I can use the sync speed of the D3

okutake wrote:
Also you can pick up AA's anywhere, anytime in pretty much any country.

The battery cost / rarity factor is very important and often overlooked.

I liken the lower-cost devices to being cheap printers that require expensive ink cartridges.

Why would a manufacturer use anything but AA or AAA?