Michael Bates wrote:
The new ones are unisex....they will either be the transmitter or receiver depending on where they are hooked up.... so the one you put on the hot shoe will know it's the transmitter..and the one on your light will know it's supposed to receive You don't have to do anything but hook'em up

Michael

That's exactly what I was looking for, Thank you Michael! 

http://www.pocketwizard.com/HTML/plus2.asp

That would be the one you're talking about, correct?

Jared H Photography wrote:
Umm, I think now they just use "transceivers" which can be used as the trigger or the slave.

So you would need 2 transceivers.

Of course I don't own any so this is just a guess.

Thank you, Jared!

Caity B wrote:
Hey guys... I know this sounds pretty dumb but I just want to make sure I'm doing the right thing here before I spend $$$.

To wirelessly slave a Vivitar 285 off camera (30D if it matters), I need two pocket wizards, right?  A transmitter and receiver?   My professor kind of sped by that today in class and I forgot to talk to her afterwards to clear it up.  Do they sell them in pairs when you buy them or do you get them seperately?

Thanks in advance!

Yup, you'll need 2. The older Plus model comes in a transmitter and receiver model (could buy them as a set or individually). The Plus II and Multimax are transceiver models (they function as both transmitter and receiver) though you still need a pair to work (buy individually).

If you're going to school for photography, you might want to check and see if you qualify for the MAC on campus program. You can get a pretty good discount on PWs -
http://www.pictureline.com/specials/pdf … 8_07-1.pdf

If not, mpex has them for $178 each (sometimes they run sales on them) -
http://www.mpex.com/browse.cfm/4,124.htm

Mikes Images - Mike #4 wrote:
I'll just about guarantee that you'll be happier with a Micro Sync from Tamrac. It's not a big mammoth device like a pocket wizard. It's a little smaller than a pack of gum.




More info  ----->  http://www.microsyncdigital.com/index.cfm

Even more info --->  http://www.microsyncdigital.com/products.cfm

I heard those are good.

But can it do 1600 feet and go through walls?   heheh

I literally did that last month in North Carolina, setting up a house shot on one hill, shot from another, I had strobes placed around the house, contacting assistant via cell phone. Shot the house and grounds with my 70-210mm at night. It was so cool!

This is what Pocket Wizard is famous for... their reliability at great distances and through objects. That's why so many don't mess around and just go straight to PW.

Caity B wrote:
I really appreciate all the suggestions, everyone, thank you so much for trying to help, but I'm really set and sold on the PocketWizards, it's a brand I know and trust, it's what my class is using to learn with, and I want to be able to learn with the class and understand the demo.

But really, thank you all, my question has been answered.

Correct decision. The only complaint about PW is the price. They outperform everything else and are the industry standard, by far.

Mark Salo wrote:
I don't know about Canons but for the price of two PWs I could buy a dedicated Nikon flash and have some change left over.  My camera will control the flash wirelessly and I'll have TTL to boot.

System is optical/IR with maximum range of 30 feet, less outdoors in bright light.

Pre-flash from camera will make some models blink just in time for the exposing flash.

TTL is great for some situations, but manually-metered flash give much more control.

Non-TTL flashes cost 1/3 to 1/4 as much as TTL, leaving money for PW's and additional flashes.

Mikes Images - Mike #4 wrote:
I'll just about guarantee that you'll be happier with a Micro Sync from Tamrac. It's not a big mammoth device like a pocket wizard. It's a little smaller than a pack of gum.

The Micro Sync is a nifty looking device, but I have found it completely unreliable in my studio. Both the transmitter and the receiver fell apart numerous times and had to be replaced under warranty. And if it breaks that easily and that often in my studio, I can't imagine taking it on location. We finally tossed it and bought Pocket Wizards.

Mikes Images - Mike #4 wrote:
I'll just about guarantee that you'll be happier with a Micro Sync from Tamrac. It's not a big mammoth device like a pocket wizard. It's a little smaller than a pack of gum.




More info  ----->  http://www.microsyncdigital.com/index.cfm

Even more info --->  http://www.microsyncdigital.com/products.cfm

I was looking into the Microsync system but was "spooked" by the 1/180 maximum synch speed, which is important to me because I am doing a lot of outdoor off-camera flash shooting (avatar is a recent example).

Also of concern was the 100 foot range. Range estimates are usually based on rosy scenarios, and I assume that the practical range will be a fraction of that.

The PW 1600 foot range = Lots of headroom.

I ended up getting PW Plus II's because of the 1/250 synch speed.

Mark Salo wrote:
Pocket Wizards = big bucks

You could use your on camera flash to trigger a Wein peanut slave.  These come in two flavours: regular and digital.  I don't know the difference and I suspect that you would have to set your camera in manual mode to avoid preflashes.

Also you could look into the "ebay triggers" by Gadget-Infinity:

http://stores.ebay.com/Gadget-Infinity_ … ubZ2214405

http://www.gadgetinfinity.com/home.php

Sure, if the flash was strong enough to set the slave off. In bright daylight it won't. and, if it did, it's probably casting light onto the model in which case it's a bad idea for controling your setup. If you are shooting indoors, it will cast light and shadows in places you probably don't want. Also, if you are shooting with the camera turned to vertical, your lens is instantly blocking the flash if your slave/light combo is on your right. This will also not work if the slave/light is needed to be around a corner or at a significant distance from your camera.

But ummm, other than that, I guess it will work

Oh, and you should be shooting in manual when working with strobes anyway!