Pocket Wizards, Radio Poppers-Which?

Kagan

Here is my decision. I have the money available to purchase a reliable remote trigger(s) for my camera (Canon 30d) I want to be able to shoot remotely for sports(baseball first), placing the camera inside the fence. I also want to be able to use the product for off camera flash(Senior photos and weddings down the road is the goal). Currently I have a 580exii and a Promaster 5550 with a canon module. I have read both sites(Poppers and Wizards-also Alien Bees as well) but to be honest I am completely lost about the products. And I read that pocket wizards are having trouble talking to my 580 because of interference. My questions are:

Which brand do you recommend?

What products do I need with the description given above?

What else do I need to know that I didnt even have enough sense to ask about? :rofl

If I didnt give enough information I apologize and will try to get it to you quickly. I am trying to make an informed decision but I think hearing real life opinions will go further than just reading the company propaganda. Thanks in advance!

cmason

Kagan wrote:

I want to be able to shoot remotely for sports(baseball first), placing the camera inside the fence.

I believe that Pocket Wizard is the only model of those mentioned that will trigger a camera. Alien bees and radiopopper each only control flashes to my knowledge.

In any case, if you can afford it, Pocket Wizard is the standard by which others are measured....

crockett

The alien bee cyber sync's will trigger a camera as well.

Never owned Pocket Wizards but their models prior to their current train wreck have a reputation second to none.

I own one CST and 2 CSRB+'s and they work perfectly and have never missed.

I also own the Radio Popper PXs. They also work perfectly, but to the best of my knowledge they can not be used to remote trigger a camera.

Radio Popper is claiming to release a JRx unit which can function as a simple trigger (like a PW or CSR) so I'd be surprised (if they are ever released) that they won't be able to trigger a camera. However, Radio Popper, has been promising a low cost trigger for over 2 years now. They have yet to deliver, and once again, they are past a promised ship date on the JRx triggers. So, if you need a near future solution (1 yr or less) I wouldn't even consider Radio Popper an option.

If it were my choice. I would base it on two things.

1) Distance
2) Are you going to ever be traveling and needing to rent.

The PWs have the edge on points 1 and 2.

If renting is not a concern and the range less than 400' then get the ABs and save some money. However, if you plan to trigger the remote camera at distance of say a football field then I'd do more research. The distance on the ABs are 400' I believe but can extended by making a unit a repeater, so ultimately it might still be cheaper to buy the ABs but you just need 2 units to break the 400' barrier.

And remember the distance figures quoted by any trigger company are not absolute. For example a football field might only be 300-325 feet long, but this doesn't take into consideration things such as obstructions, power lines, etc. Just just because PW says 1500' don't think you can bury one under 1500' of concrete and expect it to work perfectly, if at all. And the same goes for all the other companies.

tijoseph

I use the cybersyncs. They are much less expensive than pocket wizards, and have never failed me. They work flawlessly.

JohnBiggs

+1 Cyber Syncs. Never fail, simple to use.

PW are more complicated. I was on a shoot once with those and sometimes the units would stop talking, the person who owned them had to keep going in and messing with settings.