pocket Wizard Alternatives

JimKarczewski

I am about ready to take my pocket wizards (MultiMax + 1 pair of original Transmit/Receive black) and put them in a pile and light them on fire. Been playing with local High School sports lately, was the same place yesterday and today and no matter what, my old receiver would fire one out of every 25-40 shots. MultiMax was just fine. I tried:

- Different Channels
- Different Hotshoe cables
- Different Distances (from 15-40 ft)

My first problem was sleep mode on the 580EX. Fixed that. But now the things just won't fire. I ordered a set of Chinese transmitters. 2.4Ghz.. Hoping they might work.. but why the hell won't the PW work? It's just frustrating to try to do something and have equipment just puke on you. I searched and found some people with problems sending them back to MAC for repair.. but don't even know if it's worth it at this point..

MyFinalCareer

I'm surprised to hear the PW's are problematic after the glowing reviews from the Strobist blogs. Not wanting to spend that much (and I needed 5 receivers), I bought a set of the 2.4 GHz Yongnuo RF-602 on ebay. They worked great, so I bought another set of 4 receivers and another transmitter (which I use as a remote shutter release for the Nikon body). I have not put them to strenuous use, but they have always worked flawlessly for me with Nikon bodies and flashes. My Nikon has their CLS remote system, but I find the RF remotes work better when the remote flash can't see the camera... I bought LiOn AAA batteries for the receivers and they have power switches, but the transmitters use a CR2 lithium battery with no power switch, so you will need to remove the battery in between uses. I simply open the battery door and put a small insulator (piece of paper) between the battery and contact to preserve the battery life when I stow them away.

pathfinder

You are using new batteries in your transmitter? And your receiver? You did not explicitly say that you had fresh batteries, so.....

Is the problem with the transmitter, or the hot shoe your flash is in, since EOS flashes do noy have pc connection terminals.

I have never had my PWs fail to fire as long as the batteries were fresh, and the connectors reliably connected. You did say they were all on the same channel. Anyone else using radio triggers nearby that day?

ziggy53

Pocket Wizards are among the best radio transmitter/receivers made. Since the Multimax was working OK I suggest that your other units need service. Stuff happens and it could be a failure of some sort.

http://www.pocketwizard.com/support/repair/

JimKarczewski

MyFinalCareer wrote: »

I'm surprised to hear the PW's are problematic after the glowing reviews from the Strobist blogs. Not wanting to spend that much (and I needed 5 receivers), I bought a set of the 2.4 GHz Yongnuo RF-602 on ebay. They worked great, so I bought another set of 4 receivers and another transmitter (which I use as a remote shutter release for the Nikon body). I have not put them to strenuous use, but they have always worked flawlessly for me with Nikon bodies and flashes. My Nikon has their CLS remote system, but I find the RF remotes work better when the remote flash can't see the camera... I bought LiOn AAA batteries for the receivers and they have power switches, but the transmitters use a CR2 lithium battery with no power switch, so you will need to remove the battery in between uses. I simply open the battery door and put a small insulator (piece of paper) between the battery and contact to preserve the battery life when I stow them away.

Exactly what I just bought was the Yongnuo stuff. Just waiting for the International Post to get here.

JimKarczewski

pathfinder wrote: »

You are using new batteries in your transmitter? And your receiver? You did not explicitly say that you had fresh batteries, so.....

Is the problem with the transmitter, or the hot shoe your flash is in, since EOS flashes do noy have pc connection terminals.

I have never had my PWs fail to fire as long as the batteries were fresh, and the connectors reliably connected. You did say they were all on the same channel. Anyone else using radio triggers nearby that day?

Yup, replaced batteries too. I might get my 580EXII back from a friend (let him borrow it since he has no equipment) and see if the Screw PC->PW cable works better. We'll see..

Village Idiot

How are the Wizards connected to your other flashes? Did you have some one standing by the transceiver on the flash to check to see if it was receiving a signal? That's the easiest way to tell if the point of failure is with the PW unit or any point after the PW unit. Also, have you shot in that location previously? Some times you'll have problems with interference and nothing will be able to cure the problem. This could be something that causes problems with any radio triggers you try to use.

DH from Strobist had a post up several months ago where he was shooting outside of a mill and no matter what he did, he couldn't fire past a certain range with his PWs.

kdog

MyFinalCareer wrote: »

... I bought LiOn AAA batteries for the receivers and they have power switches, but the transmitters use a CR2 lithium battery with no power switch, so you will need to remove the battery in between uses.

I don't think that's true. I never unplug the battery from the transmitter, and it hasn't run down yet in over a year of ownership. I believe the transmitter is normally off, unless there's a circuit completed in the hot-shoe interface, or unless you press the manual flash button on the unit itself.

BTW, I too just bought a second set of these. So now I have two transmitters and six receivers -- all for less than the price of one Pocket Wizard. They work great for me.

I did have one fail after getting submerged in a stream (don't ask). Letting it dry out didn't seem to help. However, on a whim I replaced the battery, and now it works perfectly again. I probably should have pulled the battery when it got wet.

reyvee61

You guys are going to laugh at me but I've been using these inexpensive radio triggers from Cowboy Studio ($20) and they work flawlessly. I'm a bit of an electronic wiz and there's no rocket science to radio transmitters, they are simple little devices that should always do what they're supposed to. Why spend hundreds when you can spend mere dollars?
Granted these units (NPT-04) are far from robust in build but for the money, they do exactly what they are designed to do...trigger the damn flashes ...reliably!

At my last event I shot nearly six hundred images and not a single miss......

JimKarczewski

reyvee61 wrote: »

You guys are going to laugh at me but I've been using these inexpensive radio triggers from Cowboy Studio ($20) and they work flawlessly. I'm a bit of an electronic wiz and there's no rocket science to radio transmitters, they are simple little devices that should always do what they're supposed to. Why spend hundreds when you can spend mere dollars?
Granted these units (NPT-04) are far from robust in build but for the money, they do exactly what they are designed to do...trigger the damn flashes ...reliably!

At my last event I shot nearly six hundred images and not a single miss......

Uhm, those are the ones I just bought (but the newer 2.4ghz version, you have the older model) from ebay. You can buy them direct for cheaper. The $100 kit from them comes with a camera trigger, transmitter + 4 receivers. Definitely a deal, it's just having to wait from them to come in from China is a drag.


Update to my PW issue also.. I replaced the hotshoe on my transmitter, which was cracked. I just pulled the one off the receiver because it's just a place to mount and not functional and put it on the transmitter. 95% success now.. the other 5% is probably me firing too fast for the light to recycle. So for now, issue solved. Which makes no sense since the cables should had fired it too.. but I'm not complaining no more.. Not until my new triggers come in.. lol

reyvee61

JimKarczewski wrote: »

Uhm, those are the ones I just bought (but the newer 2.4ghz version, you have the older model) from ebay. You can buy them direct for cheaper. The $100 kit from them comes with a camera trigger, transmitter + 4 receivers. Definitely a deal, it's just having to wait from them to come in from China is a drag.


Update to my PW issue also.. I replaced the hotshoe on my transmitter, which was cracked. I just pulled the one off the receiver because it's just a place to mount and not functional and put it on the transmitter. 95% success now.. the other 5% is probably me firing too fast for the light to recycle. So for now, issue solved. Which makes no sense since the cables should had fired it too.. but I'm not complaining no more.. Not until my new triggers come in.. lol

Good to hear you have something that works until the new ones come in.
I got my triggers from Amazon and they arrived within three days from Cowboy Studios.
I've seen the ones from Ebay and was wondering how long the wait would be all the way from China...
Keep us posted :-)

kdog

reyvee61 wrote: »

I've seen the ones from Ebay and was wondering how long the wait would be all the way from China...

About 2 to 4 weeks.

AdrianRV

reyvee61 wrote: »

You guys are going to laugh at me but I've been using these inexpensive radio triggers from Cowboy Studio ($20) and they work flawlessly. I'm a bit of an electronic wiz and there's no rocket science to radio transmitters, they are simple little devices that should always do what they're supposed to. Why spend hundreds when you can spend mere dollars?
Granted these units (NPT-04) are far from robust in build but for the money, they do exactly what they are designed to do...trigger the damn flashes ...reliably!

At my last event I shot nearly six hundred images and not a single miss......

Hello I've been looking at these Cowboy Studio triggers on Amazon as well and I was wondering which one you purchased as I see a couple different packages (1 trigger/receiver, 1 trigger/2 receivers) the pictures of both packages side by side don't seem to include the same triggers and receivers I was also wondering if you use them just for your normal flash or do you have a set up (eg. different umbrellas, softboxes, backlights)? I have my eye on a lighting package which includes three strobes that will be equipped with an umbrella and a softbox for my portrait set-up, and I need to know if these triggers will be the right equipment for such set-up, any help is greatly appreciated

GwagDesigns

Im surprised no one has mentioned cybersyncs, small, very well built and I have never had a misfire with them.

JimKarczewski

kdog wrote: »

About 2 to 4 weeks.

On week 5 now... bash:bash:splat

Emails through Ebay haven't been addressed yet..

time2smile

JimKarczewski wrote: »

On week 5 now... bash:bash:splat

Emails through Ebay haven't been addressed yet..

That seems to be the big thing, some Chinese vender's ship much faster than others, and some dont reply to their emails... Been there, good luck.

Village Idiot

reyvee61 wrote: »

You guys are going to laugh at me but I've been using these inexpensive radio triggers from Cowboy Studio ($20) and they work flawlessly. I'm a bit of an electronic wiz and there's no rocket science to radio transmitters, they are simple little devices that should always do what they're supposed to. Why spend hundreds when you can spend mere dollars?
Granted these units (NPT-04) are far from robust in build but for the money, they do exactly what they are designed to do...trigger the damn flashes ...reliably!

At my last event I shot nearly six hundred images and not a single miss......

That's awesome, but some of us purchase triggers for other functionality other than just triggering the damn flashes. That's why I own 5 pocket wizards and not one cowboy trigger and 4 receivers.

kdog

JimKarczewski wrote: »

On week 5 now... bash:bash:splat

Emails through Ebay haven't been addressed yet..

Sorry, that sucks. Which vendor are you using?

JimKarczewski

kdog wrote: »

Sorry, that sucks. Which vendor are you using?

hkyongnuophotoequipment

I mean, they shipped the day after they got paid, but that was Dec 1st. Considering they say up to 19 days (business) and it's been over that...

kdog

JimKarczewski wrote: »

hkyongnuophotoequipment

I mean, they shipped the day after they got paid, but that was Dec 1st. Considering they say up to 19 days (business) and it's been over that...

Dang, that's who I last used as well, and got my triggers in something like 2 weeks. I *think* what happens is that there are regularly scheduled ships that bring this stuff across the ocean. So if you happen to order right when a ship is about to leave, you get your stuff sooner. Otherwise, you wait for the next boat which may be in a couple of weeks. That's pure conjecture of course. Even so, I would have thought you'd have gotten yours already. I can imagine how frustrating this is for you.

stirinthesauce

I ordered a wireless remote shutter release from them and it took 4 - 5 weeks to get it. Not quick coming from China.

On the topic however of low cost pocketwizard alternatives, Santa brought me an Adorama gift cert and was looking for a cheap alternative. Have 2 flashes, a 430exll and a sigma 500 (forget the exact model #, haven't used it much in the past few years). Anyhow, was looking at this one

http://www.adorama.com/FPRRS16.html

and this one

http://www.adorama.com/FPRRS4.html

considering the above one but I believe I will need an adapter for the hotshoe on the 430exii to make it fire (pc to hotshoe I think*). Am I correct in this thinking or will one or both work as is?

-Jon

RFP

Village Idiot wrote: »

That's awesome, but some of us purchase triggers for other functionality other than just triggering the damn flashes. That's why I own 5 pocket wizards and not one cowboy trigger and 4 receivers.

So, what else do you use yours for?

Dan7312

PocketWizard mini/flex support eTTL and second curtain sync.

RFP wrote: »

So, what else do you use yours for?

Dreadnote

I know that this thread has turned to viable replacements, however, something to consider is the cleanliness of the hot shoes and cables you are using. Those things often sit in the bottom of a bag and collect grime that clings to the oils that the units come with from the factory. If you haven't done so already, as a last effort before striking a match, you might take a few Q-tips and some alcohol and give everything a good scrubbing on the points of contact (hot shoes, metal tabs on the bottom of the PW's and flash units, cable and camera connection points). I had some erratic flash behavior a while back that I traced to this exact problem.

NeilL

I had decided on Cybersyncs for their reputation and price. But... when I went to order online I was told that I couldn't order through the US site because I am in Australia. I was directed to the Aus franchise site. The prices there are at least 50% higher *per item* than on the US website. The Aus$ is approximately on par with US$, so even with international shipping cost added (marginally more than local anyway), the cost of buying several items is way way less through the US site. They lost me!

There has been fearsome weeping and gnashing of teeth from Aus retailers over the mass abandoning of bricks and mortar shopping and local online shopping in preference for online purchasing from international sites. It's the retailers' just deserts because they have for decades held the Aus customer to ransom and charged outrageously. The 50%+ markup on AlienBees products is a current example. I'm part of the backlash. Shame is that AlienBees is missing out on sales like mine. They really misjudged and mistimed the Aus zeitgeist.

What alternatives do I have to the PW expensiveness? I dunno atm.

Neil

time2smile

RF 602 from china, thats how this tread started, flash and shutter release

did the you ever get yours

NeilL

time2smile wrote: »

RF 602 from china, thats how this tread started, flash and shutter release

did the you ever get yours

yeah, well, there's a sad story in this thread I don't want to be part of the remake of. plus I've read too many negatives about the quality of that stuff after 6 months or so.

Neil

JimKarczewski

I have pocket wizards. I had more, lighting bag with flash was stolen. So I have a 1 transmit/2 receiver system... AND 9 - Cactus V5's. So far, V5's have been working flawlessly. However, not without problems. Don't drop them 15-20 feet. They don't like that and stop working. Even thought I dismantled it and saw nothing broken, won't fire or won't receive.. even with 2 sets of fresh batteries. Drunked one in a cooler of ice, got a little wet, after drying it works fine.

Dunno what to say, if I was rich.. I'd be using PW Multimax's for everything.. But 9 x $300 is a bit much ($2700) vs 9 Cactus' at $30 ($270.)

newb

I love my RF602's. Tons of use, and the only time I ever had trouble was becasue the flash wasnt recycling fast enough. Ive also yet to exceed their range.

kdog

newb wrote: »

I love my RF602's. Tons of use, and the only time I ever had trouble was becasue the flash wasnt recycling fast enough. Ive also yet to exceed their range.

Love mine as well. They're so ridiculously cheap you can afford to have two full sets of them. I have 2 transmitters and 6 receivers which comes to about $140. So even if one breaks, I'm completely covered. But I'd had no failures at all in something like two years of ownership.

NeilL

just bought these:D

http://www.phottixstore.com/store/studio-accessories/phottix-strato-2-4ghz-wire-wireless-4-in-1-trigger.html

Neil