Thanks guys - I definitely plan on calling support. They are in fact the new fancy-shmancy pocket wizards (sorry about the terminology confusion there!). It's a very strange thing... I'm wondering if it might be my camera (hope not!) because the test button always works and the shutter button triggers them less than 50% of the time. Boooo.
Will let you know what I find out...
The new "fancy" Pocket wizards have been buggy as heck and very un-reliable, from what I've heard. But earlier you said you had gotten the Radio Poppers. Are you saying you've now tried both systems? Or which one?
The ONLY good thing I've heard about "high-tech" triggers has been the Radio Poppers, on Nikon. I haven't heard much about Radio Poppers on Canon, I haven't heard much about the new Pocket Wizard "mini / TTL" system on Nikon, and I have heard BAD things about the Pocket Wizard "mini / TTL" system on Canon.
Again, like I said earlier, if you want it to just "go bang every time", your best bet is the simplest system. I would prefer to kiss off-camera TTL goodbye, and just go manual. It just works.
Sorry to be unclear - I had the STE2 system and then bought the new Pocket Wizards. I used 'radio poppers' as a generic term like 'kleenex', which I now understand to be confusing as heck and won't do every again
Sorry to be unclear - I had the STE2 system and then bought the new Pocket Wizards. I used 'radio poppers' as a generic term like 'kleenex', which I now understand to be confusing as heck and won't do every again
Wait... I can help you if you are using the new Pocket Wizards (Flex and/or Mini). They work very well once you set them up and understand your limitations. Is this what you are using? What flash are you using?
Wait... I can help you if you are using the new Pocket Wizards (Flex and/or Mini). They work very well once you set them up and understand your limitations. Is this what you are using? What flash are you using?
Well, I , for one am excited to hear this. I have wizards... a mini, 2 flexes and the Ac3 and have had a bear of a time with my flash exposure compensation. It seems to make it pop full power every time. I swear I have the Ac3 on Ettl, not manual. I tried the system for about half the summer and finally gave up and went back to my old friend the ste2 with a great sigh of relief. Between that and the cold shoe adaptor on one of the flex's broke 3 minutes after it was put on. I ended up using the thread instead, so all is not lost, but it sure was a pain in the backside.
Well, I , for one am excited to hear this. I have wizards... a mini, 2 flexes and the Ac3 and have had a bear of a time with my flash exposure compensation. It seems to make it pop full power every time. I swear I have the Ac3 on Ettl, not manual. I tried the system for about half the summer and finally gave up and went back to my old friend the ste2 with a great sigh of relief. Between that and the cold shoe adaptor on one of the flex's broke 3 minutes after it was put on. I ended up using the thread instead, so all is not lost, but it sure was a pain in the backside.
Well, I , for one am excited to hear this. I have wizards... a mini, 2 flexes and the Ac3 and have had a bear of a time with my flash exposure compensation. It seems to make it pop full power every time. I swear I have the Ac3 on Ettl, not manual. I tried the system for about half the summer and finally gave up and went back to my old friend the ste2 with a great sigh of relief. Between that and the cold shoe adaptor on one of the flex's broke 3 minutes after it was put on. I ended up using the thread instead, so all is not lost, but it sure was a pain in the backside.
What flashes are you trying to use with the new PW's? One of the major problems with this system is that some Canon flashes do not work well, some not at all.
If you broke the cold shoe adapter, did you damage the hot shoe on the bottom of the flex?
Getting a full pop on a flash using the new PW's is usually (assuming the software is setup correctly) either radio interference or a bad physical connection between the flash and Flex / transmitter and camera. Or low / bad batteries, but I'm sure you though of that.
It really sounds like you have dirty contacts, or your camera isn't firing the flash. Especially when you tell us that you can push the test button an it works...so...
1. Try this. Take a rubber pencil eraser and rub the camera hotshoe contacts...then blow off the rubber residue...now to the same for the contacts on the STE-2. Put the STE-2 back on the camera and give it a try.
Hope this works.
Remember, no one may want you to take pictures, but they all want to see them. Educate yourself like you'll live forever and live like you'll die tomorrow.
I have manual battery powered studio strobes for location work and use them with simple radio triggers and never have a problem.
Set up the exposure and fire away. Ajustments are not that frequent i can't walk 12 feet to change something.
No fuss, no hassel, no stress.
All this technology that makes you more of a button pusher than a photographer is all good and well when it works but when it dosen't, which is often, it's more aggro than enough.
A mate of mine spent a fortune on 3 580 flashes and the pocket wizzards with all the bells and whistles and could never get them working properly. He lent them to me and I just shook my head in disbelief. Watched some you tube vids on them with " zones and channels and whatever and thought to myself, " all this si supposed to make things simple and easy??? WTF are they trying to kid???.
Fair Dinkum, is it really THAT hard to go over and turn a knob every so often? Shooters were doing that for decades before and seemed to survive and in fact capture pictures that are still revered as the best taken. All the sudden it seems it too much to ask for someone to turn a know or make a manual ajustment. I still shoot weddings with my old metz flashes I bought 25 years ago and they still work just as good as they did back then and I do not find myself put to any overt strain or inconvinence by turning a dial or ajusting an apeture now and then. It's what photographers do or at least what they used to when they were photographers not button pushers and PS editors.
I'll stick with my uncomplicated, unfailingly reliable manual units witht he concession of a radio slave and avoid all the heartache that the new fangled technology and complication brings. :0)
I wonder how long it wioll be before we are reading posts about people who sent their cameras out on a job and they are not happy with the results the camera shot and is there a firmware update so it can do better shots or do you actually have to do out and train the thing first? You'll probably be able to load style programs that teach the camera to shoot just like monte or your other favourite style while you sit at home and the camera takes itself off to the shoot.
Comments
And you haven't had indoor problems!
The ONLY good thing I've heard about "high-tech" triggers has been the Radio Poppers, on Nikon. I haven't heard much about Radio Poppers on Canon, I haven't heard much about the new Pocket Wizard "mini / TTL" system on Nikon, and I have heard BAD things about the Pocket Wizard "mini / TTL" system on Canon.
Again, like I said earlier, if you want it to just "go bang every time", your best bet is the simplest system. I would prefer to kiss off-camera TTL goodbye, and just go manual. It just works.
=Matt=
My SmugMug Portfolio • My Astro-Landscape Photo Blog • Dgrin Weddings Forum
Spread the love! Go comment on something!
Wait... I can help you if you are using the new Pocket Wizards (Flex and/or Mini). They work very well once you set them up and understand your limitations. Is this what you are using? What flash are you using?
Well, I , for one am excited to hear this. I have wizards... a mini, 2 flexes and the Ac3 and have had a bear of a time with my flash exposure compensation. It seems to make it pop full power every time. I swear I have the Ac3 on Ettl, not manual. I tried the system for about half the summer and finally gave up and went back to my old friend the ste2 with a great sigh of relief. Between that and the cold shoe adaptor on one of the flex's broke 3 minutes after it was put on. I ended up using the thread instead, so all is not lost, but it sure was a pain in the backside.
goes over the diff's, but in a nut shell if you have two flashes 0 compensation will be like using +1 on ST-E2, but the video covers it pretty well.
Dan
http://www.danalphotos.com
http://www.pluralsight.com
http://twitter.com/d114
What flashes are you trying to use with the new PW's? One of the major problems with this system is that some Canon flashes do not work well, some not at all.
If you broke the cold shoe adapter, did you damage the hot shoe on the bottom of the flex?
Getting a full pop on a flash using the new PW's is usually (assuming the software is setup correctly) either radio interference or a bad physical connection between the flash and Flex / transmitter and camera. Or low / bad batteries, but I'm sure you though of that.
1. Try this. Take a rubber pencil eraser and rub the camera hotshoe contacts...then blow off the rubber residue...now to the same for the contacts on the STE-2. Put the STE-2 back on the camera and give it a try.
Hope this works.
Educate yourself like you'll live forever and live like you'll die tomorrow.
Ed
I have manual battery powered studio strobes for location work and use them with simple radio triggers and never have a problem.
Set up the exposure and fire away. Ajustments are not that frequent i can't walk 12 feet to change something.
No fuss, no hassel, no stress.
All this technology that makes you more of a button pusher than a photographer is all good and well when it works but when it dosen't, which is often, it's more aggro than enough.
A mate of mine spent a fortune on 3 580 flashes and the pocket wizzards with all the bells and whistles and could never get them working properly. He lent them to me and I just shook my head in disbelief. Watched some you tube vids on them with " zones and channels and whatever and thought to myself, " all this si supposed to make things simple and easy??? WTF are they trying to kid???.
Fair Dinkum, is it really THAT hard to go over and turn a knob every so often? Shooters were doing that for decades before and seemed to survive and in fact capture pictures that are still revered as the best taken. All the sudden it seems it too much to ask for someone to turn a know or make a manual ajustment. I still shoot weddings with my old metz flashes I bought 25 years ago and they still work just as good as they did back then and I do not find myself put to any overt strain or inconvinence by turning a dial or ajusting an apeture now and then. It's what photographers do or at least what they used to when they were photographers not button pushers and PS editors.
I'll stick with my uncomplicated, unfailingly reliable manual units witht he concession of a radio slave and avoid all the heartache that the new fangled technology and complication brings. :0)
I wonder how long it wioll be before we are reading posts about people who sent their cameras out on a job and they are not happy with the results the camera shot and is there a firmware update so it can do better shots or do you actually have to do out and train the thing first? You'll probably be able to load style programs that teach the camera to shoot just like monte or your other favourite style while you sit at home and the camera takes itself off to the shoot.