New PocketWizard Plus III Transceiver

NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
edited March 12, 2012 in Accessories
http://plusiii.pocketwizard.com/
"May the f/stop be with you!"

Comments

  • Matthew SavilleMatthew Saville Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 3,352 Major grins
    edited February 20, 2012
    YES PLEASE! I'm still just *slightly* un-decided because the JrX "RP Cube" system would allow me to change the flash power remotely, but these Plus 3's are definitely AWESOME. I wrote my brief opinion / synopsis here: http://www.slrlounge.com/new-pocket-wizard-plus-3s-more-affordable-yet-way-better
    “My first thought is always of light.” – Galen Rowell
    My SmugMug Portfolio • My Astro-Landscape Photo Blog • Dgrin Weddings Forum
  • JimKarczewskiJimKarczewski Registered Users Posts: 969 Major grins
    edited February 20, 2012
    So the one thing I didn't see, estimated release date? Price? Hopefully same prices as the current II?
    Jim Karczewski - http://www.jimkarczewski.com
  • Dan7312Dan7312 Registered Users Posts: 1,330 Major grins
    edited February 20, 2012
    139 at B&H

    http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/844969-REG/PocketWizard_801_130_Plus_III_Transceiver_Radio.html

    JimKarczewski wrote: »
    So the one thing I didn't see, estimated release date? Price? Hopefully same prices as the current II?
    Dan

    http://www.danalphotos.com

    http://www.pluralsight.com

    http://twitter.com/d114
  • Dan7312Dan7312 Registered Users Posts: 1,330 Major grins
    edited February 20, 2012
    The PW III doesn't support ControlTL, just the standard PW trigger. ControlTL is what you need to set the remotely power level on a PW Flex. A mini+AC3 can adjust the power on remote flashes. Mini is missing some of the features of PW III of course.
    Matthew Saville wrote: »
    YES PLEASE! I'm still just *slightly* un-decided because the JrX "RP Cube" system would allow me to change the flash power remotely, but these Plus 3's are definitely AWESOME. I wrote my brief opinion / synopsis here: http://www.slrlounge.com/new-pocket-wizard-plus-3s-more-affordable-yet-way-better
    Dan

    http://www.danalphotos.com

    http://www.pluralsight.com

    http://twitter.com/d114
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited February 20, 2012
    My only grief here is that I have 5 perfectly functioning old ones (2 PW1 receivers, 3 PW2 tranceivers), let alone the Mini. Over the course of 7 years only one of (the oldest) PWs broke.
    Which means, as much as I'm excited to hear this news, it doesn't look like I'm not going to have any benefits from it... :cryne_nau.gif Unless I manage to find somebody who'd be willing to purchase my old set at a discounted rate... mwink.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • Dan7312Dan7312 Registered Users Posts: 1,330 Major grins
    edited February 20, 2012
    Nah, you just have to treat your equipement more roughly. Have you thought about absentmindedly leaving a PW or two in you pocket when you toss your pants in the wash?:D I know that technique works for cell phones....
    Nikolai wrote: »
    Unless I manage to find somebody who'd be willing to purchase my old set at a discounted rate... mwink.gif
    Dan

    http://www.danalphotos.com

    http://www.pluralsight.com

    http://twitter.com/d114
  • BradfordBennBradfordBenn Registered Users Posts: 2,506 Major grins
    edited February 20, 2012
    Nikolai wrote: »
    Unless I manage to find somebody who'd be willing to purchase my old set at a discounted rate... mwink.gif

    Well I do need some more flashes and remotes.... however I have to convince the wife first.
    -=Bradford

    Pictures | Website | Blog | Twitter | Contact
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited February 20, 2012
    Dan7312 wrote: »
    Nah, you just have to treat your equipement more roughly. Have you thought about absentmindedly leaving a PW or two in you pocket when you toss your pants in the wash?:D I know that technique works for cell phones....

    I thought about that :-). Also letting them - accidentally - fall 100ft down the cliff (with the light stand and flash, which is also old and cries to be replaced) while shooting something like this:

    i-VGVw7k5-L.jpg
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited February 20, 2012
    BradfordBenn wrote: »
    Well I do need some more flashes and remotes.... however I have to convince the wife first.
    Well, that's easy: "Honey, guess what, I already know what I want for Father's Day!" :Drolleyes1.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • Matthew SavilleMatthew Saville Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 3,352 Major grins
    edited February 20, 2012
    Dan7312 wrote: »
    The PW III doesn't support ControlTL, just the standard PW trigger. ControlTL is what you need to set the remotely power level on a PW Flex. A mini+AC3 can adjust the power on remote flashes. Mini is missing some of the features of PW III of course.

    I may be mistaken about what you are trying to say about "a mini+AC3", but from what I understand the advantage of the RadioPopper JrX system is that it can give me wireless (manual) power adjustments for LESS, if I don't care about having wireless TTL. So I'm not buying any pricey TTL units at all, just $80 (transmitter) and $99+$30 (receiver and "cube")

    Not as cheap as Ebay, but still cheaper than PW3's and way cheaper than a Flex+Mini setup, from what I understand...

    =Matt=
    “My first thought is always of light.” – Galen Rowell
    My SmugMug Portfolio • My Astro-Landscape Photo Blog • Dgrin Weddings Forum
  • ZerodogZerodog Registered Users Posts: 1,480 Major grins
    edited February 20, 2012
    Looks like it only supports a sync speed of 1/250? Am I reading that right? I am a huge fan of high speed sync. Was really considering getting PW to trigger Nikon flashes. Looks like the 2 does to a point. Or is there something I missed here?
  • Dan7312Dan7312 Registered Users Posts: 1,330 Major grins
    edited February 20, 2012
    The PW ControlTL channels control not only eTTL, they control the Manual setting of the flash groups too. ControlTL, when you are using it with an AC3, is a kinda' clever hack in the the flash is always left in eTTL but for manual control the mini doesn't send the signal to do the pre-flash, it just sends a signal to set the level and flash.

    For eTTL the mini sends a signal to do a low level flash (the flash doen't know anything special is going on) and makes the camera think it should do a flash measurement, then relays to the flash the level the camera has calculated.

    The AC3 on top of the mini is what selects eTTL, Manual,or off for each of the 3 groups of flashes. So you have three groups you can control independently, i.e. flash comp for eTTL or level for manual.

    So the PWIII can't control eTTL or manual level. I didn't notice if the spec's for the PWIII mention sequential flash but that is something else the mini/flex can do (Thanks Icebear!).
    Matthew Saville wrote: »
    I may be mistaken about what you are trying to say about "a mini+AC3", but from what I understand the advantage of the RadioPopper JrX system is that it can give me wireless (manual) power adjustments for LESS, if I don't care about having wireless TTL. So I'm not buying any pricey TTL units at all, just $80 (transmitter) and $99+$30 (receiver and "cube")

    Not as cheap as Ebay, but still cheaper than PW3's and way cheaper than a Flex+Mini setup, from what I understand...

    =Matt=
    Dan

    http://www.danalphotos.com

    http://www.pluralsight.com

    http://twitter.com/d114
  • Dan7312Dan7312 Registered Users Posts: 1,330 Major grins
    edited February 20, 2012
    Mini/flex supports HSS (on Canon, don't know Nikon). On Cannon it gets a bit more light out of the flash than the Canon optical connections does.

    But mini/flex also supports hypersync which in effect allows a higher sync speed that 1/250. It has to sync up with the cameras timing, but the latest firmware has some stuff to automate that. I haven't used hypersync yet, but it's on my list of things to do.
    Zerodog wrote: »
    Looks like it only supports a sync speed of 1/250? Am I reading that right? I am a huge fan of high speed sync. Was really considering getting PW to trigger Nikon flashes. Looks like the 2 does to a point. Or is there something I missed here?
    Dan

    http://www.danalphotos.com

    http://www.pluralsight.com

    http://twitter.com/d114
  • Dan7312Dan7312 Registered Users Posts: 1,330 Major grins
    edited February 20, 2012
    As far as cost vs features/perf compared to RP's I can't say. Mini/Flex is all I have ever used (not a pro so I probably wouldn't have used anywhere near as much as you would). When I was poking around I could understand the mini/flex from a distance easier than the RP's and know a lot of 'togs use mini/flex with a lot of success.

    When I looked at the RP's I didn't see how I could adjust the flash level from the camera like mini/flex does, but I easily could have missed that.

    I'm probably too gadget oriented to be a "real" 'tog, but I like figuring out how to get the picture I want. Long ago I realized that I could probably figure out how to setup and take a picture, but I knew from experience that I just seemed to lack the kind of reflexs and instant scene evaluation to grab that decisive moment... I always saw them after they went byne_nau.gif

    When I got the mini/flex PW had a 30day no questions ask return offer and in the end I didn't sent them back.

    All I can say is that the mini/flex work and support lots of useful modes of operation.
    Matthew Saville wrote: »
    I may be mistaken about what you are trying to say about "a mini+AC3", but from what I understand the advantage of the RadioPopper JrX system is that it can give me wireless (manual) power adjustments for LESS, if I don't care about having wireless TTL. So I'm not buying any pricey TTL units at all, just $80 (transmitter) and $99+$30 (receiver and "cube")

    Not as cheap as Ebay, but still cheaper than PW3's and way cheaper than a Flex+Mini setup, from what I understand...

    =Matt=
    Dan

    http://www.danalphotos.com

    http://www.pluralsight.com

    http://twitter.com/d114
  • happy2010happy2010 Registered Users Posts: 17 Big grins
    edited February 29, 2012
    Dear Dan7312 or any other helpful Dgrin users,

    Is the Pocket Wizard MULTIMAX capable of triggering/enabling e-TTL lighting?
    (i.e. with Canon 580EXII speedlights in e-TTL mode).

    Just wondering [as I have never utilized a PW MULTIMAX or PLUS; currently only familiar with/have Pocket Wizard's two-AC3's, two-MINI TT1's and four-FLEX TT5's] because I don't think the new PLUS III is capable of e-TTL, as you have so helpfully explained and if I have interpreted correctly, the PLUSIII literature & Mark Wallace's 6 minute promo video on the PW PLUS III], as I thought it would be additionally convenient to be able to remotely & wirelessly trigger camera shutter, auto focus & 4-580EXII speedlights in e-TTL mode during shoots of small children as I could interact closer with the child/children, rather than remaining behind the camera and that way perhaps get more candid moments & photographs etc. Yes, I know I would have to predetermine the camera/lens area of coverage, as well as approximate lighting before the shoot.

    Thank you for any clarity (yes/no) on this issue. This techi stuff gets kind of confusing to sort through.

    Thanks again.

    Mary
    P.S. I concur with Dan7312's view of the convenience and flexibility of the PW's AC3, Mini TT1 & FLEX TT5 - these products are a treat to use and have been 100% reliable for me in approx 2.5 years of use, with my working range of up to approx 25 feet.
    Mary Ann Howard
    Wind of Change Photography
    http://www.windofchangephotography.com
  • Dan7312Dan7312 Registered Users Posts: 1,330 Major grins
    edited March 1, 2012
    The Multimax does not support eTTL . Mini/Flex use what PocketWizard calls a ControlTL signal to do the things needed to make eTTL work. Multimax does not support that.

    Multimax can trigger a flex though, but only in manual mode. So if you needed some of it capabilities like an itervalometer or multi-pop, you could use it with your flex's.
    happy2010 wrote: »
    Dear Dan7312 or any other helpful Dgrin users,

    Is the Pocket Wizard MULTIMAX capable of triggering/enabling e-TTL lighting?
    (i.e. with Canon 580EXII speedlights in e-TTL mode).
    Dan

    http://www.danalphotos.com

    http://www.pluralsight.com

    http://twitter.com/d114
  • happy2010happy2010 Registered Users Posts: 17 Big grins
    edited March 1, 2012
    Dear Dan7312,

    Thank you for the clarity and your logical mind - you have a great ability to explain things in a clear and comprehensive way. Your reply was very helpful.
    [I didn't want to derail this thread about PW PLUSIII, but was just doing the comparisons of all PW products.
    Also my preliminary reading of the PHOTTIX ODIN:
    http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1102194
    http://www.adorama.com/SearchSite/Default.aspx?searchinfo=PHOTTIX+ODIN
    http://www.phottix.com/
    is I think it may be capable of e-ttl and non-eTTL, unlike I think Radio Poppers].

    Mary
    Mary Ann Howard
    Wind of Change Photography
    http://www.windofchangephotography.com
  • Ed911Ed911 Registered Users Posts: 1,306 Major grins
    edited March 12, 2012
    Matthew Saville wrote: »
    YES PLEASE! I'm still just *slightly* un-decided because the JrX "RP Cube" system would allow me to change the flash power remotely.

    Matt, Here's some info on the JrX RP cube for Nikon flashes...

    Unfortunately, the JrX, in combination with the RP cube will work with the SB900 to adjust the output. I had been interested in the RP cubes, but after reading the SB900 disclaimer, wrote to the Radio Popper people to ask what was up. They tell me, no, RP cubes are not compatible with the Nikon SB900, because Nikon developed the SB900 with iTTL only and doesn't have a standard TTL option on it.

    So, if you're shooting the SB800 or earlier, your good. This was before the SB910 was released, so I can't speak its compatibility with RP cubes.

    I was kinda put off by the lack of compatibility since I use JrX triggers on my studio lights.
    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.

    Ed
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