Pocketwizard advice

[methd]

Further to a recent thread on wireless flashes Ive been interest in pocketwizards.

The units that i can see are called 'multimax' and it appears you get what's called a 'transceiver'.

1) Now here's the question. I attach the transceiver to the camera and it fires off a radio wave ... to the flash I'm assuming. So what is attached to the flash to let it know that I've taken a photo and want the flash to go off? There doesn't appear to be a receiver unit.

2) Also, how does it work if I want to fire off two remote flashes at the same time (with different intensities)?

3) I'm confident it isn't, but are pocketwizards brand/flash specific (nikon or canon only)?

thanks

[Alpha_7]

Hey Methd,

I've been looking into them but can't justify the price, I know they are worth it.. but I just don't make enough from photography right now.

1. THe ones you want, or the most popular are the Pocket Wizard Plus II,
http://www.pocketwizard.com/HTML/plus2.asp As far as I know the Plus II has replaced the plus version which was a 4 channel version, the new ones a 16 channel.

2. For a two flash setup the most common setup would be have one mounted on your cameras hot shoe, and one for each flash. That said you can get more creative with it, by adding sync cables (between banks of flashes, optical slaves etc.. but thats beyond the scope of your question).

The second part of your question, AFAIK the pocketwizard only handles the flash command, so you have to tell the flash what you want it too do, the easiest would be back it in manual and play with the power.

3. They aren't brand specific, and fire a whole host of different flashes. I would say, you have to be careful with a few of the older flashes, as some had a High Voltage across their terminals (often these aren't recommend to be plugged into your cameras hot shoe, so they *may* and I'm only guessing be dangerous for your pocket wizard too).

[jamesw]

i wrote this earlier, but i couldnt get it to post (work has issues with the dslrusers site,for some odd reason.) i will post this up then address what alpha said in a separate post...


i have been using pws for a while now...

before i go and answer your questions, i would suggest not going for PW multimax transcievers. They are much more expensive than PW Plus IIs and most of the people i know who have bought multimaxs regret it, as they do not use any of the extra features.

but if you want to get multimaxes, and then decide later that you just want to use plus IIs, they are all backwards compatible (as long as they are from the same region... so just always buy your PWs from the same supplier, to avoid any doubt).

a pocketwizard plus II is very simple, it has four channels (aptly named 1,2,3, and 4), and can be used to either fire a flash, or a camera. it has a couple of miniphone jacks (exactly the same as a conventional headphone jack) on top, one is for camera use, the other is for flash use.

some initial points:

- the original pocketwizards (i believe they are just called pocketwizard plus) are availible in a reciever or transmitter.

- plus IIs and multimaxes come as transceivers -- they can be used as either a transmitter or reciever. they automatically sense whether they are a transmitter, or receiver, too. its very straight forward.

to answer your questions

1) i think ive already answered it. if you want to just fire one flash, you buy two transceivers, one for the camera, one for the flash. if you want to fire two flashes, you need three transcievers. simple enough, huh?

2) the pocketwizards do not decide your flash intensity for you at all. they simple transmit and recieve a radiowave, that tells the flash to fire. you have to set the power level on flash. i always do this manually (ie choosing the power output, eg 1/1 for full power, 1/2 for half power, etc), but gary said that it should work with some flashes that meter the scene themselves. i cannot vouch for the second method - you will need to ask someone else who does this.

3) they work with any flash or camera -they are not brand specific at all. you will need to buy appropriate sync cords, however. i am not sure what cords you need if you want to fire a camera from a remote location, but if you just want to fire a few flashes off camera, you will need:

- nothing to put the pocketwizard on camera. it just sits in the hot shoe and the camera tells it when to fire.

- pc sync cords for your flashes. you can either buy a cord that goes straight from your flash to the miniphone jack on your PW (thats the best way to go) or buy a adaptor that goes from PC to miniphone, and use the sync cords provided with your flashes.

-------------if flash does not have a pc sync cord jack or anything, you will need to buy a female hotshoe to pc plug or female hotshoe to miniphone plug.

i think that covers it. there is a lot of information there, and it may not be entirely clear to you straight away - if you have any questions about it, dont hesitate to ask.

pocketwizards didnt make much sense to me untill i had 3 transceivers in my lounge room... and no sync cords!!! i was a bit red faced...

[jamesw]

Hey Methd,

I've been looking into them but can't justify the price, I know they are worth it.. but I just don't make enough from photography right now.

1. THe ones you want, or the most popular are the Pocket Wizard Plus II,
http://www.pocketwizard.com/HTML/plus2.asp As far as I know the Plus II has replaced the plus version which was a 4 channel version, the new ones a 16 channel.

afaik plus twos are also 4 channel. mine are only 6 months old, and they are 4 chan.

multimaxes are the 16 channel ones.

2. For a two flash setup the most common setup would be have one mounted on your cameras hot shoe, and one for each flash. That said you can get more creative with it, by adding sync cables (between banks of flashes, optical slaves etc.. but thats beyond the scope of your question).

i disagree. most people run two flashes off camera, with a PW in the hot shoe.

its best to get all flashes off camera. the great thing (and i believe to be the whole point) about running flashes off camera is that it really gives your images depth and some punch. having a flash on camera really takes this away.

with that said, you need to have your PW on the hot shoe unless you have a pc cable socket on the body.

The second part of your question, AFAIK the pocketwizard only handles the flash command, so you have to tell the flash what you want it too do, the easiest would be back it in manual and play with the power.

spot on.

although older style flashes have auto thyristors, which can be used to decide flash output. *i have not done this before.*

3. They aren't brand specific, and fire a whole host of different flashes.

spot on. they should fire any flash, with appropriate sync cables.

I would say, you have to be careful with a few of the older flashes, as some had a High Voltage across their terminals (often these aren't recommend to be plugged into your cameras hot shoe, so they *may* and I'm only guessing be dangerous for your pocket wizard too).

i am not so sure about this. i use some old school flashes, designed for film (sunpak 383 and 555) with no issues. vivtar 285s also work with no issues.

i do not believe this will be a problem. do not take my word for it, however.

[Alpha_7]

afaik plus twos are also 4 channel. mine are only 6 months old, and they are 4 chan.

multimaxes are the 16 channel ones.

my Sony I'd been reading the specs, the Plus II are 4 x 16bit channels, I got them confused with the ebay triggers.

2. For a two flash setup the most common setup would be have one mounted on your cameras hot shoe, and one for each flash. That said you can get more creative with it, by adding sync cables (between banks of flashes, optical slaves etc.. but thats beyond the scope of your question).

i disagree. most people run two flashes off camera, with a PW in the hot shoe.

Sorry I wasn't clear, I was saying one PW on the hotshoe, the other two PW on the flash, I re-read my post and I didn't make that clear.

I would say, you have to be careful with a few of the older flashes, as some had a High Voltage across their terminals (often these aren't recommend to be plugged into your cameras hot shoe, so they *may* and I'm only guessing be dangerous for your pocket wizard too).

i am not so sure about this. i use some old school flashes, designed for film (sunpak 383 and 555) with no issues. vivtar 285s also work with no issues.

i do not believe this will be a problem. do not take my word for it, however.

Like I said I know it can damage cameras, not sure about PWs

[shutterbug]

I use the pw plus II...great units.

One goes on camera, each flash has one attached. So you can adjust the output of each flash.

No brand specific.

I love the effect

[methd]

thanks for the advice guys

so to attach the PW to the remote flash i need a sync cable.. can anyone link me to this sync cable (SB800), say on ebay?

also...
I just looked at the bargains section and noticed this flash here thats cheap that i can use as a remote flash:

Metz SCA M2 3402 for Nikon

is there anything 'wrong' with this that i should consider? and would it use the same sync cable as the SB-800 one?

cheers!

[jamesw]

thanks for the advice guys

so to attach the PW to the remote flash i need a sync cable.. can anyone link me to this sync cable (SB800), say on ebay?

i believe that sb800s have a sync socket on them. did your sb800 come with a sync cable? i dont think they do...

if you dont have a cable already, you have two options:

1. buy a pc male plug cable to miniphone male plug. i believe that the sb800 has a pc sync in the body. i would check this yourself before taking my word for it.

i reckon this cable would do just fine:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1 ... _Lock.html

2. the other option is to get a female hot shoe to miniphone cable like this:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/4 ... e_Hot.html

also...
I just looked at the bargains section and noticed this flash here thats cheap that i can use as a remote flash:

Metz SCA M2 3402 for Nikon

is there anything 'wrong' with this that i should consider? and would it use the same sync cable as the SB-800 one?

cheers!

that metz thingo isn't actually a flash dude, i'm pretty sure, i did a search on it, and it says that its a little trigger that can be used with the nikon CLS. i googled it:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Metz-SCA-3402-M2-fo ... dZViewItem

so its not really what your looking for buddy...

[jamesw]

i would also suggest that for your flashes, stop buying nikons or dedicated flashes, if you intend to use them with PWs.

you loose all TTL functionality, so it becomes pointless having a bunch of expensive flashes that are doing exactly the same thing that cheaper and more powerful flashes can be doing.

i suggest looking into sunpak 383s. these are slightly less powerful that a sb800 (383s have a GN of 120, sb800 has 125) and are only us$80 from bhphoto.

you will find that most flashes will require different sync cables.

[Reschsmooth]

I just looked at the bargains section and noticed this flash here thats cheap that i can use as a remote flash:

Metz SCA M2 3402 for Nikon

That isn't a flash, it is an accessory to a Metz Mecablitz flash that provides TTL metering for the flash. It attaches to the hotshoe of your camera and is connected to Metz flash via a cable.

It is only required if you want to use TTL, and each camera brand (and more specifically, model) has its own Metz SCA adaptor.

P

[Reschsmooth]

my Sony I'd been reading the specs, the Plus II are 4 x 16bit channels, I got them confused with the ebay triggers.

Craig, your bad what???? 'Bad' is an adjective. (Unless you're American).

P

[adam]

my Sony I'd been reading the specs, the Plus II are 4 x 16bit channels, I got them confused with the ebay triggers.

Craig, your bad what???? 'Bad' is an adjective. (Unless you're American).

P

I always wondered this too!

[Alpha_7]

my Sony I'd been reading the specs, the Plus II are 4 x 16bit channels, I got them confused with the ebay triggers.

Craig, your bad what???? 'Bad' is an adjective. (Unless you're American).

P

I always wondered this too!

My mistake, My error, my failure to communicate

[Reschsmooth]

my Sony I'd been reading the specs, the Plus II are 4 x 16bit channels, I got them confused with the ebay triggers.

Craig, your bad what???? 'Bad' is an adjective. (Unless you're American).

P

I always wondered this too!

My mistake, My error, my failure to communicate

Now I understand you!

[gstark]

my Sony I'd been reading the specs, the Plus II are 4 x 16bit channels, I got them confused with the ebay triggers.

Craig, your bad what???? 'Bad' is an adjective. (Unless you're American).

P

I always wondered this too!

Hairdo.

[methd]

Thanks for all the info on this guys. I bought a pocketwizard today (and ordered another two SB-800's off Poon).

I'm having a good time playing with off camera lighting now

[jamesw]

Thanks for all the info on this guys. I bought a pocketwizard today (and ordered another two SB-800's off Poon).

I'm having a good time playing with off camera lighting now

how many pocketwizrds did ya get?

and dont forget the sync cables!

[methd]

i got the kit of two for now for $525 and when the other two SB800's arrive, I'll get another kit. The sync cable came with the PW so i didn't need to purchase it.. yay !

they're pretty fun but the only thing i don't like is that when the SB800 is in standby mode the flash wont fire on the first shot. the first shot will then wake it up, and then it will fire without missing a beat. i haven't adjusted the standby settings yet.. i think it can be changed.

[losfp]

i got the kit of two for now for $525 and when the other two SB800's arrive, I'll get another kit. The sync cable came with the PW so i didn't need to purchase it.. yay !

they're pretty fun but the only thing i don't like is that when the SB800 is in standby mode the flash wont fire on the first shot. the first shot will then wake it up, and then it will fire without missing a beat. i haven't adjusted the standby settings yet.. i think it can be changed.

From memory, if you stick the thing in manual mode, it doesn't go into standby mode??

[methd]

i just had a play with it. It does go into stand by mode, but there's options from 'auto' to '300' seconds. i guess 300 seconds is ok, can alawys fire off one test flash, and then shoot after that.

EDIT - can turn standby off altogether.. but that might drain the battery if i forget to turn it off.

All good

[losfp]

where did you get the PWs from in the end, methd?

I've always been interested in them, and wouldn't mind getting a set when I'm not so broke!!!

[jamesw]

EDIT - can turn standby off altogether.. but that might drain the battery if i forget to turn it off.

yep it does drain the battery

i used to run a sb600 over a wireless trigger (not pws) and i had standby turned off, because often the flash would turn off and you wouldnt realise.

i ought to turn standby back on now - i seem to always forget to turn off the sb600 and when i go back to use the flash it tells me its got no batterys... big DOH

[jamesw]

i got the kit of two for now for $525 and when the other two SB800's arrive, I'll get another kit. The sync cable came with the PW so i didn't need to purchase it.. yay !
.

whered you get your kit from, if you dont mind me asking?

[methd]

Off these guys on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/MELB-Pocketwizar ... dZViewItem

I just gave him a phone call and picked it up.

[jamesw]

that price sounds reasonably fair. especially considering that you can pick it up

cause at b&H (basically on par with poon's forum prices)

pws are $180 each, a cord costs $20, shipping is about $40,

so:
360+20+40=420
at exchange rate of .8 (as to include any conversion rate charges by visa) is 525

sweet deal!

how much do they charge to ship around aus?

[Alpha_7]

Ebay suggests $20 for postage James.

[jamesw]

Ebay suggests $20 for postage James.

thanks - i forgot to mention that im at work and cant get onto ebay

so im sure i sounded a bit retarded....

[Alpha_7]

Ebay suggests $20 for postage James.

thanks - i forgot to mention that im at work and cant get onto ebay

so im sure i sounded a bit retarded....

No worries I'm happy to help, didn't think you were stupid, lazy perhaps but not stupid It's all good!

[methd]

I need one more transceiver so i was thinking if anyone is in the same boat, maybe we can go halves on a kit. It's a bit cheaper than buying it by itself.