Buying Phottix off eBay

T

Triggaaar

Suspended / Banned
Messages
1,456
Name
Mike
Edit My Images
Yes
I'm making my way through the mass of wireless flash triggers, and I'm interested in the new TTL PWs, and also the manual mode Phottix Atlases. I can't get my head around the price difference I'm finding for the Photix gear:

At the Phottix online store, each Atlas is $123 - cheap shipping
They are available from ebay seller dzone2, at what appears to be varying prices for the same thing:

1 is $67 here
or 1 is $109 here
the second has 'canon' in the title, but the details for each both say Canon or Nikon.

2 costs $132 here
or 2 are $210 here
this time the more expensive item has 'Nikon' in the title, but again the details for both say Canon or Nikon.

So...
have I missed something that explains these price difference?
is there any advantage to buy elsewhere, as this retailer is cheap?

I phoned Calumet to ask about their versions, whether they were identical to the Phottix, and the guy said he'd never heard of Phottix. He also didn't realise that their versions of the Strato and Atlas were on different frequencies, with the latter matching the PWs. He did try to help though.

Any help/advice much appreciated

Thanks
 
itsdavedotnet said:
That seller is a serious powerseller with 48K, they're not going to risk that by scamming you.
Click to expand...
They've got their fair share of negative feedback, so only buy if you have buyer protection etc.

I can't understand why they have different prices, maybe they've made a mistake with the exchange rates etc.

Are the calumat ones identical, or slightly different?
 
the calumet ones say 'calumet' on them instead of 'phottix' :)

looks like these guys know very little about them, but I'm sure that these ones will come with the same cables (3.5mm -> locking pc, 3.5mm -> 3.5mm, and a 3.5mm -> 6.35mm adapter), a lanyard and 2 batteries.

Might grab one, we'll see... I'm the wrong kind of bored today, and in a spending mood, not good...


Nikon / canon versions are irrelevant, none of these come with camera triggering cables - if you want them, just search 'pocketwizard <your camera name>' on ebay and get one of the pre-trigger cables - saves a lot of effort when setting up remotes :)
 
Last edited:
Triggaaar - apologies, totally mis-read what was being said. With the bay it's always a case of going with your gut.... sometimes the cheapest can be best; other times it can be a world of problems. If I were you I'd put in a small order that (I know this sound a bit off) wouldn't b a massive financial hardship if things went tits up. If it works out you can re-order more units.... pretty ordinary advice I know, but it's maybe the best way of looking at things.

I ordered my Strato units direct from Phottix, before fleabay got hold of them, so I probably paid the highest I would for them but the delivery was prompt; three days from HK to UK..... that in itself was good piece of mind that was worth a few quid because I needed them urgently :)

In terms of the Nikon/Canon 'fitments', is this not to do with the hotshoe locking pin holes being required for Nikon guns? Don't know if Canon has moved to this system recently but it could be a reason. I know on the other units (the Strato) they have TTL pass-through so the hotshoes are specific to the camera brand....

I take it the reason you want to Atlas design is for the compatibility with PWs? Do you need this compatibility (do you already own PWs)? If not, I can strongly recommend the Strato as a much cheaper alternative....
 
Last edited:
specialman said:
apologies, totally mis-read what was being said. With the bay it's always a case of going with your gut.... sometimes the cheapest can be best; other times it can be a world of problems.
Click to expand...
No need to apologise. There's been the choice of quality vs price for triggers, but here it's just the supplier. Assuming ebay's buyer protection is in order, there's not much risk is there?
I'm tempted to order in small quantities because I assume I'd be less likely to be hit with a large import tax bill.

In terms of the Nikon/Canon 'fitments', is this not to do with the hotshoe locking pin holes being required for Nikon guns?
Click to expand...
Ah, I don't know.

I take it the reason you want to Atlas design is for the compatibility with PWs? Do you need this compatibility (do you already own PWs)? If not, I can strongly recommend the Strato as a much cheaper alternative....
Click to expand...
I don't currently have any (ignoring my cheap studio trigger). I'd like PW compatability for a couple of reasons; it would be handy to be able to use the Sekonic meter trigger, and I'd also like to get the PW TTL system at some point, and be able to use these things together.

Perhaps a TT1, 2 TT5s, and 2 Plus IIs (Phottix Atlas)
That's a few hundred pounds less than a TT1 with 4 TT5s - obviously not the same functionality, but a nice compromise.
 
plus if you buy a mini tt, then you can use that on camera as the transmitter, and still get benefit from an increased sync speed (about 1/400th on crop) because it manages the timings better :)
 
Trigaaar - I forgot about the Sekonic aspect. TBH, I've forgotten light meters exist!!
:)

On the import tax front, I didn't get stung for any when I ordered mine from HK - but again, it's one of those that changes with the wind.... :)
 
itsdavedotnet said:
plus if you buy a mini tt, then you can use that on camera as the transmitter, and still get benefit from an increased sync speed (about 1/400th on crop) because it manages the timings better :)
Click to expand...
Ah, so a mini tt can sync with a Plus II (or Phottix) at a little faster than 1/250 - maybe 1/320 full sync, or 1/400 crop?
 
well, a bit more, anyway... apparently. Not got one myself to test, but apparently it works :) Been tempted to get one purely for that a few times, though I've now got a big battery gun so it's not so important :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top