Pocket wizards ???

Splog

Splog

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Steve
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Anyone using the flex / mini system ?

I'm getting some strange results with TTL and HSS and Hypersync! :thinking: I can take shot after shot at high shutter speed and sometimes it fires at set speed and then at others at 1/250 this happens in manual and TV mode :suspect: any suggestions :thinking:
 
Hi Splog, sorry can't help with that one, sent mine back because I couldn't get them to operate as a basic trigger!

I have printed the full manual though so if you care to PM me your addy I can put it in the post on Thusday when I'm in the office.
 
AliB said:
Hi Splog, sorry can't help with that one, sent mine back because I couldn't get them to operate as a basic trigger!

I have printed the full manual though so if you care to PM me your addy I can put it in the post on Thusday when I'm in the office.
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Hi AliB and thanks for the kind offer :thumbs: I have down loaded the manual and will study it in a bit more depth .. :gag:
I just received these today from the Flash Centre so I think I will call them :thinking: to be fair I have only been playing with them but I can't understand how the results are so hit and miss ... not cheap kit by any means and I am dissapointed! but when they work the results are very impressive :cool: ... Oh well .....
 
The printed manual is sitting on my desk and B****er all use to me now Splog. I got so fed up I sent it back within a week as unfit for purpose under the sale of goods act. I hated doing it because I just love my Plus II's. Going to get an extra Plus II (or two) and stick to manual.

Let me know if you can use a printed manual and I'll happily send it :)

Good luck!
 
AliB said:
The printed manual is sitting on my desk and B****er all use to me now Splog. I got so fed up I sent it back within a week as unfit for purpose under the sale of goods act. I hated doing it because I just love my Plus II's. Going to get an extra Plus II (or two) and stick to manual.

Let me know if you can use a printed manual and I'll happily send it :)

Good luck!
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Thanks AliB ... pm sent :thumbs:

Flash In The Pan said:
Apparently even the angle of the antenna can effect the operation of these...
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Thanks Graham
My test shots off camera were only about 8 ft away and I got the same results with both units on camera with flash attached ... Oh well! maybe it's me :thinking:

david1701 said:
I haven't used one but I am (very slowly and badly) building something more suitable
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:cool: Look forward to the result ... :clap:
 
This is why I don't want to sell those HK ones, somehow if PW haven't been able to crack it after all this time I can't see Pixel having done it either....
 
from a signal point of view, as far as I'm aware, it's more a canon shielding issue rather than a pocket wizard issue - hence the shielded bags and similar ridiculous measures.

the same issue shouldnt be present with nikon gear... but sadly it seems that pocketwizard are taking their sweet time to reverse engineer all the iTTL stuff on the nikon end :<
 
itsdavedotnet said:
from a signal point of view, as far as I'm aware, it's more a canon shielding issue rather than a pocket wizard issue - hence the shielded bags and similar ridiculous measures.

the same issue shouldnt be present with nikon gear... but sadly it seems that pocketwizard are taking their sweet time to reverse engineer all the iTTL stuff on the nikon end :<
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It shouldn't be, but then if all the issues are Canon-specific you'd think they'd have the Nikon ones on sale by now, instead of putting the release date back all the time. I'm not convinced that the delay is just down to the reverse engineering process....
 
Wild stab in the dark.

If you are shooting rapidly in HSS mode, which uses a lot of flash power, and the gun has not had time to recycle fully, will it override the shutter speed to normal x-sync and fire off a normal flash rather than a weak HSS one?

I've just tried it now normally with E-TTL on camera (and no Pocket Wizard) and it doesn't do that - just puts out as much power as it can and under-exposes. But given the weird things PWs can do to x-sync I wonder if it would do the same with fresh batteries and allowing plenty of recycle time between shots?
 
It's not rapid shooting as I can see the speed changing ing in the viewfinder! I also thought about the batteries and will try a fresh set. If it helps sometimes the shots come out very blue.

Thanks again
Steve
 
itsdavedotnet said:
from a signal point of view, as far as I'm aware, it's more a canon shielding issue rather than a pocket wizard issue -
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That's not the only problem!

I bought a MiniTT1 to use with my pair of plusII's on the basis that I could always add a Flex at a later date. The PlusII's have no shielding issues at all and yet the MiniTT1 failed to trigger the PlusII in basic triggering mode a startling 54% of the time. I sent it back :thumbsdown:
 
This is disappointing news from AliB and Splog :(

Those TTL Pocket Wizards look like the ultimate solution to range and ambient light problems with normal E-TTL operation (although I don't shoot in 'difficult' situations) and they add in a few cool tricks of their own like Hypersync. In theory. But they are not cheap and all I hear is problems from users, and some pretty unaccaptable solutions from PW re RF interference.

I know it's all annecdotal and while they seem to be complicated little monkeys to set up it doesn't look like you guys are doing anything wrong. I notice just last week PW have issued a firmware update which makes setting up easier, but that doesn't address the fundamental problem of the RF interference problem killing range, which is the whole point of the things!

I really hope they get it right with the Nikon versions due next year. Maybe it needs some flash manufacturer cooperation to kill the RF interference problem at source - it doesn't affect all Canon guns so there must be an answer. But right now I can't see anybody bothering with the things. Radio Poppers must be rubbing their hands - they use a different frequency ;)
 
Couple of mates I know who bought these have had nothing but problems as well. Think they're up to 4 sets sent back between them now, either down to them just snapping in half under the weight of a flashgun, or not working as a basic trigger.

Pretty shocking, even before you look at the marketing and the price.

I love my Skyports. ;)
 
I did the firmware update and hooked it up to the PC and checked all the settings but it was awful! I did a quick test at only 15ft and made sure I gave plenty of time for the flash to cycle even though it was only set to 1/32. Shutter speed set to 1/125 and f6.3 so nicely in the middle of where I normally shoot. Out of 42 test shots it failed to fire on 23.

Someone else tells me that they now need to be configured for the specific camera?? Not a lot of use to someone like me who uses several!
 
AliB said:
I did the firmware update and hooked it up to the PC and checked all the settings but it was awful! I did a quick test at only 15ft and made sure I gave plenty of time for the flash to cycle even though it was only set to 1/32. Shutter speed set to 1/125 and f6.3 so nicely in the middle of where I normally shoot. Out of 42 test shots it failed to fire on 23.

Someone else tells me that they now need to be configured for the specific camera?? Not a lot of use to someone like me who uses several!
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Ali, was it the new beta software? One of the things it does is enable automatic camera sensing. Dunno if this link helps at all.

http://www.pocketwizard.com/support/downloads/beta
 
A bit of an update:

I've replaced batteries and re-set everything but it still is hit and miss using Hypersync with flash on camera using either the flex or mini .. I can see the shutter speed toggling between 1/250 and setspeed in the viewfinder so I'm totally convinced it's a problem withthe PW's seems to be nearly every other shot (but not exactly) that sincs to set speed :thumbsdown:

However, when I do the same test with flash off camera it seems to work fine, although I can't be sure it's actually doing anything different than using the Canon HS function .... Totally lost now :shake:
Steve
 
No Hoppy, I didn't go down the beta route. At £200 for just the Mini, that's a LOT of hard earned for a pro spec product and for that I expect the product to work in it's most basic mode. I don't expect to have to do their beta testing for them. Not unless they want to give me kit to test for free! If it's not a finished product I'm unwilling to pay that much for it. I'll go and buy more basic triggers instead and use the ST-E2 for the things I want ETTL for.
 
I'm really disappointed that these don't seem to be up to the job. Was going to get a set in the new year. Maybe in 6 months the teething problems will have been sorted, i do hope so as there's no other options.
 
Livin The Dream said:
I'm really disappointed that these don't seem to be up to the job. Was going to get a set in the new year. Maybe in 6 months the teething problems will have been sorted, i do hope so as there's no other options.
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Radio Poppers have a new auto-TTL system. It's a bit of a hybrid and not as neat as the PWs, but the major difference seems to be that they do actually work, and they work at distance.

That's what I've heard so far anyway. Not sure about price, or availability. I suspect you'd have to import them from the US.
 
Hi Richard,

I did have a quick look at these the other week on their website but all the info seem to suggest the UK versions weren't available yet? If anyone has a link to them would be helpful.
 
Livin The Dream said:
Hi Richard,

I did have a quick look at these the other week on their website but all the info seem to suggest the UK versions weren't available yet? If anyone has a link to them would be helpful.
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Did you see the video demo vs Pocket Wizard?

I know very little about Radio Poppers but, purely as a hunch, if you're waiting for an EU version, I'm guessing you might be waiting a while.

Of course, the US versions will work fine albeit perhaps illegally. The main problem there would seem to be the danger of fire engines and ambulances rushing to your house. This may be before or after the aeroplane crashed in the garden :D
 
No, didn't see the video demo (i'll have a google in a bit). They are the right kind of money though. I may just plumb for a set of the Plus 2's but wanted the extra scope that hyper sync offers. Thing is that the plus 2's are rediculously over priced too but grey imports doesn't work out too bad (£220ish) but then i can't help think they don't really offer anything over my Cactus 4's other than total reliability.
 
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