Pocketwizards flimsy?

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dod

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I just got a couple delivered and am quite surprised/disappointed at how cheap they feel for the price. Anyone else found this as well?
 
Yes, they feel incredibly lightweight and plasticky (if that's a word), don't they? But they've worked for me every single time without fail. Still overpriced though. :D
 
Echo those sentiments entirely. Wondering If I should have got the cheapy versions of fleabay. But by all accounts, these babies are the best. I'm going to test the distance that they allegedly work at, just to make myself happier :)
 
They do feel very inexpensive but they do exactly what they say on the tin! Mine have taken a fair few beatings and there is nothing in the way of visible or operational damage...so they are tough little fellas!

I too was expecting something a little more solid, but when you think about it, all they are are radio receivers which aren't exactly the most complex things :)
 
Thanks folks :) I was just a bit concerned that I'd bought copies rather than the real thing :)
 
:O

tips on where to buy these would be gratefully recieved.
i tried google and it wasn't very forth coming
 
I bought mine from onestop who ARE reputable, I was just surprised at how plastic these things are. Ordered wednesday, received today.
 
I got mine from The Flash Centre.

I've given mine a bit of a bashing in terms of bending the ariels shoving them in bags and had a couple go over on lighting stands when they blew over in a gale. Not even a mark!

The range on them is phenominal, I've used mine to put light through windows while I've been inside and tried them at about 100m from a car park and it fired first time.

Fab little things, enjoy Dod :)
 
I wouldn't worry about it. I have one of the OLD set, the PW I's (the green/blue things), and they're still going strong after a rather hard life.
 
The only thing I've noticed is that they don't seem to like rechargeable batteries, since I changed to the "regular" ones they've been fine. Funnily enough the manufacturers of the PT-04 type advise against using rechareables in those as well :shrug:
 
I bought two of the MultiMax Pocket Wizards. £230 each (although I paid £160 since I imported from HK).

I sold them streight away (partly becuase I couldn't afford to keep them), but was very dissapointed with the build quality. They feel VERY cheap and plasticy. The ring to tighten onto a hotshoe was terrible, looked like it had come from some cheapo eBay flashgun. I don't care how well they work, for £230 they should have good build quality.

My friend has some awesome triggers, imported them from the US (can't remember what they are called) but are half the price of PocketWizards and work just as well if not better...it's a really un-known brand, I think they are made by one guy (or maybe a really small company) over there. They have better build quality aswel.
 
dod said:
I bought mine from onestop who ARE reputable, I was just surprised at how plastic these things are. Ordered wednesday, received today.
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Are they EU CE versions from one stop digital?
 
8utters said:
My friend has some awesome triggers, imported them from the US (can't remember what they are called) but are half the price of PocketWizards and work just as well if not better...it's a really un-known brand, I think they are made by one guy (or maybe a really small company) over there. They have better build quality aswel.
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Well you know what I'm gonna ask you to do now 8utters don't you?!!!
 
Ahhh found them:

http://www.alienbees.com/remotes.html

Transmitter is $59.95 (about £37):
http://www.alienbees.com/cybersync.html#cst

Recievers are $69.95 (about £44) each:
http://www.alienbees.com/cybersync.html#csrb

Obviously they don't have all the features of the MultiMax Pocket Wizards, but they work GREAT. Insane range, and they never fail to trigger. Great value for money considering two Pocket Wizard Plus II transceivers are over £300.

I'm gonna buy a transmitter and two receivers next week.

Also - You do have to pay customs on them, which is a bit of a bummer. It's not that much though...my friend bought a transmitted and four receivers and had to pay £40.
 
Thanks 8utters, I just knew Alien Bee as supplying lights so good call. Not sure whether to order these now or wait til I go back to the states in December...
Also, are these ok to use in UK? Don't USA use different frequencies for some reason?
 
They could quite possibly be illegal, however, only for a tiny fraction of a second per trigger! Chances are you won't ever get caught... it's not like they go round scanning for these things :)

But something to consider!
 
8utters said:
I don't care how well they work, for £230 they should have good build quality.
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I'd have to disagree with that, I have a MultiMax and the build quality is perfectly acceptable, the problem lies more with what they end up costing by the time they are imported to the UK, but this is true of the majority of items brought into "Treasure Island" :shake:
 
I hav pw plus 2's
i think they are the same as all other eqipment, we spend a lot on them, they ARE the best! And are worth the reliabiliy.
We take care of the frnt elements of the lenses we buy, so we just take the same care with other kit.
Insure ** kit!! Accidents happen, and anything can break if u drop it!
 
2.4ghz ones are perfectly legal, that band is commonly used for wireless networking
 
I was sooooooo close to buying 3 pocket wizards from reputation alone, but then at the last minute, I spent the cash on pre-ordering a new lens, so I decided to give the RF602's from ebay a go.

Even though they are cheap, I have have not had a single misfire from them and the build quality is fine and they fire repeatedly and reliably. I will be sticking to these from now on until someone proves to me that pocket wizards are worth the money, rather than just owning them for kudos.

Just my 2pence ;)
 
My CyberSyncs arrived on Friday...they are awesome. Build quality is good, never fail to trigger. Even came with AA batteries so I didn't have to buy them, was a nice touch. Excellent value for money. Better than PocketWizards in my opinion. You can even use two of them (one as a kind of repeater) to get double the distance! Insane!

Also with regards to the illigal side: They arn't illegal, the transmitter and recievers have a CE mark. And yeah 2.4ghz is used for home networking as Hairyduck said.

Sadly they have JUST stopped (yesterday) accepting any offers from outside the US.
 
8utters said:
My CyberSyncs arrived on Friday...they are awesome. Build quality is good, never fail to trigger. Even came with AA batteries so I didn't have to buy them, was a nice touch. Excellent value for money. Better than PocketWizards in my opinion. You can even use two of them (one as a kind of repeater) to get double the distance! Insane!

Also with regards to the illigal side: They arn't illegal, the transmitter and recievers have a CE mark. And yeah 2.4ghz is used for home networking as Hairyduck said.

Sadly they have JUST stopped (yesterday) accepting any offers from outside the US.
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Yes, I saw they'd stopped, gutted, I was just dithering a bit too long. I'm not sure whether to get some PW's now (best price I can find is £289 for a pair from Robert White or use Kerso) or wait until I go to the US in December and buy something there.

Does anyone know if they do Christmas sales on stuff like this in US? Long shot, but thought I'd ask.

pip
 
Yeah PW's are so much more expensive for not really a lot more (or anything more). You can only fire 1 flash with a pair aswel, I got two CyberCync recievers and a transmitter (so I can fire 2 flashes) for under £200 including shipping and customs.

Yeah there are Xmas sales in the US, they are probably better than they are here.
 
jamesoliverstone said:
I was sooooooo close to buying 3 pocket wizards from reputation alone, but then at the last minute, I spent the cash on pre-ordering a new lens, so I decided to give the RF602's from ebay a go.
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I thought hard about the RF602's but I don't think you can trigger a remote camera from another camera (which is what I wanted them for) or can you?
 
Pippy_Neville said:
Yes, I saw they'd stopped, gutted, I was just dithering a bit too long. I'm not sure whether to get some PW's now (best price I can find is £289 for a pair from Robert White or use Kerso) or wait until I go to the US in December and buy something there.

Does anyone know if they do Christmas sales on stuff like this in US? Long shot, but thought I'd ask.

pip
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You can get a set of 2 units delivered, for £240 on eBay!
 
Im gonna order some of they cybersyncs and get them sent to a mate in america.
If anyone wants to bulk up then we can split postage or something like that.
 
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