Need Help from the "Gadget Gurus"

ohkphoto

ohkphoto

Snow White
While I feel pretty comfortable with Nikon's CLS, I thought I'd pull out my pocketwizards and see what I was missing.

I have the Pocketwizard Multimax and a Pocketwizard Plus II. I'm trying to figure out what exactly I can do with them (that I can't with the SB900's, SU-800 and D2x)

I spent the afternoon playing with them. The multimax seems to have a lot of features that I don't need (or know how to use correctly). For example, an intervalometer (the D2x has one built in) and you need a special cord (more money to pocketwizard).

I can't figure out the "delayed firing" but am still playing with those settings.

The only thing that I could see of real value to me was the ability to manually trigger a remote flash via the test button. So if I wanted to do a nightscape (using the "bulb" setting) and I wanted to illuminate something in the foreground, I could just press the test button on the multimax, which doesn't even have to be attached to the camera. But do I really need expensive pocketwizards to do that?

For those of you who are familiar with pocketwizards, what else can I do? I want to make sure I have exhausted all possible creative uses. I don't want to sell them and regret that I no longer have them.

Thanks.
 
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gqtuazon

Gear Head
Sorry Helene, I don't have any experience with PW. I only have Cybersyncs and they work pretty good for what I do with my stobes.

I've always wanted to get the PW but I never pulled the trigger due to high cost.
 
ohkphoto

ohkphoto

Snow White
gqtuazon said:
Sorry Helene, I don't have any experience with PW. I only have Cybersyncs and they work pretty good for what I do with my stobes.

I've always wanted to get the PW but I never pulled the trigger due to high cost.
Click to expand...

Thanks anyway, Glenn. I guess I'm thinking that for the price they should have some extraordinary capabilities and that I just don't know enough about them. I bought these used for a fraction of the cost.
 
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Geoffc

Senior Member
Helene,

For most people, the units that you have are straight forward triggers that probably offer less functionality than CLS.

For me, at a basic level the PWs are much like the cheap radio triggers except I believe they offer the following:

1. Better than CLS type systems in terms of range / bright days / Shooting round corners.
2. I think they are more reliable. I bought some cheap triggers off Amazon which failed in a few hours. I don't think all cheap units will do this I just had bad luck, but PWs just work
3. They should be around for a while and provide forward / backward compatibility

I've recently invested in Pocket Wizards after much thought. One of the reasons I went with PW is because I wanted to use speedlights that could be triggered and have the power set by the light meter. To this end I got the mini / flex system and a Sekonic 478DR meter. The other reason I went for this is because I can use up to 1/8000 sec shutter speed just like an on camera flash, I can also use remote TTL and I can set the output on multiple remote speedlights using the AC3. I got a PlusX the other day as well for some dumb studio strobes which works fine using the mini or flex as the trigger.

Having made the points above, the PWs are very expensive. I got them at a very good price through a friend in the trade and they were still expensive. As an amateur I don't need to justify the cost, whereas a pro would need to see real benefits before investing. I'm sure for most pros who buy them it's reliability that comes number one.
 
ohkphoto

ohkphoto

Snow White
Geoffc said:
Helene,

For most people, the units that you have are straight forward triggers that probably offer less functionality than CLS.

For me, at a basic level the PWs are much like the cheap radio triggers except I believe they offer the following:

1. Better than CLS type systems in terms of range / bright days / Shooting round corners.
2. I think they are more reliable. I bought some cheap triggers off Amazon which failed in a few hours. I don't think all cheap units will do this I just had bad luck, but PWs just work
3. They should be around for a while and provide forward / backward compatibility

I've recently invested in Pocket Wizards after much thought. One of the reasons I went with PW is because I wanted to use speedlights that could be triggered and have the power set by the light meter. To this end I got the mini / flex system and a Sekonic 478DR meter. The other reason I went for this is because I can use up to 1/8000 sec shutter speed just like an on camera flash, I can also use remote TTL and I can set the output on multiple remote speedlights using the AC3. I got a PlusX the other day as well for some dumb studio strobes which works fine using the mini or flex as the trigger.

Having made the points above, the PWs are very expensive. I got them at a very good price through a friend in the trade and they were still expensive. As an amateur I don't need to justify the cost, whereas a pro would need to see real benefits before investing. I'm sure for most pros who buy them it's reliability that comes number one.
Click to expand...

Geoff, thank you. This is exactly the kind of info I needed. I originally bought the PWs to use with a studio light which I am using less and less. I have tinkered with them and could only get to a certain point . . . kind of what you pointed out in the first paragraph. I appreciate the help very much.
 
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Geoffc

Senior Member
Helene,

No problem and do not hesitate to ask if you have any further questions. I suspect the Multimax was more than you ever needed and it's quite expensive.
 
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