Possibly way to good to be true. Radiopopper

For those of us out there who like to get creative with strobing.

This might be the best thing I've seen in a long time.
Apperently the JR model rivals the Pocketwizard Plus II except it's 25 bucks.
Then they have a radio slave model, the P1, with full iTTL capability. NO MORE LINE OF SIGHT!!!
The descriptions were a tad hazy for me so im not sure if the TTL model would still work inside a waterhousing, but its defiently cool to think about. maybe a housing could be made to accomidate it.
I think it would be great to have the capability to use iTTL when strobing a rider. I know when i have done it that the power needed to be adjusted as the sun dropped.

anyway if you strobe, take a look.

www.radiopopper.com

Cool idea. The only thing I do not like is fiber optic cables. I had been using a fiber optic cable on my YS-110 strobe for underwater photography, and had a bad time with it firing consistently at the right time. Of course that could have been user error, and nothing more. For $25 if they work then that will change how many photographers control their strobes.

I have the Pocketwizard II's and love them as they will also remotely trigger my camera. Plus my Sekonic light meter can trigger them also.

Peter,

If you don't mind can you tell me what the PW set up ran you.

haha...read their website when you have a chance. They were VERY creative with their wording as to downplay the fact that their P1 has only one channel. They're also careful not to ever mention the existence of another radio transmitting device (Pocketwizard) when they talk about how they're better than "the other guys."

If the Jr version ever comes to the market, it seems like it'll be the perfect "strobist" type of tool. I think that'll be about it, though. When it comes to advanced-amateur and pro work, this can't touch what the PWs can do. But if you're just looking to fire off a remote flash then it's perfect.

Pocketwizard Plus 2 tranceivers run $188 at B&H, and you need at least two- one for the hotshoe of your camera and one for each remote flash. Plus the right cables to hook it up to the flash.

Scott,
It is kinda disappointing that they only have one channel on the P1, but at the same time, in my experience, I have never needed more than one channel. There is also the P8 that has 8 channels and iTTL.
For me I just found it fairly groundbreaking to offer iTTL through a radio slave. They also make the point that they are gearing it towards outdoor or anything with varying lighting conditions useing flash, which does save time and effort.
maybe I lack experience with the pocket wizards, but other than being able to remotly trigger the camera what does the Plus II do that the JR doesn't.

First off, if you're just gonna pop off a remote flash and nobody else is shooting around you, then this should be perfect for you.

The Plus 2 units are rather simple, but the one thing they do allow you to do is to relay a signal using two channels. Basically, I can fire off my camera remotely on channel 1, and then the PW attached to the camera will automatically send out a signal on the next higher channel, which in this case is channel 2. This signal will then trigger any flashes I have set on channel 2 off. This cannot be accomplished with both the camera and flash set on the same channel because the camera takes slightly longer to fire off than the flashes will.

So this may be something that most people will never, ever do. But for the people looking to get the camera out of their hands and still fire off a flash, it's indispensable.

The way I see it when it comes down to which system to buy into, you're basically making a decision whether you want the ability to use TTL on one of up to 8 channels with the RP's, or the ability to trigger a camera and flashes, to delay the triggering of anything at almost any time, the ability to count how many times a camera or flash has triggered, the ability to adjust how long the contact time is on the triggers, and maybe a few other things. If you don't need to be able to do all this stuff that I just mentioned and only want the TTL capability, then awesome, now you have the option to buy a tool that better suits the work that you're doing.

interesting, i didn't know about all the relay stuff. thanks for the product knowledge. im not sure what im going to buy but i have been lookin to get some for quite some time. most likely i will go pcketwizard just becasue its so highly regarded and i have used them and they worked great.

who knows though. once the RP's come out i might head down to get my mitts on some and take a look.

whats the difference between the multimax and the plus II

www.pocketwizard.com

this video shows you what the Plus 2's can do: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG7pcJCD9G4

Walt, I can not remember what I paid at the time, but got them from the guy listed here. Great seller on ebay, and he combined shipping on my light meter. My camera trigger cable also came from ebay in as new condition from a person who dropped Nikon and went back to Canon, so I got it for under $80. The trigger cables are usually in the $120 range. There are cheaper ones but I was worried about functionality with an expensive camera.

I will add the range on the Plus II's is incredible. They have never failed to fire. Mostly I use them to trigger my camera more than using them to control a remote flash. Damn Nikon not offering a remote for their D200's.

One of the coolest things to me, that I have seen done with the PW's is photographing Hummingbirds. Their wings move so fast, and with the flash hitting them just right their magnificent colors come out.

Edit: Walt if you want three of them, I would take another one from a two pack. It would help me get away from using my SB800 in remote mode. I have a really old Olympus flash that I currently use with my PW.

(Message edited by Peter_C on November 02, 2007)