Need Pocket Wizard help

Jose Saenz · Aug 12, 2009

Hi all,

I have a question that I'm really hoping someone here can answer for me regarding Pocket Wizards.

I have a Canon 430 ex and I'm awaiting the arrival of a Canon 580 ex II. I also have 2 Pocket Wizards...one to place on my camera's hot shoe and the other will go on my 580. Do I need to buy a third Pocket Wizard or does the 580 communicate with the 430 without the need of a PW?

Can somebody help me out with this silly question?

Thanks,

Jose S.

twozero · Aug 13, 2009

i think you will need to pick up another PW. i think the infrared only works when on the camera in master mode. i could be wrong, but if you are using the PWs anyway you would be better off with another radio trigger. they are so much more reliable and convenient than line-of-sight IR.

Jose Saenz · Aug 13, 2009

Thanks twozero! I'll go ahead and buy another PW. You can never have too many of those anyway, right?

-Jose S.

Big Mike · Aug 13, 2009

I can't confirm, by I think that you can use a PW to trigger a 580 in master mode, which consequently can trigger a 430/580 in slave mode. However, as mentioned, the built-in wireless system isn't nearly as reliable as a PW radio connection.

And just to clarify, the 580 doesn't use infrared for communication between flashes. It uses pulses of light from the flash head. The ST-E2 (non-flash master) does use IR though.

So yes, getting a third PW is probably the most common and most reliable way to go.

Jose Saenz · Aug 13, 2009

Thanks, Big Mike...'preciate the input.

-Jose S.

DScience · Aug 13, 2009

no you need a third pocket wizard. I'm almost positive.

JerryPH · Aug 13, 2009

Jose Saenz said:
Hi all,

I have a question that I'm really hoping someone here can answer for me regarding Pocket Wizards.

I have a Canon 430 ex and I'm awaiting the arrival of a Canon 580 ex II. I also have 2 Pocket Wizards...one to place on my camera's hot shoe and the other will go on my 580. Do I need to buy a third Pocket Wizard or does the 580 communicate with the 430 without the need of a PW?

Can somebody help me out with this silly question?

Thanks,

Jose S.

You must purchase one PW for the camera, and one PW per flash.

BTW, stay AWAY from the new Pocket Wizard Mini and FlexTTL... total garbage at this point. If you want proof... go to the Pocket Wizard forum sponsored BY the PW people themselves and you can spend hours reading all the complaints about how no one can make them work and how you have to bend over backwards to get some minor level of performance. This is a combination of PW and Canon's fault. Canon has *the* noisiest flashes on the market (RF noise leakage).

Buy the PW II's and live happy.

B Kennedy · Aug 13, 2009

JerryPH said:
Jose Saenz said:

Hi all,

You must purchase one PW for the camera, and one PW per flash.

BTW, stay AWAY from the new Pocket Wizard Mini and FlexTTL... total garbage at this point. If you want proof... go to the Pocket Wizard forum sponsored BY the PW people themselves and you can spend hours reading all the complaints about how no one can make them work and how you have to bend over backwards to get some minor level of performance. This is a combination of PW and Canon's fault. Canon has *the* noisiest flashes on the market (RF noise leakage).

Buy the PW II's and live happy.

Click to expand...

Yeaaaaa, so i just bought the mini and flexttl. So far I found out that placing the flash in front of a lcd tv with a glass wall between camera and flash, the pw didnt work like 80% of the time. They appear to work with and around walls within a 30' distance. And thats with installing the updates available from the pw site. I kinda wish i just got the older version ones.

inTempus · Aug 13, 2009

Yeah, the new PW's are nothing but trouble. Go with the PWII's or get something like RadioPoppers (radiopopper - products) or CyberSyncs (AlienBees: Remote Controls, Wired and Wireless Remotes for your Flash Units). The RadioPoppers have ETTL capabilities like the FlexTTL PW's and I've not read anything about them having problems with RF interference issues.

Jose Saenz · Aug 17, 2009

Well I ended up buying a PW for $140...saved myself 30 bucks...but I kinda wish I had known about the radiopoppers beforehand. David Hobby just wrote a review on his blog www.strobist.com. They sound great!

JerryPH · Aug 17, 2009

David Hobby also raved about the new Pocket Wizards, so I wouldn't feel bad about it.

With this new trend of releasing products well before they are stable, you chose the best available trigger on the market, trust me. PW II's are a proven product that are darn near 100% reliable over incredible distances, and have been for many years.

I picked up 3 PW IIs in February when they were on sale (I should have made it an even 4)... they have not been the industry standard amongst pro photographers for so many years without good reason. It's just too bad that the new ones are crap (for the time being).