Comments on: PocketWizard for Nikon being tested, no release date yet

By: Kvocal

Kvocal — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:45:20 +0000

1. Radio Popper’s range far exceeds that of the PW Flex system. 2. Radio Popper gives you 100% of the CLS system features. 3. The PW Flex system has a history of range problems (this should shoot down the quality issue). The issue that I have with the Radio Popper units that support Full CLS is the cost. Read my lips “FULL CLS COMPATIBILITY”

By: Strobist

Strobist — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:43:04 +0000

Making a RPCube for Nikon is very easy:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/strobist/discuss/72157622317133654/?search=RPCube

By: And

And — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:40:34 +0000

PocketWizard also has a long-standing history of excellent cross-line compatibility and second-to-none quality and reliability.
RadioPopper has been forced to be the innovative one in an attempt to capture mind (and market) share, but their quality is definitely second, while still not duplicating all of PW’s featureset. (No repeater mode for extended range, for example).

By: @LG0

@LG0 — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:38:05 +0000

Oh – and the 700 will likely not have a PC jack.

By: @LG0

@LG0 — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:36:10 +0000

“The primary differentiating factor between the SB-900 and the SB-700 is that the SB-700 will not be able to function as a Master Unit.”
Using the 800:600 analogy we also get
*The 700 won’t have an optical slave
*The 700 won’t have an external battery hookup.
*The 700 will have 2/3rds to 1 stop less power.

Face it, most of the upgrades from 800->900 are unlikely to trickle down to the 600->700 update.

The frickin 900 won’t even work on any Nikon film camera except the F6!

Last thing we need is a _crippled_ replacement for the 600.

By: Hmm

Hmm — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:28:59 +0000

Which makes the RadioPopper JRx system (three groups) right up your alley.

By: NoNoNo

NoNoNo — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:27:04 +0000

The JRx system doesn’t work on the SB-900 (and SB-400) because it ISN’T a TTL flash. It is an i-TTL only flash.
The JRx system uses the original TTL (film TTL) quench pin to control power.

By: n

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 01:54:36 +0000

oh and, my bad, there was a typo: i meant to say that the pocket wizards are more elegant than the radiopopper PX system.

The JRX system is not in the same category so I wasn’t bringing them up as a comparison.

By: n

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 01:50:52 +0000

My entire comment was referring to the Radiopopper PX system.

Also, What you’ve said is not true. The Radiopopper JRX system allows you to remotely control power levels of MOST ttl flashes. It doesn’t, for example, work with the SB-900 – which in my opinion makes it an instant nogo.

google it if you don’t believe me.

By: Zwede

Zwede — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 01:26:24 +0000

I just did some research on this myself, and I think what is happening here is a mixup – the hotshoe on the older PWs are prone to breaking, however the hotshoes on the MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 have received special comments on how robust the are, and those are the ones we are talking about here.

By: Zwede

Zwede — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 01:18:50 +0000

This thread is the first where I have seen that comment. On the contrary I have seen many comments remarking at how solid the mount is, probably since it would be the first thing to catch someones attention.

Have you seen these failures in person, or do you have a link to where they are discussed?

By: Zwede

Zwede — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 01:15:53 +0000

Following your link it seems there are a bunch of ifs and buts there too:

1. It requires the RP Cube which is not available – kind of similar to the PW
2. It requires that you have non-iTTL flashes, which unfortunately is all I have (4 SB-900s): ” It is important to note that certain newer flashes, such as the SB900, that are manufactured with iTTL compatibility only, will not be compatible with the RPcube”

By: Dr SCSI

Dr SCSI — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 21:55:59 +0000

@Matt,
I just went over to the RadioPopper website, and it looks like they have put together a pretty good and affordable system for relaying the IR signals that Nikon (iTTL) and Canon (ETTL) use. For Nikon shooters with Nikon flashes using iTTL, the PX Transmitter to PX Receiver is the prefered way to go. However, Nikon shooters planning to mix studio lights like Alien Bees with their Nikon Flashes, are going to be disappointed, as for the PX Transmitter to the JrX Reciever, it looks like Canon ETTL is the only game in town. Also another disapointment….A direct quote from the RadioPoppers site, “It is important to note that certain newer flashes, such as the SB900, that are manufactured with iTTL compatibility only, will not be compatible with the RPcube.” The SB900 isn’t the only Nikon flash using iTTL; the SB800, and SB600, and SB400 all use iTTL. I guess your vision of using the JrX, RP cube, Nikon flashes and Studio lighting is now dissapearing like a mirage, unless you own the older TTL flashes (i.e. SB28); at least you didn’t buy that system yet. Also, when using the JrX system with either Canon ETTL or Nikon iTTL, there are serious limitations on the the flash sync speeds, “1/160 second for
Canon gear” and “For Nikon gear, the max sync speed in this mode is
1/200 second.” No High-Speed Sync at all with JrX and the RP cube. Although the PWs are more expensive, I wouldn’t quite write them off just yet. They will eventually provide the ability to mix and match the studio lights with Nikon flashes using iTTL, but I don’t think they will be as funtional as the RP for remotely controlling the power levels of Alien Bees and the like; you will still need to run around the studio adjusting your studio strobes. The one drawback to the RadioPopper solution for PX Transmitter to PX Reciever communication is the requirment of an on camera iTTL/ETTL flash. The PW TTL5 for Nikon and Canon eliminates the on camera flash requirment, thereby allowing you to use that $200-$500 flash someplace else more appropriate. In addition, that now “off-camera” remote flash can still be used to command IR based flashes at a distance using iTTL/ETTL and CLS. Plus, PW figured out how to get even faster FP sync speeds, up to 1/500 for the Canon gear; I am sure they will do the same for Nikon. I applaud, RadioPoppers for an inovative product which was quickly brought to market. And for most users, the RadioPopper PX Transmitter / PX Receivers are probably the cheapest and easiest way to implement iTTL/ETTL with full FP Sync speeds and Full 1/8000 High Speed Sync (Available NOW); albeit at the cost of an on camera flash or SU-800 controller (yes, the in camera iTTL Flash, think Nikon D300, D300S, D90, D700, can act as the commander with the RP PX system, but it is a challenge to line up IR with the PX Transmitter, RP is looking at a possible future product to address this) . I am just curious how the RadioPopper PX Receivers connect to the flash units; the manual states velcro is used to affix both the Transmitter and the Receiver. I guess since this is basically an IR relay system, you might not even need to connect the PX receiver directly to the flash, but just have its IR output window in line of sight with the Flash IR window. Maybe you could use one PX receiver to control multiple remote flashes? The manual did say “a PX Receiver to each slave flash”, but the Nikon IR communications for iTTL and CLS, when directed at the multiple slave flahes wouldn’t care about the source of the IR, just set your channel and group on your flashes, the IR transmitted includes that data and it would trigger the flashes accordingly. Maybe the PX Receiver has a low IR output, so you are forced to buy multiple units for the number of remote flahes you want to trigger. (Conspiracy Theory ) Anyway, whatever anybody decides, it needs to be the right choice for their needs, but they also need to make sure they read all of the vendor documentation before making a purchase. For me, the RadioPopper PX solution definitely looks viable for my needs, as I already have an SU-800. Unfortunately I own two Sekonic light meters with the Pocket Wizard transmitters built in them, and I would love to keep that functionality down the road with my future Profoto studio lights I plan to purchase. Which now reminds me, Profoto dropped Pocket Wizard support in their future lighting systems, in favor of their wireless triggering system known as Profoto Air. Hmmmm, decisions…decisions….

By: Dr SCSI

Dr SCSI — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:07:31 +0000

@Gustav,
Yep, the R200′s were designed for macro, but I thought and hoped they could do dual duty; which they can and did, but at limited distances between them and the commander, because of IR issues. Flash to subject distances isn’t the problem, plenty of power with four units. I too thought about getting multiple SB-600s, but then I started hearing rumors about an SB-700. I hate buying gear one month, just to see the newer, better, feature rich stuff released a month later. Fortunately, I don’t have a pressing need for the flashes now, I can get by with my macro flashes for the time being. I just like what PW did for the Canon shooters, and I look forward to the Nikon equivalent. In the meantime, I am going to follow Matt’s advice and go take a look at the RadioPoppers. Fortunately , time is on my side, so I get to really look at all options at my disposal, while getting feedback from others in this forum.

By: dave

dave — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:49:52 +0000

It’s funny… All the Canon shooters I know say TTL isn’t reliable. All th e Nikon shooters I know say it is. Maybe its just Canon’s TTL that isn’t reliable.

By: dave

dave — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:15:18 +0000

“The radio poppers are more elegant. they attach via hotshoe or pc link and just work.”

Are you talking about the RP JrX or the Pocket Wizards? If it’s the JrXs, they don’t do full TTL but they do allow you to control output of ANY TTL capable flash from the transmitter (with the RPCube or equivalent”

If you are talking about PocketWizards… the “just work” part is highly debatable. The reason the PW engineers haven’t gotten around to the Nikon version for a year is because the Canon version had all sorts of problems. Apparently the Canon flash system was not designed to PocketWizard’s specifications.

Yeah, I guess the other complaint about the RadioPoppers is that you mount them directly on the flash, but the Px series is smaller than the P1 and they have special removable holders so you don’t have to put velcro or sticky tape on your flashes. Other than that, the RadioPoppers DO “just work”… for both Canon AND Nikon.

By: Gustav

Gustav — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:31:46 +0000

Metavanguard, you are correct and I apologize for my wording. Let me rephrase: “I don’t believe the posters here understand that to maintain a healthy business, you can’t add every feature you can think of to every product you make. While you may make your low and mid end customers very happy, concessions must be made to ensure you have a healthy customer base on your low, mid, and high end range of products.”

In other words, just because Nikon could do something (like add high end features to an SB700), doesn’t mean they should if they want to maintain a healthy business.

By: Metavanguard

Metavanguard — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:44:34 +0000

Re: Gustav – “I’m glad the posters here don’t run Nikon. They’d have the best gear at the best prices, but only for a short while, as they’d run the company into the ground.”

Gustav quotes himself: – “Come on now! You can make your point without relying on childish insults. It makes one almost want to skip reading your reply altogether.”

I second that!

By: The invisible man.

The invisible man. — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:30:57 +0000

Only 3 left available……better not waiste your time !

By: Prosumer

Prosumer — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:16:35 +0000

What a crap