# PocketWizards - Which ones would you get? (Camera Triggers)



## canonvoir (Feb 17, 2014)

Plus III's? Multiplex? 

I have an event coming up in a month and I need to trigger two remote cameras (5Diii and 7D) from my main body (1DX). 

I am thinking the plus III's will be a good choice but I wanted some feedback from those of you who use these all the time.

I will have 200-300 feet between me and the remote cameras. I will be in a balcony with clear line of sight to the stage floor where the cameras will be positioned. I will be next to a sound booth that utilizes wireless tech. Not sure if that will matter much but that is everything.

Any help would be great.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Feb 17, 2014)

200-300 feet can be tough, particularly in a area with lots of other wireless devices, cell phones, and the like. The distance figures published for such devices are under perfect conditions with no other wireless devices and on flat and level ground. Every little thing takes 100-500 ft off the range. As you approach the limit of usable range, the device becomes unreliable and starts to miss occasionally, or may stop working for a few seconds. 

The plus III is probably a good choice, you will need the optional cable to trigger the camera. Lens Rentals will rent you a pair, why not contact roger and ask him how they will perform in your situation?

I sold my +3's, but still have the trigger cable, its a third party cable but worked fine.


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## canonvoir (Feb 17, 2014)

I knew I would have to get the cables and that is a give me. I had planned on getting the PocketWizard brand. 

I appreciate you comments regarding range. When you read these posts stating 1000 feet you tend to think that 200 feet should be no problem. 

I also overstated my range on purpose. It is inside a large church. 150 feet would be a safe straight line of sight, I just didn't want to undercut the estimate. 

Can you point me in a direction of Roger?

Why did you sell your III's? I read mostly good reviews of the III's but it seems that the negative reviews are sprinkled about. I have come to the realization that I will have to replace my 580EXII if I want to trigger strobes, and I will want to do this. I guess my 420's will do just fine for a while.


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## canonvoir (Feb 18, 2014)

I have the iii's coming. We will see what comes of this.


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## eos650 (Feb 18, 2014)

I have five of the Plus III's. When I first got them I setup a camera on a tripod in my drive way. I put a flash on the camera so I could visually tell if the camera was being triggered. I walked down the road with a second pocket wizard and kept hitting the test button. I was able to go to about 300 feet with fairly reliable results, but there were some misses and a couple of fairly dead spots along the way.

I have had good success shooting soccer from mid field and triggering cameras placed behind the goals. So far, this is the only remote trigger application I have tried.

The PocketWizard Plus III's also support a relay mode, where you can place a PocketWizard in the middle and it will relay the messages, extending your range. I have never tried this, however, so can't comment on how well it works.

I do know that things get kind of weird in continuous shooting mode when the main camera and the remote camera are different. In my case I was shooting a 7D as the main camera and a 60D as the remote. The frame rate is much faster on the 7D, so although I got a lot of good shots, the two cameras were not in sync. The 60D missed a few extra frames because it couldn't keep up. My assumption is that it ignored the request to fire when it wasn't ready and fired on the next signal, if it was. This meant the 60D wasn't able to fire at it's maximum frame rate. Instead of 5.3fps or whatever it is, it may have only been firing at 3 or 4, but that is just a guess, I never took the time to confirm this.


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## canonvoir (Feb 21, 2014)

I got them in. If I don't use a cable on my 1DX it won't trigger the 5Diii.

The 5Diii hardly ever triggers the 1DX. 

Am I missing something?


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## canonvoir (Feb 22, 2014)

FYI, in addition to my ACC cable, I had to use the PTMM cable adapter. This cable keeps the focus locked and the camera in the ready to shoot mode. I want to say this cable is not necessary if you use the "Test" button on the pocket wizard directly as it will force a focus and shoot.

I noticed when I turned off AutoFocus on my remote camera that my problems went away. Not sure why I turned the focus off but I had that gut feeling after two hours. 

Leaving the PTMM cable in the one position would be detrimental to battery life. Not exactly sure how detrimental but I think it is safe to say a few hours would be pushing it. I must test this out. Will definitely have to add the battery grip if using it at a concert as I plan to at Easter. This is also bad, IMHO, because the focus never changes if your subject moves. Leaving the camera in AI servo may be another solution as it would continually be focusing but I would suspect the batter life would really take a dive. Plus, how bad would it be for your lens to work in AI Servo mode for three straight hours? No idea.

The trick will be to just hit the "Test" button on the pocket wizard on my camera (or in my hand as I really don't see the need to connect it to a hot shoe now) when I want a shot. I have decided to not use the PTMM cable (always pre-focused) cable for this first test run. 

Really disappointed in the Plus III as I thought the camera would attain focus and fire every time I pushed my shutter button. Not the case without a lot of caveats. Bummer. 

Now that have all this straightened out, I am going to call PocketWizard and let them know their web site could explain this A LOT BETTER. It seems they deal with the off camera flash guys more than remote camera guys.


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## privatebydesign (Feb 22, 2014)

The camera will not take a picture if it can't acquire focus in AF mode, it isn't anything to do with the PW's, it is just the way remote shooting works.

For what it's worth the Yongnuo RF-603/II/602 would do exactly the same thing within that range for 1/10 the price without the need for the PTMM cable because they use the native Canon three pin/two stage triggering system.

Remotes are normally pre-focused with enough dof to allow for the area they are covering, remote AF is way too unreliable, if the subject doesn't go within your focus zone it can't take a picture when AF is on. Wireless tethering is the only way to go for remote AF and even then there is a lag.

If you are within a return period I'd strongly suggest sending them back, there are far more cost effective ways of doing this without the PW cludginess and workarounds. The only thing PW are still good at is the MultiMax, if you need the features it has, and the fact you can relay the remotes at extreme distances, also the Flex system is the only wireless system that integrates hot shoe flash and studio flash but it is expensive and there are more caveats with that system than anything else.


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## privatebydesign (Feb 22, 2014)

Thinking about it you could relay RF-603II's too, just get an extra one and gang the middle set.


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## canonvoir (Feb 22, 2014)

If I fire using the Test button on the PW and with no pttm cable, it focuses, and fires no problem. 

The plus III's can relay too but I have not tried it. 

I had no idea remotes were prefocused. If that is the case, I can just remove the pttm cable and turn off AF. Works like a champ. 

I'll look into your equipment suggestion. I'm well within my return period. 

Thank you!


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## privatebydesign (Feb 22, 2014)

canonvoir said:


> If I fire using the Test button on the PW and with no pttm cable, it focuses, and fires no problem.
> 
> The plus III's can relay too but I have not tried it.
> 
> ...



Yes the Plus III's do relay, it was the way I wrote it that implied only the MultiMax did, actually pretty much all PW's do, even the lowest of the range the PlusX, the Flex TT5 can also act as shutter release receiver and hot shoe mounted trigger for remote flashes at the same time.

I have been using the oldest Yongnuo RF-602's for several years and they are very reliable, the 603 and then 603II are both good upgrades to my original version. But there is a huge choice of radio remotes out there now, most are built for the remote flash market, hence the hot shoes on them (why didn't PW such it up and do that on the PlusX?) but they almost all include remote shutter firing as a feature.

As for remotes and prefocusing, obviously sometimes it works, behind soccer goals and close to basketball nets with a 14mm lens, and sometimes it doesn't, a moving lead singer on a stage with a 70-200, but most of the high end remotes like at the Olympics now come with operators and full panning, zooming and focus controls via motorised mounts and video style lens control wheels.


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## canonvoir (Feb 22, 2014)

I appreciate your feedback. I have a set of Pixel King flash triggers that work ok close by. Just be sure you have new batteries.

But after reviewing the Yongnuo RF-603 I begin to wonder what real advantages the Plus iii's have over them. Quad zone, repeater, normally stuff I don't ever plan on using. 

I am going to test the distance on these today and then most likely return them. While they are pretty on the eyes, that was a lot of money I put out to just trigger a camera shutter. 

Can you tell me anything else regarding the RF-603's and remote camera firing? 

Will it fire my 5Diii if AF is on when I push the shutter button on my 1DX? 

Will it fire the 5Diii if the AF is on and use push the test button like the plus iii's? This is a great option for me. I can just put the plus iii in my hand and fire the remote camera using the test button and the camera sets the focus, and fires every time.

Thanks for your info. You have certainly complicated my decision. ;-)


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## canonvoir (Feb 23, 2014)

I tested the units this evening. 450' was the furtherest I could get. 375' was the most reliable. I live in a rural area and can't see why LongRange didn't go further.

I am disappointed in the plus iii's and their performance. When I make a purchase I try to buy the best because time is money. I watched the videos, the testimonials, read the reviews, and even reached for the kool-aid. I have not had such frustration with camera gear in a very long time. I am unsure why everyone uses these unless they are buying a name. PocketWizard will have to release a much better product before I would consider another purchase with them.

They are going back. 

I have four Youngnuos coming with two shutter cords. I will test them out. I may even give their flash units a try if the triggers work out for this one project.

Thanks again to everyone (especially to privatebydesign) for the feedback reading remote shooting in general and for suggesting the Youngnuos. I am learning a lot about remote shooting.


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## canonvoir (Feb 27, 2014)

My Yongnuo RF-603C II's came in. Going to test the range this week but from what I can tell, they will be comparable to the Plus III's I tested. Also, I have noticed that I can NOT trigger a remote camera by pressing the shutter on another camera. I have to use the trigger in my hand to trigger remote cameras. The plus III's have the advantage here but seeing how they were not reliable, these will do fine for my purposes and at a very small fraction of the price.

More to come.


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## canonvoir (Feb 27, 2014)

I tested the Yongnuo RF-603C II this evening. Same conditions to a tee. I stopped at 650'. I would not have believed a product so inexpensive would have worked so reliably and so far away compared to the plus iii's. 

I am sold. Going to order their flash and see how I like it. 

I want to state again there are downsides to the Yongnuo's, you must active a remote camera via remote in your hand (the hot shoe on the camera in your hand will not work) and you can't select zones to turn off and on. But I can't argue with range and reliability. Incredible.


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## privatebydesign (Feb 28, 2014)

canonvoir said:


> I tested the Yongnuo RF-603C II this evening. Same conditions to a tee. I stopped at 650'. I would not have believed a product so inexpensive would have worked so reliably and so far away compared to the plus iii's.
> 
> I am sold. Going to order their flash and see how I like it.
> 
> I want to state again there are downsides to the Yongnuo's, you must active a remote camera via remote in your hand (the hot shoe on the camera in your hand will not work) and you can't select zones to turn off and on. But I can't argue with range and reliability. Incredible.



Glad you are happy with them, I never went past 200' so was reluctant to speculate on a range comparison.

Have you tried with the switch in the TRX position? I believed you could fire the second camera from the hot shoe of the first, you absolutely can with the RF-602.

I wasn't so impressed with their flashes, but if you consider them as expendables they make a lot of sense. I stuck with Canon 550EX's, even secondhand they are far and away the best bang for the buck from Canon, until I moved to 600EX-RT's last year.


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## canonvoir (Feb 28, 2014)

Yes. I was testing both in TRX. I can't get at thing to happen in TX. 

Are you sure you could mount one on the camera in your hands and it would fire a remote camera? I cannot get this to work. 

Help?


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## canonvoir (Feb 28, 2014)

I picked up a 580EX last year and unsure why I did. I wish I would have got the 600...

My Yongnuo flash will be here Monday. I'll test it out. Should be a nice, predictable, manual, off camera flash.


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## privatebydesign (Feb 28, 2014)

canonvoir said:


> Yes. I was testing both in TRX. I can't get at thing to happen in TX.
> 
> Are you sure you could mount one on the camera in your hands and it would fire a remote camera? I cannot get this to work.
> 
> Help?



Mine do 100%, I tested it to make sure before I posted, but I am using the older RF-602, not your RF-603 II. 

Have you tried the on camera transmitter in Tx and the receiver in TRX?


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## privatebydesign (Feb 28, 2014)

canonvoir said:


> I picked up a 580EX last year and unsure why I did. I wish I would have got the 600...
> 
> My Yongnuo flash will be here Monday. I'll test it out. Should be a nice, predictable, manual, off camera flash.



There are so many flash options now it is difficult to keep up. I thought YN did a flash with the RF-603 protocol built in, that would be sweet. On the occasions I want an update on what is happening in the flash world I look here http://flashhavoc.com/ great site for pulling it all together.


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## canonvoir (Feb 28, 2014)

Yes. But I will try again tomorrow. I even plugged in the cable to make sure. Everyone says they are the same unit, just better. 

Can you explain the TX vs TRX functionality?

I know TRX transmits and receives. Does tx only transmit?


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## canonvoir (Feb 28, 2014)

The flash I have coming has the built in protocol. Very nice dip switch selector too. Im excited. Thanks for the link!


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## privatebydesign (Feb 28, 2014)

canonvoir said:


> Yes. But I will try again tomorrow. I even plugged in the cable to make sure. Everyone says they are the same unit, just better.
> 
> Can you explain the TX vs TRX functionality?
> 
> I know TRX transmits and receives. Does tx only transmit?



I believe so, but the 602's come with a dedicated transmitter, and any number of receivers, they are not transceivers like the 603/603II's, so they don't have the TRX/TX switch.

There were several changes when the RF-602 became the RF-603, most were for the better but some functionality was lost because they became transceivers, I thought all the losses being reinstated, and even more improvements, were the point of the RF-603II's.


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## canonvoir (Feb 28, 2014)

I had a hard time finding reviews regarding remote shutter and the 603 II's. 

I may need to pick up a set of 602's. At that price, why not. 

But I would like to know if it is me or the unit.


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## canonvoir (Mar 1, 2014)

I can not get the remote camera shutter option to work on a 5Diii from the hot shoe of my 1DX or vice versa. I wonder what gives with this?

Also, in TX mode nothing works as far as remote shutter is concerned. My flash should be here tomorrow and I bet TX only works with flashes. 

Still, I can live with it for the money and reliability.


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## privatebydesign (Mar 2, 2014)

The on triggering camera 603 should be set to TX, the receiving cameras 603 should be set to TRX with the remote cable plugged in. The receiving cameras 603 can either be in the hotshoe, or loose, it is the cable that odes the triggering.

Interestingly both the 5D MkIII and 1DX can be remote fired through the hotshoe, but only via the Canon RT flash system.


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## canonvoir (Mar 2, 2014)

The plus iii's fired off the hot shoe of my 5diii and 1dx. Only about half the time.

My YN560-III speedlite came in and it works while my hot shoe trigger is on TX. If my trigger is on TRX, no go. 

Obviously, there are pluses and minuses to the inexpensive Yongnuo equipment. The PW's will have to improve their product reliability and function before I would ever consider them again.


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