In the wake of rumors regarding the health of the PocketWizard parent LPA Designs, the MAC Group distributed company is teaming up with the lighting brand Bowens and light meter company Sekonic to produce cohesive products together, in the hopes this will improve sales on all fronts. This includes a new PocketWizard in the Bowens signature yellow.
In a joint announcement, Bowens, PocketWizard and Sekonic have aligned to create a complete wireless triggering solution for electronic flashes that will be first introduced in the U.S. market. Now most Bowens Gemini monolights will accept an optional PocketWizard module, which enables photographers to wirelessly trigger their flash with industry-standard, and widely used PocketWizard radios and Sekonic light meters.
Compatible components within the system are Bowens Gemini 500R, 500Pro, 750Pro, 1000Pro & 1500Pro series of monolights with PocketWizard module, all existing PocketWizard radio's and today's Sekonic L-478DR and L-758DR exposure meters. In addition, other (earlier) Sekonic meters can be used with an optional PocketWizard transmitter. All take advantage of PocketWizard 32 channels and 4-zone system.
To commemorate the alliance, PocketWizard is introducing a new Plus III Transceiver in the "Bowens' signature yellow" color.
If nothing else, this will likely help the sales of Bowens lights, as they are not as common in the market as Profoto and Paul C. Buff brands. Having another PocketWizard enabled lighting device will be a welcome sight to many photographers.
This screams: "GET OUT OF MY WAY WITH THAT IPAD! I'M THE PHOTOGRAPHER, I'M TAKING THE PHOTOGRAPHS!!!
[sarcasm]Oh sweet, now I can match my arsenal of yellow AlienBees B400s and the banana in my pants pocket! [/sarcasm]
But really, whatever it takes for PW to stay afloat. Yellow is a bit too loud and distracting to be that close to your face if you use the Plus III as an on-camera trigger, in my opinion.
Well at the very least it makes it easier to find if you drop it in the dark lol
Or surround it in gaffer tape.
hmm people will always find a reason to complain.
One way of getting your subject to look at the camera I guess...
I like my gear how I like my coffee... black.
Forget the Bowens yellow. Can I get one in platinum so I can wear it around my neck on a chain?
Yep. Paint 'em yellow. That should boost sales.
(hint - PickPocket Wizards are OVER PRICED in a competitive market! You know longer OWN the market) - except for brand snobs.
very true. I got my triple pack of yongnuo triggers with e-tll and high speed sync for $80 and they have treated me just fine.
How long have you had them? People rave about Yongnuo's value but I do not trust them to make reliable equipment. The YN-565 flash I bought worked great at first and then failed on the next session. It wouldn't even power on. When I read reviews of their triggers on Amazon I see people who have similar problems; the triggers work for an unspecified length of time then fail. I have a set of Pixel Kings with similar problems. They've made me waste precious shooting time turning everything off and back on again just to get them back in sync when they randomly choose to go bonkers... Don't get me wrong, I hate how expensive pocketwizard is, but at this point the Pixel Kings I bought may as well be bricks because I won't trust them to another critical shoot.
Phottix Odins are my go-tos. I tested them next to a PW Plus III and it killed them in reliability and range. Never have failed, PW fail a lot.
I just got them after using them at a workshop & being very impressed.
Thanks Jaron, I've been hearing great things about the Odins and am really considering them, especially since the high cost of pocketwizard doesn't guarantee reliability anymore. I just wish Phottix would come out with a firmware update to adjust power levels on Einsteins; that would be extremely useful. That said, I'm probably going to go with Phottix and just hope they add this in the future, they have every other feature I could want in remote triggers.
I bought the YN-622C about a year ago. I did a lot of research and IMO these were the best for what I do and would work with my 5dmkii. They have worked great! I wanted these especially for the HHS, which I haven't used as much in my photography as I thought I would but it works and I've used it on a couple jobs. I've also heard great reviews about the Phottix Odins that @JaronSchneider1219:disqus is talking about. the only gripe I have with the yn-622c is that the channel select button is right next to the test button and sometimes when I'm setting up a shot I'll accidentally hit the channel button and throw the system out of sync, but then I just have to spend 5 seconds to cycle back through the channels to get to mine, meanwhile talking to and trying to make myself look smart in front of the client. Another thing is that it has an IR sensor on the front which has saved me in some darkly lit situations to get my focus. and it's nice controlling all my flashes by groups from the screen on my 5d.
For me, I don't want an additional optional module. I want the sensor to be built into the body of the lights like Phottix did with their Mitros flash. Keep it simple.
Surely there's a fourth partner — Fisher Price?
i did think that it looked like a yellow banana :)
I doubt, I'm guessing Chiquita.
I was thinking Penzoil......
DeWALT
this reminds me of those kfc/taco bell places. teamwork makes the dreamwork people.
The thing that is hurting pocketwizard so much is that their products re built to last, people that own them never have to replace them. Third party companies triggers systems fall apart over a short period of time, the only other exception being Phottix who is giving pocketwizard a run as far as build quality goes
See, as much as I believe that the build quality part is true, I don't really buy the rest of that. If that were the case, we would see more high-quality product companies failing and everyone would strive to make lower quality product.
I don't see what's new here: I have a 6 year old Sekonic with builtin PocketWizard. And who cares about Bowens :)?
The part I'm really missing is builin into cameras. I think PhaseOne has a grip with PW builtin.
When I first saw the picture, I thought Pocket Wizard was making a waterproof trigger for underwater use.
The yellow is very 'pro-Nikon' :)
Seems no one read the article. The yellow PlusIII is just to commemorate the alliance. It's really not the news.