PocketWizard: Follow Up!

In the interests of full disclosure I need to confess that there are a lot of good things I could say about PocketWizard, but the best is that they are listening and within unclear constraints on taking full responsibility for their failures they are working on moving forward. I got a very respectful email from David Schmidt of PocketWizard about my recent Facebook posts and blog entry. Let me tell you I have been threatened by large corporations for speaking out in the past and this wasn't that! Interestingly, those large corporations are no longer in business and some of their principals have gone to jail. :-) David offered to let me be minimally involved in some testing. I declined. I have no qualifications. But the effort and offer speak better about PocketWizard than I had given credit for.

So you know, I have had four PocketWizard Plus II's in my studio forever and even when I was shooting in my garage I only used PocketWizards. I did have some radio frequency interference issues with my Bowens QUADX strobes and temporarily abandoned PWs until I learned about ferrite filters and was immediately back. To their discredit, PW knew about the problem but didn't publish the cure on their website. Every professional photographer I know personally uses PocketWizards. I have every intention of being a PocketWizard user until I can't shoot anymore! But I won't be an early adopter as I detect that PW has moved into the realm of Microsoft et alia, feeling the need to make announcements and promises unmindful of any reality to which I am a part. I may never understand why this whole ControlTL business wasn't thoroughly tested by independent photographers with their own equipment before the first PR was sent out.

Also, for the RadioPopper fans, I do have an ST-E2 and did consider RPs, but I need a daylight robust solution to firing cameras where my current Canon LC-5 IR solution isn't working and RP doesn't address that need.

Disclaimer: David Schmidt does not know I am making this post. David Schmidt did not ask me to retract any statements. I am happy with my TT1 and TT5's to the extent that they work within a limited range well below that advertised.

Travel safe!

Dwight