The Pocket Wizard Plus III

Since this is what I own and use, this is what I will tell you about.

I like the fact that they are extremely reliable. I use them with my Canon DSLR cameras (20D and 5Dii). There are models of the Pocket Wizard that support TTL flash with Canon cameras, but there have been terrible problems with these units, and I decided to avoid them. There is some radio interference issue with the TTL pocket wizards, and people resort to special shielding socks to get them to work (making it all but impossible to access the controls). Not for me.

One thing I do not like about the Plus III, is that it does not work with rechargeable AA NiMH batteries. So I have to buy alkalines. I do like the battery condition monitor on the unit.

Building a NC3 cable

You can use a pair of pocket wizards to control your camera -- if you have the right cable. And the right cable is fairly expensive. But if you are handy with tools (including a soldering iron), it is not too hard to make your own. I have some notes on doing this at: As described in the link above, I built a cable that plugs into the N3 connector on my Canon EOS camera and it works perfectly to control my camera via a pocket wizard.
Have any comments? Questions? Drop me a line!

Adventures in Computing / [email protected]