I have some thoughts here since I am strictly an outdoor photographer, own both PW and CyberSyncs, and have experience shooting baseball and football with remote flash. I have x2 PW-II triggers, x12 CyberSyncs, X9 Nikon SB-28, x7 White Lightning X3200 monolights plus all the grids, barndoors, 13 ft. stands, etc. My usual subject to photo at night is trains, which demands great reliability and long range.
I have had zero problem with CyberSyncs firing clear across a baseball field from deep center outfield to the bleachers. They fire through chain link fences also, something the PW-II sometimes has trouble with in my own experience. CyberSyncs also fire 100% of the time from one HS football endzone to the other. Never had an issue. CyberSyncs are every bit as reliable as PW-II, and somewhat more reliable than PW-II in winter temps, again my personal experience. (I use CyberSyncs in temps as cold as -32F with no problem.) I bought the PW-II because I sometimes need their advertised 1,600 ft. range. I've been finding that quite often their range isn't near that in the field though. The CyberSyncs have relay mode and I get them to fire reliably from 700 ft. They reliably fire for me at 150 yards (measured on a 200 yard rifle range.) I would advise you to get the CyberSyncs because you can save so much money. The PW is WAY overpriced for it's performance. Again, I own and use both, side by side. You can try the CyberSYncs for 60 days I think, and get a refund if you're not happy. If you buy Paul Buff monolights (such as Alien Bees) you can not only fire the lights from up to 150 yards, but you can also adjust the power levels with their CyberCommander! I don't need that capability myself so didn't get it. I'll finish up by saying that I've been using CyberSyncs for well over a year now and never had one fail in the field. I've used them in heavy rain (under plastic bag,) in blizzards, in temps down to -32F, and just about every situation you can think of. They work.
Kent in SD
Below photo: I triggered a flash through two chain link fences.
Flash was placed in the stands behind home plate. I took the
from outside the fence in centerfield plus about another 50 feet.
CyberSyncs fired 100% at this distance and conditions. (Flash
is in center of the photo.)
I've never used the Pocketwizard II or Plus systems. Started with the original 16 channel Pocketwizard s when my Quantum RadioSlave IV's kept failing (sometime in mid 1990's) and LightTec in Houston recommended the Pocketwizards. After tha t iwent to the MAx and then the MultiMAX.
kasakato wrote:
I'm using the new "eBay" triggers - the RF602. They are much better built than the previous generation of eBay triggers, and operate in the 2.4GHz band. They will auto focus with half a push and the remote is not too hard to hold.
Thanks for the tip ... these look very nice. Here is a review I found:
The RF-602 are said to be the best of the cheap triggers. I've not read anyone complaining about them. Just make sure they have enough range for what you want.
Thanks everyone for the continued discussion. I have decided to go with the cybersyncs for now and save a little money. I may purchase some PW in the future but will give these a go for the time being. Really wanted to go with the new PWs but all the problems they have had scared me off. I would assume that they will correct the issue more permanently in the future and I may reconsider then. Thanks again for everyone's input.
After reading about the Yongnuo RF-602 triggers in this thread I ordered a set. I've had them for a little while now and just wanted to provide a little feedback. They are great! They work flawlessly for me and are nicely made. They are small and lightweight. I picked up one controller and two receivers. In remote shutter mode, you use a supplied custom cable that goes from the receiver unit to your camera. The receiver has a hot shoe foot and can be placed in your hot shoe giving you a very nice and custom looking solution.
This is the link that I used to make my purchase, but there are many eBay sellers of the same product. I thought others might be interested in what they look like.
