RadioPopper PX system is shipping...

[MarkAlsop]

I noticed today (Sunday, 1/25/09) that the RadioPopper PX system is now shipping in the USA – so I ordered a transmitter for the ST-E2 and 3 receivers for the 580EX II Speedlites in my lighting kit. I did not have any of the P1 components so this will be my first experience with this type of triggering device.

I have been very unhappy with the IR commo used in the Canon Speedlites. I have tried all sorts of ways to deal with this, especially outside in the sun, none have been overwhelmingly successful and nothing will ‘fix’ the distance issue or the line-of-site issue (which is often a problem shooting people in an office environment).

As a result I have been looking for alternatives for about a year now. The list was narrowed to QFlash, Pocket Wizard and RadioPopper P1.

Each of these has one or more drawbacks. Pocket Wizard does not implement ETTL and is an add-on. RadioPopper P1 did implement ETTL but was also an add-on and seemed a bit of a kludge to me. QFlash was a complete replacement of the Speedlites, the cost and some web chatter about their implementation of ETTL put me off.

With the announcement of the RadioPopper PX system late last year I reconsidered that option. Less of a kludge this time around, greater distance, multiple RF channels – it seemed to be the best compromise for what I wanted. So I added 3 580EX II units to my lighting kit and waited for the PX to ship, which happened this last week ...just in case anyone wants to know.

[MarkAlsop]

I received three RadioPopper PX receivers and one transmitter last Saturday, 2/14/09. I have played with them and they all work as they should but I haven’t pushed the distance to see if they really work at 1700 feet, but I have no reason at this point to doubt that they will.

I did not like the mounting arrangements supplied for the Canon 580EX II strobes. I worked out a different method that is a big improvement IMHO. I have taken photos of my arrangement and put them here. The method I used will only work on Canon 580EX II strobes.

I used some ‘industrial strength’ ‘tacky back’ 2” wide Velcro I got at Staples. It seems to be the same stuff Leap ships with their RadioPoppers.

I’m very happy with the units now that I have reworked the mounting system but they won’t win any kudos for their construction and build. They look and feel more like a prototype system than a finished product except for the antennas, those are very nice. I’m sure that the folks at Leap Devices will be improving the packaging if they sell enough units and I don’t see why they won’t unless Canon and Nikon undercut them by incorporating the same technology into upgraded strobes, something I don’t expect to see anytime soon since Canon has just released the II version of their flagship 580EX strobes.

A different method would be required for the original 580EX strobes if you want a really good method of attaching and detaching the RadioPopper PX receivers on these strobes. There just is not enough flat-surface on the front around the IR signal receiver to make a firm Velcro attachment for the PX receivers.

I think I would use some modeling clay to take a negative mold of the front around the IR receiver and cast it in plaster. After that I would fill the plaster cast with potting epoxy to get a shape that would give me a flat surface around the IR receiver then hold the whole thing in place on the front of the 580EX with a very large patch of the loop side of Velcro fastener material, carefully placing a hole right over the IR receiver and with enough extra material on each side to wrap around to the sides of the 580EX body. That would allow the receiver to be firmly mounted up-side-down but slightly off center to accommodate the off-center placement of the RadioPopper PX signal light on the back of the receivers.

Since I have 3 580EX II strobes I don’t think I’ll bother doing the above for my older 580EX units.

[MarkAlsop]

I did more testing of the new RadioPopper PX system –at night.

Tested the high-speed synch up to 1/8000 and it worked perfectly; there was even lighting across the entire frame.

Tested the RF through walls at a distance… three 580EX II strobes, each with a PX receiver attached, were tested as a group, controlled from an ST-E2 with a PX transmitter attached. The three strobes were located inside my house, each one pointed at different window on the front of the house, each in a different room.

With the camera/ST-E2/PX transmitter located across and up the street a bit –approximately 130 feet distant from the PX receivers– all basic modes were tested at a distance through the front wall of my house. (1) The ratio was set on the ST-E2 and varied between A and B for several shots without any problems, then (2) the ratio was turned off and all three were fired, the C unit producing a full, unadjusted flash as described in the 580EX manual, and finally (3) the test button on the ST-E2 was used to fire a test flash from all three of the strobes in sequence, which also worked perfectly.

I will note that if the strobes are firing at their full output you need wait long enough for them to recycle. In so far as they cannot be seen there is no visual feedback. The PX transmitter only tells you the signal was sent successfully, not that the strobes actually fired, let alone when they have fully recycled.

For the long distance test one strobe was placed inside the garage and pointed at a window that can be seen for a long way up the street. The house lots here run about 66 feet wide so the distance can estimated with some accuracy.

The strobe fired 100% of the time from 300 feet up the street, through the garage wall. The antenna orientation up to this distance did not matter, any direction would do.

Between 300 feet and 460 feet the antenna orientation on the PX transmitter became increasingly fussy –it needed to be oriented on the same axis as PX receiver antenna –for this test the orientation was vertical. At about 460 feet the PX receiver started missing signals and within another 10 feet or so it was not firing the strobe at all.

So the PX transmitter can be up to something like 450 feet from the PX receiver –the length of one-and-a-half football fields– and still communicate reliably through one wall of a house. Leap Devices claim 1700+ feet in their press release for the PX system –maybe one wall attenuates the RF signal more than I thought it would. Still, the distance this PX system tested at successfully is more than I will ever need. Furthermore this distance is in the same ballpark as the new MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 units just announced by PocketWizard.

And speaking of PocketWizard –I have to say I was wondering how they would respond to the RadioPoppers. The PocketWizard units are actually less expensive than the RadioPoppers (at B&H) and they appear to be considerably better built. According the PocketWizard web site they do everything the RadioPoppers do. The smaller size of the RadioPoppers is the only small advantage I can see for them over these new PocketWizards. I may soon be testing the PocketWizards.

[MarkAlsop]

Another Update…

I have done more testing with the RadioPopper PX system and find it very easy to use and nearly flawless in its performance, my quibbles with the construction and mounting notwithstanding.

Some pointers for anyone that wants to use this system…

1) Either get the newly released mounting system Leap is supplying for the PX Receivers or take a look at my velcro system here. I have decided that my own velcro system is faster to setup and works just as well as their new, and much more professional attachment system.

2) If you use an ST-E2 as the sender with the PX system you may want to mask off the IR window completely (the upper, dark window that sticks out over the focusing light window). I found that the ST-E2 could trigger the 580 EX II strobes most of the time from near-by with the receiver window completely blocked with light-proof tape. Apparently some light can leak up from the focusing light window on the 580 EX II strobes. I do not think the older 580 EX (I) strobes will have this problem due to the separation between these two windows.

If you use a 580 EX II strobe as the master/transmitter you may have to mask off the focusing light window on the slave(s) to prevent misfires using the PX system. The camera never uses the focusing lights on slave units so this should be a reasonable workaround.

Note that this is not an issue with the PX system, it is that the 580 EX II does not have a light-tight separation between the focusing light’s window and the receiver’s window.

Finally, there is a comparison between the RadioPopper PX system and the new Pocket Wizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 system here. It looks to me like Pocket Wizard dropped the ball on this one. In my own testing I did not achieve the distances with the RadioPoppers they did in this video but I was (1) testing on a street that has every imaginable RF interference producing wires strung all over the place, (2) the test situation was through my garage wall, and (3) I did not use the RadioPopper's ability to search for the channel with the least interference. Even with all that I was able to get reliable triggering out to 460 feet, more than the Pocket Wizard’s did under ideal conditions.

[Paul Kuroda]

Hi Mark,
After bad experiences (now not refunding a cancelled unfulfilled order) with the folks at Radiopoppers, I went with Pocketwizards and I love them. It is well built as you say, and has USB port so that you can upgrade your firmware without having the hassle to send them in and being charged $35 and faced with downtime. RP won't promptly answer my emails or return calls. This to me is not professional. I don't want to be charged for every little improvement they make that should have been there in the first place. This is a good example where a company places itself on a pedestal.

But most importantly, with all this aside, if I went with them, my built-in PW in my Profoto packs
will not be triggered and I'll have to go backward in time in worrying about connections and settings which will occur at the worst possible time. Of course the PW Flexes you can still use your other PW's since you don't lose your hot shoe on the camera.

My first shoot with the PW Flex was impressive in a large auditorium and close group shot. They too will sync at 1/8000 with the proper bodies. I don't find myself shooting a flash setup beyond 300 ft often if any. But if I did, I will choose manual strobes with PW's receivers.

Also they are releasing soon a well-made, thought out, rf containment filter barrier for the speedlight at a very modest price (with no RP handling fee) to make the range even better. Whenever I email a question to PW, they respond first thing the next day (opposite time zones). For years, the people at Mamiya gave me the best most supportive service. I'll stick with good guys and pro gear.

[Paul Kuroda]

After a bad experience with the folks at Radiopoppers, I went with Pocketwizards and I love them. It is well built as Mark said, but it has USB port so that you can upgrade your firmware without having to send them in and being charged and faced with downtime. RP won't promptly answer my emails or return calls. This to me is not professional. I don't want to be charged for every little improvement they make.

Besides, if I went with them, my built-in PW ini my Profoto gear will go backward in time and I have to check connections and settings. Who wants that.

My first shoot with the PW Flex was impressive and the support I get from that company is top notch. I don't find myself shooting a flash setup beyond 300 ft often if ever. My Flexes work with all my PW's Plus II, Multimax, and built-ins just fine. I'll stick with the pro gear.

[MarkAlsop]

I have had a few problems with the RadioPoppers too.

The Transmitter will drain its batteries in a matter of a week or two just sitting on the shelf. Leap Devices did replace the transmitter but the new one does exactly the same thing.

Leap Devices also replaced one of the receivers for the same reason and because it would sometimes cause the battery to become very hot, but it does not drain the batteries nearly as fast as the transmitter and the other receivers have also caused the batteries to become hot during very light used (not many flashes, not lots of flashes all together).

I did a test on the transmitter before contacting Leap Devices: Two sets of fully charged rechargeable batteries, tested with a meter to insure they were fully charged, each set was installed in the transmitter and checked to see that the transmitter returned the same battery test value on them, then one set was simply stored on the shelf in a good battery storage case while the other set was left in the RP transmitter. After a couple of weeks the set in the transmitter was completely drained (both batteries) while the set on the shelf was still at full charge. When the spare set was installed in the transmitter the battery level was the same as it had been two weeks before. Also, it is not just rechargeable batteries, the transmitter has also completely discharged non-rechargeable batteries in about the same amount of time.

In spite of the very cheap housing I like the RPs because they are so small and do not add to the height of the strobes when the shoe is used to mount them to an umbrella setup (not so far off-axis to the umbrella as with the PWs). I do not leave batteries in them when they are stored, even overnight. A bit of a nuisance but for the time being I’ll live with it.

I’m sorry if my initial review resulted in unhappy photographers, Leap Devices seem to still have some technical issues to iron out that were not apparent when I first reviewed the system …and they really need better packaging.