Radio Poppers - First Look - They WORK!!!

[MyKey]

Well TriCoast is out in San Diego right now teaching our wireless flash/video light/marketing and other goodies hands on workshop. Started at 12noon today and its is 1:00am now so its been a long day.

Kevin King the inventor of Radio Popper showed up at the later half of the day and brought his Radio Poppers with him.

I could not wait to get these little things hooked up to my camera gear and try them out. With so much hype and rumors about them working or not working, etc I wanted to see for myself what they were all about.

So we hooked up the system (again to MY camera gear) and without ANY problems I was able to get ABOVE 1/200 or 1/250 shutter speeds (high speed sync) control my wireless flash output by the Master flash unit on my camera and have complete radio wave controls.

In other words THESE BAD BOYS WORK AND WORK WELL!


We have video and lots of pictures but honestly I am so tired and with two more days of workshop I need to get some sleep but I wanted to tell everyone YES THEY WORK AND WORK WELL from what I was shown and from what I did today.

These Radio Poppers will truly change how I shoot, how I teach and well just about anything else when it comes to wireless flash!

Truly and amazing product.

More later I promise but I just wanted to give a little feedback on the test demo we did today!

REAL QUICK TEST SHOT!

Nothing special here on the shot, but I wanted to show you a test shot I took today. Wireless Flash with Radio Popper Receiver mounted on it off to the Camera Left, sensor on the flash was taped up (covered) to show that the IR was not in the line of sight with the Master Flash Unit. Master flash had the IR sensor taped up and covered and with the Radio Popper Transmitter simply velcroed to the top of the flash. Shooting across the room I took a shot. The first shot was too bright (too much wireless flash power) so I simplied lowered the flash output power on my 580 MASTER flash attached to my camera, took another shot and got the correct amount of WIRELESS FLASH output to reproduce this image.

Again the image is nothing out of this world but in a VERY QUICK and my VERY FIRST test run of the Radio Poppers I was able to use my MASTER and WIRELESS 580 flash units as I always have but now I do not need to worry about the line of sight.

So I have all the control of the IR system of Canon and Nikon BUT now I have radio wave signal, so to say, with the added Radio Popper on it.

Again I AM VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS PRODUCT. There is a learning curve but overall seeing where this product is going and what doors it could open up I was like a kid in a candy store during this shoot!

More to come soon I promise!! (and no I am making any money off this product just wanted to give my open and honest thoughts on this product test)

[Sonny]

I can't wait to see pics and vid!

[Concisus Cognatus]

Did Kevin mention anything about the progress of and potential release date of the junior model version?

[JPalmer]

Freaking awesome....

Kevin has said before that they won't really even be working on the Jr. until the P1 and P8 are put into consumer production.... just be patient... it's coming.

Frankly though... all along they've said the reason they're going to sell the JR at the ridiculous price point was because they knew they'd make a ton of money with the P1 and P8.

Given the results... I'd say a lot of folks will be trading in their Pocket Wizards for these.

[a2rob]

Great news!
Glad to hear that they work.

[J Eddington]

Not even fair, then you have to go and tease us!!! Please tell Kevin that TX gets dibs on the first ones!

[a2rob]

Heck, that picture is awesome.
and you say, nothing special!

Keep posting!

[Redmouse]

More photos here.

[Teddington]

Looks like very cool stuff.

[DeLeon]

I need these!!

[MyKey]

www.strobist.com

and our blog

www.tricoastphoto.com/blog

We got more photos and information

They are WAY COOL!

[MyKey]

OK since I started posting some of this information on the internet my email has been getting filled up with questions about this subject so hopefully I can answer some here about the different methods of wireless flash for outdoor portrait lighting and the pros and cons of each one. All I ask is for you to read, figure out which one works best for your style of shooting and have fun with it!

BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON DIFFERENT WIRELESS FLASH METHODS:

Built in System of Canon or Nikon (The IR System)

Advantages:
eTTL or iTTL - giving you more correct flash power on all shots over manual without having to worry about light changes or distance from flash to subject.

HighSpeed Sync (only way to get it is this method) - allowing you to shoot wide open f/stops in ANY type of light and having your shutter speed ABOVE the normal flash sync speed which is either 1/200 or 1/250 of a second. So this gives you those wonder blurry backgrounds since you can shoot at f/2.8 with a VERY fast shutter speed.

No Extra Cords: Everything you need is built into the flash units and you can control multi-units with one Master (Canon) or Commander (Nikon) unit.


Disadvantages:
Line of Sight and Distance - you have to have both Master/Commander flash and the wireless one pointing towards each other due to the IR system. With this system you can only have a range of about 30 feet which is much harder to see each other outdoors. Indoors the IR signal bounces off walls and such so you can get better range and some angles even by bouncing the signal.


This is the method that TriCoast's Workshops are based on and our speaking engagements around the country (RI, SD, PA, NV, IL, NH, TX, LA)


Pocket Wizard Method:

Advantages:
Radio Waves: 1500 or more feet of secure and constant trigger waves. So you do not need to worry about line of sight or any thing else. Goes through walls and around corners. Giving you the advantage of "hiding" flash units in many locations where the IR system simply can not do.

Disadvantages:
No Highspeed Sync: So you are limited to your camera's flash sync speed of 1/200 or 1/250 of a second. So in order to get proper exposure you have to use an f/stop of usually f/11 or higher leaving you with a VERY big depth of field. To make an effort to get those wonderful blurry backgrounds you have to use a very long focal length and even then you do not have the nice background as the IR system.

All Manual: No eTTL or iTTL so you have to shoot on manual which limits you to flash burn and other incorrect flash output. Using a softbox is more of a must with this method to help even out this problem. You can get eTTL or iTTL using the Q-Flash system with all the proper connections, however this method still does not allow for HighSpeed Sync.

Extra Cords: You need at least one extra cord to hook the PW to the wireless flash (more if you shoot Canon and do not have the new 580exII) leaving more room for problems when on the go.

This is the method that Zack (the One Light Workshop) is based on.


Summary:
OK so as you can see both have some MAJOR advantages and MAJOR disadvantages. Blending both together would be the "best of both world" the "holy grail" of wireless flash shooting. Welcome to what the Radio Popper will do! An individual or new system which used with the Canon or Nikon flash units to make wireless flash much more fun and secure.

It will give you all the controls of the IR system including eTTL/iTTL and the so valuable HighSpeed Sync function but blend it with the Radio Waves (around 200-500 feet) of what the PW's have giving you.

Truly if this item works it will be the BEST OF BOTH METHODS leaving the PW's good for making your studio lights wireless but never having to take them outside again!


We had the inventor, Kevin King come out to our workshop this past week in San Diego to be one of the very first groups to ever see these in person and THE VERY FIRST WORKSHOP to actually test and use them.

Here are some of the images from the event:





The Inventor Himself - Kevin King


Shutter Speed: 1/8000 of a second -- f/stop: f/2.8 -- ISO: 50 ---- Yes pushing the limits of all settings on the camera in the worst lighting you could possibly think of - directly into the mid-day sun and STILL Getting amazing color and FLASH with ALL Controls as you normally would with just the line of sight IR system of Canon or Nikon but now with the Radio Wave security. AMAZING flexibility and control for outdoor shooters.


If you shoot outdoors, Kids, Weddings, Seniors, WHATEVER these little devices will allow you to shoot anytime of the day giving yourself the chance to make more money and make your clients happier!



Also check out (www.Strobist.com) for some updated information on these products or of course our blog at www.TriCoastPhoto.com/blog

[a2rob]

Mike

Are you planning any wireless workshops in TX this year?

The fiber optic wire looks odd, care to elaborate on that? Is it flimsy?

Rob

[MyKey]

Originally Posted by a2rob

Mike

Are you planning any wireless workshops in TX this year?

The fiber optic wire looks odd, care to elaborate on that? Is it flimsy?

Rob

Planning on a few in Texas this year, just nothing set in stone yet but I will announce it here first when I do.

on the fiber optic wire it is made up of around 48 tiny little plastic lines which are VERY HARD to break or damage. Given if you bend it in half it will cut down the light but honestly I just used the Velcro on the end of the wire and stuck it to the inside of my camera bag and it is so small and out of the way it is like its not even there.

Its not NEAR as bad as you think, very hardly actually. The only thing that scared me is when new and you bend it for the first time you hear popping noise as if your breaking them. Actually it is just the separation of the fibers from the outside plastic coating and it is just rubbing and causing a friction somewhat. Basically harmless to your items.

[Wes]

Maybe I missed it, but was there something in here that tells me why the Radio Popper is better than a Pocket Wizard? I guess I should really be asking what makes it different than a PW, which would probably explain why it's better.

Thanks.