[res3567]

This is why this forum is so cool. When Flashwaves was mentioned by the OP, my first thought was Peter Zack.

Sure enough Peter responded. People on this forum who know info on certain products will usally ALWAYS respond!

[WMBP]

Thought I'd post a quick follow-up.

Initially I ordered the FW-1B product from G9Chon's web site:

G9Chon - FW-1B

May be a fine product but I ordered it by mistake. I thought "FW" stood for "FlashWave". And since the FW-1 is numbered "1" and the other product on their site is numbered "2", I thought I was ordering the first version of the FlashWave product. Wrong on both counts.

The FW-1B is NOT a "FlashWave." The FW-1B is (apparently) a new product, designed to be less expensive than the FlashWave line of products. Again, the FW-1B may be a fine product, but I would not know because I wasn't able to use it. It does not come with a hot-shoe adapter, so I wasn't able to connect the receivers to either my Pentax 540 FGZ or my Metz 58 AF1.

I hope this report of my experience keeps somebody else from making the same mistake I made.

*

The folks at G9Chon told me I could buy hot shoe adapters for the receivers but that was going to cut into the price advantage of the FW-1B products and then I'd have something not as easy to use or as powerful as the FlashWaves were supposed to be. So I sent the FW-1B stuff back (and paid not only $10 to ship it back but also the 15% restocking fee) and ordered the FlashWave 2 product. I bought 1 transmitter and 2 receivers.

The FlashWave 2 stuff arrived on the weekend. I just got a few minutes to open up one package, put the transmitter on my K20D and attached my Metz 58 AF1 to one of the receivers, using the built-in hot shoe connector.

Result? In about 2 minutes (seriously) I was able to take a photo of my living room with the flash off camera and controlled by the radio trigger. I don't see how it could be much easier. Color me pleased.

No review here: I've only taken a couple of quick photos, just to make sure things work.

Thanks to those who have helped me get here.

Will

[davidxgreen]

I understand this is compatible with my Metz 58 and the K20d but I'm wondering if any of you know if I can use a Metz 32Z as a second flash (I guess I need a second receiver for that, right?) or perhaps my Bowens Mono 400D as the key light and the metz 58 as a second flash? I'm new to all this wireless bizness so please bear with me.

Alternatively, one of the Metz's on camera and the other or the bowen wireless 50 feet away using the flashwaves... (then I'd only need one transmitter and receiver kit for $189 right?)

It's all doing my head in a bit. Thanks for any help.

[WMBP]

I understand this is compatible with my Metz 58 and the K20d but I'm wondering if any of you know if I can use a Metz 32Z as a second flash (I guess I need a second receiver for that, right?) or perhaps my Bowens Mono 400D as the key light and the metz 58 as a second flash? I'm new to all this wireless bizness so please bear with me.

Alternatively, one of the Metz's on camera and the other or the bowen wireless 50 feet away using the flashwaves... (then I'd only need one transmitter and receiver kit for $189 right?)

It's all doing my head in a bit. Thanks for any help.

David,

With radio triggers you can use almost any flash unit you've got. I use a couple Pentax flashes, a Sigma and an old Nikon flash.

However I don't know how you would put one flash "on camera" if you're shooting with radio triggers. The transmitter mounts in the camera's hot shoe. Perhaps there's some way for one device or the other (either the transmitter OR a flash unit) to be connected to the camera by a cable - but I have not done it.

If you buy the basic FlashWave 2 kit you get 1 transmitter (mounts on the camera in the hot shoe) and one receiver (which has its own hot shoe to which you attach a flash unit). If you never go beyond this, you've made an important step forward: you can now put the flash where you want it. That means you can put it BEHIND the subjects, or around a corner, or you can hold it in your left hand way off to the left while shooting and get a picture like this one that I took at a Halloween haunted house. This shot's nothing special, just a snapshot taken inside the haunted house, not a studio portrait. Still, it would have been impossible with the flash on camera. Bouncing would have diffused the light too much (usually exactly what I want bouncing to do but not desirable here).

Note however that this particular shot COULD have been taken using optical triggering, since it was (obviously) dark enough for the optical triggering to work. But I regard optical triggering now as a backup to the radio triggers which are generally much easier to work with.

Will

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Last edited by WMBP; 11-04-2009 at 04:05 PM. Reason: Added response regarding flash unit model

[davidxgreen]

hey thanks very much for the info about flash waves. I'm waiting for my metz to get back from the shop but will look into all this in about a month again. sure seems like the way forward though, you're right!