We have had a love/hate relationship with this product for a few months now. When we first bought these two units last year, it was advertised with the capabilities of off camera ETTL capabilities with pocket wizard reliability. So the 5byseven team invested in a couple of mini and flexes. However, like many others, we found out first-hand about the RF interference between the 580EXII units and the pocket wizards made them unreliable. My shots were blown out or the flashes would not fire. So we put them back on the shelf for a while, disappointed in their unreliability. However, PW has recently shipped the “RF Sock.” It really looks kinda silly but it works. The idea is to wrap your 580EXII with the sock which prevents the RF interference between the 580EXII and the flex. We finally did some test shots last week with my always-willing nephew, MooMoo.

The photos turned out great. We used a 5D with a 135mm, F/2. What’s great about the mini and flex is that you can shoot wide open at apertures like F/2 and the PW flex is able to sync at higher sync speeds for the right exposures.

We now can see the potential for these little units and are finally feeling confident enough to start using them for our shoots. For more info from the pocket wizard website, click here. 

The RF shield or “RF sock” wrapped around a 580EXII with a PW flex.

135mm, F/2. 1/500 second shutter speed. Bare speedlite, camera right.

135mm, F/2. 1/500 second shutter speed. Bare speedlite, camera right.