I finally did it.  I placed my order for the RadioPopper PX system tonight.  It was painful in the checkbook but I’m excited!   I placed my order tonight and hope to have them in my hands by the end of this week!  

UPDATE: I’ve  received my Radiopopper PX system.  I’ve posted an un-boxing video and a distance/performance test you might find interesting.

My decision between the RadioPopper ttl and PocketWizard ttl systems was a tough one.  Making it harder was the inability to actually have either in my hands to do a try-before-you-buy but RadioPopper guys give a 30 day money back satisfaction guarantee (and I suspect the PocketWizard folks do too).  There’s no doubt that for regular O’l radio triggers, PocketWizard is the gold standard – that’s hard to ignore but the  RadioPoppers are young, hungry, and I like to root for the underdog especially when he’s playing so well!  That with the fact that the PocketWizard for the Nikon hasn’t been released and the Canon version has apparently stopped shipping because of some sort of communications problem I decided to go ahead and pull the trigger on the RadioPoppers.

I’ve been watching RadioPopper closely for about a year now starting with the RadioPopper P1 system and the PX system.  The reviews on the RadioPoppers have always been very positive for both the PX and the P1.  I really haven’t found a review that was bad.  There are some complaints about the mounting method (Velcro) and the way the menu system works (too complicated for just two buttons) but that seems to be about it.  The RadioPopper guys are addressing the mounting issue with a new mounting system in the works.

The RadioPopper effective distance seems to be great, the reliability is reported to be excellent.  The thing that I like best about the RadioPoppers is the design choice of making them passive.  The RadioPopper system design seems to be superior in this regard in my opinion.  Because they “just” communicate by passing the pulses generated by the local commander to the flash and back.  This makes the system brand agnostic.  The RadioPopper doesn’t care what the pulses are trying to say, they just stand in the middle and repeat them.  The RadioPopper  PX doesn’t care if your shooting Nikon, Canon, or I’d bet anything else that uses light pulses (read electromagnetic pulses) to communicate with the flash.  I also like the integration with the Alien Bee lighting system that is soon to be released in the JrX.  When you put all that together I think I’ve got a winning system headed my way!

I promise a full review when they arrive and I get them figured a little!

UPDATE: I’ve posted an un-boxing video and a distance/performance test you might find interesting.