It’s all in my head

(Picture: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vstrash/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

It wasn’t totally in my head, or because of my head, but think I fixed a problem I was having with my PocketWizard Plus II flash triggers.

After buying a pair recently I experienced failures in maybe one out of every 5 to 8 pops. I couldn't figure it out. I tried: changing channels, replacing the batteries, using rechargeable batteries, swapping transceivers -- but it continued. 

During a recent shoot I just happened to be holding the camera a few inches from my face trying to compose a shot instead of mashing my eyeball up against the viewfinder. The flashes went off without a hitch. I kept shooting like that on a whim and they worked every time.

After posting on Flickr and talking to a few buddies I came to the conclusion it wasn't my head, but my Canon 430EX Speedlite that was the culprit. The PocketWizard people mentioned an existing problem with the 430EX and RF interference. (And this was happening before the recent MiniTT1 and Flex interference issue.) So with the existing RF interference and my normal human head interference -- it just too much for the PocketWizards to handle. 

I took the 430EX out of the equation and the problem seems to have resolved itself. But I'll keep my head on straight nonetheless.