Last Updated on 07/14/2017 by Anthony Thurston
PocketWizard, once the gold standard in wireless triggering, has just released their new MultiMAX II – a move they are hoping can win them back some of the high-end market from more affordable competition. “The best is back,” they are saying, noting that the new MultiMAX II offers more features and incredible reliability at a lower price than the original – but is it enough? Let’s have a look.
According to the press release, PocketWizard’s new MultiMAX II will feature 32 standard channels and 20 ControlTL channels, Manual Power Control, and a new specially designed blue light LCD aimed at making it easier to read no matter where you are, from dark studios to bright sandy beaches. One big difference between the MultiMAX II and its competition is the frequency, at 344MHz you won’t get the same level of noise and interference in large crowded places like you may on a 2.4GHz based trigger (most of the competition).
Power Control is also a new addition to the MultiMAX II. The feature gives photographers the ability to control the power of ControlTL compatible radios and flashes in as many as three zones with unlimited groupings available to you within each zone.
But clearly, PocketWizard’s reliability and performance were never the issues for the majority of the market, even its feature set which was a little behind the curve in some ways was more than enough for most. The key issue for PocketWizard has always been the pricing and how much photographers were willing to pay for that reliability and performance over a lower cost alternative that also had most if not all of the features they wanted at a much more affordable price point. So, you are probably asking… How much does the new MultiMAX II cost?
The PocketWizard MultiMAX II transceivers will cost $229 and will be available starting July 17th in the US and Canada, with International availability expected in early September. The price is certainly better than it was before, and the feature set is certainly alluring, but will it be enough to pull photographers back from the comfort of their Godox, Yongnuo, Phottix, or Cactus systems? On the lower end, likely not; but Pocketwizard isn’t targeting the lower end with the MultiMAX II, they are targeting the higher end, and in the high-end realm the cost difference is not much different at all (The Phottix Odin II, for example, is only around $20 cheaper). It will be interesting to see how this shakes up the high-end trigger market.
More details and information can be had over on the PocketWizard website.