Radiopopper JrX & Flash Gun in Tandem

Photographing a wedding, it’s important that you have equipment that works as fast as you. The same works in reverse. You need to be able to push your gear. Ask a seasoned professional why they use the gear they use, and you’ll get an answer pertaining to its speed and reliability. Pertaining to image quality, there isn’t a whole lot of difference between a Canon G1 X and a dSLR. Looking at the speed of the two, they are quite a bit different, which is why wedding photographers have to use them. Even with a fast camera, you need a fast lighting system.

I’m a big proponent of off-camera lighting. It’s more flattering, dynamic and natural looking. There are several ways to get your camera to talk to your lights. The first is by using a PC Flash Sync cable, but these have a tendency to tangle and break. Going wireless, the two common solutions are by PocketWizzard and Radiopopper. Both have automatic and manual offerings, and both have their advantages. I like using my lights in manual, as its affords me the most control over my scene, which is why I’ve chosen the Radiopopper JrX system. It’s transmitter is simple and quick. One big caveat of it, is that it occupies your camera hotshoe.

During a dimly light reception, my camera might hunt back and forth for a focus point. Put a 580EX on top of the camera and its infrared focus assist fixes the issue.  Focusing is fast and spot on. The problem now, is I’m back to square one with on-camera lighting again. To combat this, I’ve recently started using a flash bracket with a PC Sync Cord connecting my camera to the JrX transmitter. This gives me the best of both worlds. I then power the on-camera 580EX down to 1/128, or just bounce it off the ceiling, using only it only for its focus assist capabilities.

The cable I use can be picked up from FlashZebra and features a locking PC port adapter, eliminating it from slipping out.