I just received a set of flashwaves wireless slaves today, and I wanted to share my initial impressions.

For comparison, I've used the ebay "Cactus" triggers, Pocket Wizard Transcievers, and now these.

The flashwaves transmitter is very nice and compact - just slightly larger than the ebay transmitters. They have an external antenna which is moveable, and a nice dial for the 10 channels. It has a very sturdy feel, even more so than the PWs (which always seemed to give under the slightest pressure).

The receivers are extremely compact - I was quite surprised. They are about the same size as the flash head on a 580ex (width and height) and only about 1/2" thick. Again, surprisingly sturdy.

A few nice surprises:

The receivers have a 1/4" threaded mount underneath. While this wasn't a surprise, included in the box was a coldshoe->1/4" adapter, so you can put the receiver in any hotshoe/coldshoe mount. It also included two adhesive coldshoe mounts, presumably for mounting on a monolight.

It included a coiled 1/8"->1/8" male plug, which works perfectly in Alien bees monolights. It also included a 1/8"->1/4" adapter, as well as the standard pc port.

From what I've seen, these can trigger three lights at once (one in the built-in hotshoe, one by the pc terminal, one by the 1/8" terminal). Nice touch, especially for multiple battery powered flashes on a monopod.

The transmitter uses a specialty battery, but they come with two - one in the transmitter, and an extra in the box. They aren't so crazy that you can't get them from wal-mart or radio shack, but they aren't AAAs (which the receivers use). Nice that they give you a spare though.

The receivers have an indicator light on the front, which blinks occasionally to let you know that it's on. It's positioned well, so you can easily see it from across a room, without being a huge distraction.

Shipping was extremely quick - only about 4 working days. Not bad for shipping from korea.

Just some intital impressions, I plan on putting them through some serious tests later this week. I just wanted to share, in case anyone is thinking about these.

Shan