A month or two ago, I went and bought an umbrella, light stand, sb24, and FOOLISHLY was talked into getting this Wein Peanut from my local camera shop . I had heard how unreliable they were, but figured maybe not so much so, since they were selling them & they're a pretty reputable shop. The thing is almost total junk, and it's not helping my practice at all, since I get maybe 1 or 2 fires off in about 20 or 30 shots.

I also have a D70 & sb600, if that helps. I could probably use the nikon setup with the two flashes, but I wanted to be a little more flexible.

Is there a good system out here that's less expensive than Pocket Wizards? I will probably just step my way up to that level once I get my strobist act down good. I just don't want anything else as unreliable as the peanut.

the cheapest reliable option is a long sync cord. I know we all want wireless, but if you can't afford more sometimes that's what ya gotta do. Strobist has a good tutorial on converting a cord to work with a household extension cord--this would allow you to add unlimited length to your sync very inexpensively.

Otherwise I've heard mixed reports about the ebay slaves... you might check into those more. (Perhaps someomne here can offer experience?)

Lastly, watch radiopopper.com as they're talking about releasing a cheaper pocketwizard alternative later this summer....

When you do get the nice slaves, you won't be dissapointed. They are worth every penny.

good luck.

If you really want to go wireless...I went with the Elinchrom Skyports, they are much more affordable than pocket wizards and more reliable than those ebay cactus wireless triggers.
http://www.ephotocraft.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=719821274346

Gadget Infinity Cactus Radio Triggers. I've heard mixed reviews, but for the price (~$40 per set), I had to try them. Once I read the directions and started turning the pieces on in the right order, I haven't had any problems. They seem great to me. I wouldn't buy them on ebay though. Sounds like they're less reliable then. I would definitely recommend a backup set, especially at that price.

Barring being able to afford Pocket Wizards the Gadget Infinity Cactus Radio Triggers are your cheapest decent option other then a sync cord (hate them). The GICRT works fairly well now but you won't get the distance out of it as you do other remotes. However for most portrait work you won't have a problem. The SkyPort's by Elinchrom are fall between PW's and teh GICRT's but have good reliability, good range, and if you later purchase Elinchrom digital series strobes they work great with them and you can even control the power output of the strobe from the transmitter! IMO the second option gives you a decent price point and if you grow into strobes later you won't have to also grow into a better remote system. I've used PW's btw since their introduction with no complaints or regrets but they are pricey.

Thanks everyone, I'll definitely look into these and see what might work best. Its good to know that for the $$ PW are very reliable & well made though - I don't think I've ever heard a complaint other than the price factor.

On a whim and a low budget, I bought one of the Poverty Wizards (Gadget Infinity Remotes). I haven't had a single misfire in perhaps 1000 frames (barring the times I shot faster than my flash's recharge rate!).

That said, as soon as the Radio Popper Jr. is available, I'm getting a couple and I'll give the Poverty Wizard away.

By the way, if you haven't yet, make sure to check out Strobist - just make sure to set aside a decade or so to read through everything there. Lots of good articles, discussion and links for the info you're looking for.

Argh....I just reread your post where you wrote "my strobist act." Um, I'm guessing you've been there, so ignore that link!

Here's a couple you may not have heard of yet (though they get linked on Strobist sometimes): Flashflavor - absolutely awesome, especially on the inspiration front! Digital Pro Talk - David Ziser sometimes posts some really helpful things related to off-camera flash.

Have fun, and welcome to OSP!

Wrong! There are 2 kind of flavours when it comes to Skyports. There is the universal one and the others are named RX for the Ranger Series. You cant "grow" into controlling the strobes with the universal ones later.