Phottix Atlas Review - Part 1: Introduction & Build Quality

[Zman]

Up till now, Pocketwizards have dominated the photographic world by producing the most reliable flash and camera triggering units with the furthest range. Phottix recently announced a challenger to the throne with a product aptly named as the Phottix Atlas. So can the measly Atlas actually take on the mighty Greek gods known as Pocketwizards Plus II units? Read on to find out!

Red Dot Photo recently acquired a few Atlas units for testing, and I've been using two of them. These were told to us as being a final production sample, but we're received word that Phottix has been tinkering with the units ever since we gave our feedback a few days ago. For the purpose of the review, I also recently purchased 3 x Pocketwizard Plus II units to compare with these Atlas units.


INTRODUCTION

So what are these units all about? Triggering off-camera flashes and cameras remotely. Want to get that 3D look? Take your lights off camera with the Atlas and angle them to the side. Want to get shots from behind the soccer goalpost where nobody is ever allowed to stand? Rig a remote camera setup with the Atlas and trigger from halfway across the field. The creative possibilities are endless!

Ever saw those TV shows like "America's Next Top Model" or "Project Runway" where the photographers had antenna units sticking out of their cameras? Chances are that they're probably Pocketwizard Plus II units. Now with the Phottix Atlases coming out onto the market at lower prices with practically the same features, you might see some of them used even on TV.

BUILD QUALITY

Once I opened the package containing them, I was pleasantly surprised. The build quality of the units seemed better than that of the Pocketwizard Plus II's themselves (referred to as PWs from now on).


The first thing I noticed was that it had a metal hotshoe. This is a very nice touch above that of the PWs because those had plastic hotshoes. The rotating locking mechanism is also significantly larger allowing for easier rotation and thus, a more secure lock-down.

Going up from the hotshoe, we see a white switch and a button. They're both very self-explanatory. The switch handles the radio grouping (Group 1, 2, 3 or 4) while the button handles the manual triggering of flashes or remote cameras. It's called the test button. All buttons and switches are easy to depress / change with bare hands (I have no need to use them while wearing gloves yet). The swithces do not stop "between" options.

Above the switch is the status LED light. Once the unit is turned on, the light blinks, making it very easy to spot your setup in a totally dark room.

Above that is the main thing that really puts the Atlas a notch above them PW plus IIs for small flash strobists. It's a hotshoe! It triggers any flashes which are center-pin triggered (which includes all Canon and Nikon flashes) and works really well. Any flash wanting to work with a pocketwizard plus II needs to have a PC sync port or a hotshoe-to-3.5mm adapter.

And above that, the glorious Phottix brand tag. Ahh...



At the top, we have 3 ports. The flash in/out port (3.5mm), the flash in port (3.5mm) and the camera shutter trigger port (2.5mm). We still haven't used the flash ports yet, but we're told that it performs exactly like the hotshoe would. Right now we are unsure if the hotshoe would be disabled if a jack is plugged into the flash ports. We will test and update this review accordingly.

The camera shutter trigger port is made to be 2.5mm because Phottix do make other products such as their Cleon II wireless shutter remotes that use the 2.5mm to camera shutter port cables. Do note that this cable is NOT PROVIDED and thus would have to be purchased separately. I'm told they cost ~SGD12 per wire.



On the left of the unit is the on/off switch. We're told that Phottix modified this side a bit with another switch. We will update the review once we know what the added switch will do.



On the right side of the unit is the DC 5V port. We're not told if we're supposed to use it without the AA batteries or if it would be safe to power the unit with the AA's still inside. Why use DC power when there are AA batteries inside? (which we're told can last more than 50 hours on a full charge)



At the back of the unit is the battery cover and the tripod socket. The latter is self explanatory: it allows you to mount the unit onto a tripod or a tripod quick release plate.



The battery cover is easy to... err... operate ( ? ) but doesn't completely come off the unit so we won't be looking at lost battery covers as a problem here.

The batteries are easy to put in, but they are one of the most difficult sets of batteries to remove after that. I had to resort to using a flat-edged screwdriver or scissors to pry them out. The batteries are so deep in that using your nails would only lead to pain, anger and a whole load of screaming and cursing, leaving the batteries themselves lodged in the unit, unmoving. Do yourself a favor if you have one of these units. Keep a thin coin or a scissors somewhere within reach!



So there we go. You simply slide the unit into your camera's hotshoe (with the interface towards you / the back of the camera) and rotate the locking mechanism in.



Indeed it does make a gripped camera look somewhat like a large skyscraper with them lightning rods and antennas on it. Quite cool looking, to be honest.


So how do they perform in the real world? Come back for the second part of the review (:

I'll leave you with a photo of the Phottix Atlas and the Pocketwizard Plus II side by side:



Cheers,
Zexun

[Brown Bear]

lovely preview.

Shall camp here for the meat! Performance data please!

[Poseidon]

Great review! Promoted to Article on the front page

Look forward to your next part!

[Zman]

Thanks guys, second part should come very soon. Managed to test it in an urban environment with about 50m reliability, completely failed at 70m (pocketwizard plus II failed at 150m), as well as a interference free soccer pitch with 120m reliability.

[Zeus]

[Zman]

How we tested (on the field):

Canon 580EXII flash unit mounted onto Phottix Atlas via hotshoe, placed on box (antenna horizontal), 1/128 power
Phottix Atlas placed on 1D2n + 24-70mm lens, single shot, 1/250 shutter speed
Walk 25m, shoot 3 shots, chimp, report to videocam

Summary of results:
100% sync all the way to 100m, got a single no-sync at 125m out of 4 shots


How I tested (along a stretch of HDB estate):
Canon 580EXII flash unit mounted onto Phottix Atlas via hotshoe, placed on lightstand, antenna vertical, 1/16 power
Phottix Atlas placed on 1D2n + 70-200mm lens, single shot, 1/250 shutter speed
Walk 25m, shoot 3 shots, chimp

Summary of results:
In a heavy interference area, both pocketwizard plus II units and phottix atlas units became slightly more unreliable. Even at 70m, the pocketwizard was giving me some no-sync shots. However, at about an 80% success rate, the Phottix Atlas went up to 70m, while the Pocketwizard Plus II went up to 150m.



Hope this helps!

[TeddyTan]

I have some Atlas with me here and I've tested your concern above

" Right now we are unsure if the hotshoe would be disabled if a jack is plugged into the flash ports. We will test and update this review accordingly."

For my units, if i plug one flash into the flash in/out port and the hotshoe, both fires. if I plug one flash into the flash out port and the hotshoe, both didn't fire.



Teddy Tan
www.teddytan.com.au

[Zman]

Ahh I see. Thanks for the update! Appreciate it a lot (: