Betty during a studio test of the Phottix Atlas flash trigger

I recently had the opportunity to do some pre-release testing of the newly released Phottix Atlas Wireless Flash Triggers. Steve Peer, CEO of Phottix, is someone I’d known online for a couple of years, and he approached me about doing some testing for them. My first thought after agreeing was that the testing should be videoed, so I called Michael Geier and Peter du Preez from FirstZoom TV and arranged to both use their studio and have them make the video. We tested it in a studio environment with a single model, Betty, as our subject and assistance from colleague Dilip. Subsequent testing was outside on location just after dawn, and we also used them in a lighting workshop I taught at FirstZoom Studios where 9 photographers put them through their paces on 3 different setups. The video of the first test is after the jump. Incidentally, the video was filmed on a Canon 7D.

Since doing the testing, I’ve had the chance to put them through their paces some more, both in a controlled studio environment and on the job. A former US governor and presidential candidate recently visited Taiwan and I was hired by the organizers to photograph a series of portraits of him with some VIP guests. I chose to use the Phottix Atlas Wireless Flash Triggers instead of Pocket Wizards or my usual choice of Elinchrom Skyports and they performed flawlessly. They were also used last weekend in a studio shoot with Michael of FirstZoom and Carrie of My Several Worlds and again, they performed flawlessly. We had a three light setup going for that one and all units fired correctly each time. The photograph on my previous post What’s New In Lightroom 3 opens with an image from that session.

Here is the final set of photos from the testing session.

First Zoom – Phottix – Images by Craig Ferguson

These Phottix Atlas Wireless Flash Triggers are now available for a little over $100. If you’re looking for an alternative to Pocket Wizards but don’t want to risk using the unreliable e-bay triggers, check them out.

Disclaimer – I received 5 pre-release versions of the Phottix Atlas for testing. The test results and conclusions are based on my experiences using the unit.

Charles Verghese, a photographer in Dubai has also done some testing. Check out Part 1 here.