Stupid Gear Question

<p>This may be a stupid question, but bear with me. </p>

<p>Friday night as I was watching the local team play in the state HS Hockey semi - finals (we lost) - The TV camera switched to the "sideline" reporter standing in the photo bay. </p>

<p>As the camera zoomed out a little, you could see a photographer standing with a DSLR, Canon, with a pocket wizard on the hotshoe. On the side of the lens was a second pocket wizard looking device with a cord going somewhere. No logos were visable, while the one on the hotshoe had a clear PW logo. </p>

<p>I'm puzzled as to what the 2nd PW / device could be or would be used for? Would it be for a 2nd bank of lights? Or is it some kind of anti theft device to protect the gear if the photographer needs a bio break? </p>

<p>The photographer was holding the camera and shooting, so I don't think it was a remote for triggering the camera. </p>

<p>In years of sports shooting, never saw a rig like that, and I've seen a lot, including a homemade hotshoe video camera mount. </p>

<p>Dave</p>

 

<p>could it have been a wireless trigger receiver that he didn't remove? I have a similar setup (camera, L-bracket, receiver on the L arm (in case I'm using the hotshoe and its cord going to the Nikon 10pin connector on-camera)</p>

<p>Howard -</p>

<p>That's the only thing that makes any sense to me. I wish I had taken a photo of the screen (I rewound and paused). </p>

<p>Not that it really matters to me what it was, more curiousity than anything.</p>

<p>Dave</p>

 

<p>Could it be a remote control for a remote camera?</p>

<p>possible - but then the cord would not make sense - assuming that the camera is nowhere near the photographer. The other thing that seemed to rule this option out for me is the location of the remote on the barrel of the lens. </p>

<p>I'm leaning toward a 2nd remote / trigger that he just didn't remove. At first I thought it may have some kind of a remote for zooming or focusing the lens or protection to make sure the camera didn't "disappear" when he went on break.</p>

<p>Dave</p>

 

<p>Pocket Wizards don't work with lenses. There's nothign to connect it to on a lens and nothing that it is designed to control. And with most lenses, there is really no place to easily mount it. But with that said, here's a thought:<br />The first PW in the hot shoe was controlling either lights or a second camera body mounted remotely as you would expect it to.<br />IF the lens had a tripod collar (many larger lenses do), the photographer could have used a double-ended screw stud to mount the PW to the tripod collar (the PW has a tripod socket). The cord would have connected the PW to the camera PC socket. And the PW could have been controlling either lights or a remote camera the same as the one on the camera.<br />The purpos of a second PW could have been to simultaneously control something on a different channel than the first PW, maybe so he could fire one on some shots but not other shots. Mounting it on the lense would have just been a matter of preference. He could have easily have put it on a flash bracket or wherever else he had room.</p>

<p>The PW on the body is to fire a remote goal cam and the second off-camera PW is to fire another remote goal cam at the opposite end? Another possibility is that the second off-camera PW is simply an alternate firing method to the on-camera PW when the photographer isn't firing the camera immediately in front of him and only firing the remote goal cam via that off-camera PW. I do the latter quite often for soccer. It'll be interesting to hear what the guy actually did though.</p>

<p>Are you sure it was a pocket wizard, the most likely answer is that it was a file transfer system, i use one from the touchline, my laptop is in the press room and as soon as i shot an image it is sent via a wireless network to my computer so that i do not have to waste time uploading the images at half time to get them to the picture desk!</p>