The Pocket Wizards come in 4 different versions, the Plus II, MultiMAX, Mini TT1 and Flex TT5. The first two are the 'old fashion' ones and the last two are the new versions which support ETTL.
Everything comes nicely packed in a box. Inside you find the Pocket Wizard, 2 AA batteries, a lanyard and a velcro-kit to attach the PW to your system. They also sell separate systems to attach your Pocket Wizards to your system.
Pocket Wizards are mounted on the hot shoe of the camera. The first time I screwed the Pocket Wizard on my camera I noticed that the part with the screw thread was made of cheap looking plastic. I only read about one mishap with this part when a snowboarder landed on a remote triggered camera and the 'foot' of the Pocket Wizard broke off. Maybe it acts as a safety feature to protect the rest of the Pocket Wizard and the hot shoe of your camera. Although having this in mind, I would like to see this made out of a better material on the next generation of Pocket Wizards.
The on and off switch is a bit cheap looking too in my opinion as you can see on the picture. When using it in the field it feels flimsy. Every other switch on the Pocket Wizard is decent, why didn't they use the same materials for this one?
On the front of the unit you find the test button, a channel selector and a transmit mode selector. The test button comes in handy to test the connection to the flash or to remote trigger a camera. On the Plus II you can select 4 different channels, more than enough for most photographers. If you are going to use the Pocket Wizards on locations where you suspect more users will be present, like on football pitches, you will be better off with the MultiMAX. The MultiMaxes have much more channels so the chance you are on the same channel is much lower.
The transmit mode selector determines which attached units are being triggered. You can select both, remote or local. If you remote trigger your camera, using another PW, and at the same time want to remote trigger a flash you need to set up your PWs at 2 different channels. The first channel is the link between the PW and your camera. The second channel, which is one number higher then the first channel, will trigger the PWs that are attached to your flashes. This build in function, called the Relay Mode, comes in very handy because otherwise the camera and your flash will not be synced for 100 %.
The PWs are not cheap! The prices vary around € 200 for one so you are at least spending 400 euros. I found it a bit disappointing that for that kind of money you only get the Pocket Wizards and not the necessary cables. I know that you need different cables for different equipment but you should get at least one cable with it and while ordering you should be able to choose the type of cable you want. In the USA you get as standard a jack to pc cable so why can't they in Europe?
I also bought a cable that allows me the remote trigger my camera. It allows me to shoot a close-up and a wide-shot at the same time using 2 cameras. On this cable there is a switch. When it is switched off the camera acts normal, when switched on the camera acts like the release button is pressed halfway.
The use of the Pocket Wizards is very easy and they always work! I have never had any misfires and they have a large range (about 500 meters). Although I have never used them further than 125 meters. The Pocket Wizards can match a speed up to 12 frames per second. They are powered by 2 AA batteries which will give you a battery life of 60 hours, which is sufficient. Pocket Wizards power down after 40 hours when they didn't receive any radio signal.
If you want to trigger your flash remotely, there isn't a better way then using Pocket Wizards. If the lighting changes a lot you maybe want to consider buying the ones that support ETTL.
I mainly use the Pocket Wizards to remote trigger my flashes when I'm in the studio or on location. From time to time I also use them to remote trigger a camera of mine so I can get an angle that would otherwise be impossible. For instance during a concert without a front stage I placed my camera in between the monitor speakers and triggered it remotely while I was shooting from the side with another camera. Every time I took a picture with my camera, the remote camera triggered. Of course it gave me a lot of pictures with bad framing but I also got some unique pictures that other photographers didn't have.
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If you have some more questions or comments feel free to contact me!.