I have 3 flashes; what can PWs do that master/slave functions cannot?
 

Exactly what the topic states.....I've been meaning to look into this but havne't had time and now I am in New Jersey and will be visiting BH; looking to get some PWs....possibly....

act as an off camera trigger. In order for ur master/slave to work you'll need something to trigger ur master ie. attach it to the camera, which is good if you need an on camera flash. when you dont, then how else do you think u can trigger them?

Thanks for your reply; I am quite new to flash photography....

Right now I can use the on camera flash as trigger only, without the flash registering in the photo. So how would that be different...?

it wouldnt, just that u waste 1 of ur flashes...

and also ur flashes use IR transmission to trigger the slaves. So the flashes need to 'see' each other. if 1 is blocked or in another room for example, it wont work. Pocket wizards, wireless triggers are radio transmission so they dont have to see each other. you can trigger off a reciever downstairs if you like. Are you just not wanting to pay teh $300 for pocketwizards? if so, there are other alternatives you can go. For the super cheap stuff, you can get Cactus triggers. They can be had on ebay for $50 for the newest V4 type. Or next step would be Alien bee trigger/recievers, run you about $120 a pair. Get a set of cactus v4's i'd say. Use them until u feel like you grew out of them. They're more than adequite for everyday/non commercial use. I havent had a problem with them. Another thing is you'll loose ETTL ability with the wireless triggers, so everything has to be manually set. I never use TTL anyways when im doing studio setups.