POCKET WIZARD PLUS II OR MiniTT1 and FlexTT5

<h1><span style="font-size: 12px;"]Now that Bryan posted the release of an update to the Pocketwizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5, I think it is a good time to ask people that are experienced with both the Pocketwizard Plus II andPocketwizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 which one works better.</h1>





I have two Elinchrom 400BX and two Canon 850EX, I will like advice on whether to use thePocketwizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 to control my 2 580EX or use the Plus II. I prefer thePocketwizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 because it still keeps the ETTL II functionality but the reviews I read say it is not as reliable as Plus II. On the other hand if I use the Plus II, I loose the ETTF functionality.


Thanks

The reviews are correct: the TT1/TT5 do not have bulletproof reliability. There's a learning curve to extracting the best performance possible, things like setting your camera to not auto-power-off, setting the flashes to not auto-power-off, choosing low-interference channels, aiming antennas, etc. There's also a learning curve to the TT1/TT5 units in general - sync timing, second-curtain settings (which are really convenient, BTW; I love the safety net of not having to enable SCS or HSS manually, and being able to have both SCS and HSS enabled simultaneously). The software isn't the most intuitive, but you can learn it with time.


I think the question is this: how far away will your flashes be? If &lt;200', TT1/TT5 are a great choice, and the feature set makes them a very worthwhile choice. If 200-400', I'd suggest using ONLY the FlexTT5 units - the MiniTT1 is sexy and small, but doesn't have the reach of the FlexTT5 in my observations.


FYI, we have three Canon SLRs and four 580/2s. I started with three Flex units, thinking I wanted to stick with AA-powered gear. I quickly added a MiniTT1 and really liked it. I later added two more Flex units, so I could use two cameras and four flashes on a regular basis, and could buy a trigger cable for the second camera, triggering off the Flex. I'm now contemplating another Mini, and desperate for a pair of the ZoneController units.

Between HyperSync, FP/High Speed Sync and Rear Curtain SyncI am drooling! Throw in the ZoneController and you have the ultimate in versatility!!


Quick question peety3, will the FlexTT5 wake up a sleeping Speedlite?

I think they'll wake up a sleeping Speedlite. I've had more problems on the transmitter end, especially when it's a Flex and the camera underneath goes to sleep. When the camera wakes up, my Flexes were ignoring it. I'll see if I can lab it up this weekend and give you an answer.


They are definitely units to drool over, but I almost think you need a laptop on-site if you're doing anything more than a simple single-camera setup. The new auto-camera-detection simplifies some things (I had to dig out my Rebel one time when her 40D was in the shop and my 1D3 was on loan for two days; second-curtain sync was a disaster because of the different shutter timings so I had to keep my shutter speeds between 1/100th [faster than my SCS threshold at the time] and 1/200th [to stay safely below hyper-sync territory which was programmed for a different camera]), but sacrifices some of the improvements (1/400th is the upper limit for hyper-sync in auto camera detect; the 1D3 can easily handle 1/500th but has to be chosen manually).


I had an event recently where it was a three-camera four-flash shoot (camera 1 had a high umbrella; camera 2 had a high umbrella; camera 3 had an on-camera flash and a stand-mounted flash - I was one Flex shot to put both off-camera). Thankfully I'd programmed some of my Flexes to transmit on different channels, so I used those to train the receivers onto the different channel, giving me three separate channels on-site without a laptop to reprogram. That does mean that I have to be a little regimented about my gear - each unit is lettered (Minis) or numbered (Flexes). Flexes 1 and 2 are programmed to receive on my typical channels but transmit on different channels, so they get assigned as third-camera transmitters or under-flash receivers. Flexes 3/4/5 are programmed to TX/RX on my typical channels, so they're all-purpose units.


To me, the ZoneController is more than just versatility: it's a money-saver, time-saver, arm-saver, and Mini/Flex-saver. To recreate the supposed ZC functionality, I have to commit a 580 flash onto my on-camera Mini/Flex ($400 vs. estimated $75), navigate the 580's menus (slower than setting flash menus via the camera's screen, far slower than just spinning some knobs on the ZC), weighing down the camera, and stressing the connections above/below the on-camera Mini/Flex. Plus, the on-camera flash still flashes, at least the last time I quickly played with it (while outside in inch-an-hour snowfall), yuck. We recently did some holiday family portraits for friends as a two-camera four-flash shoot (key, fill, 2xBackground). We had to do manual flash settings on all four flashes to get the balance we wanted. Then, if we wanted/needed to change DoF, we had to change aperture and inverse-change ISO. If we wanted to have E-TTL, we would have had to buy two more flashes ($800, or perhaps $560 if we just bought a pair of 430s to serve as our background flashes). An estimated $150 for a pair of ZoneControllers would have been so much better.

Peety3


Who makes zonecontroller, I am trying to research it and it looks like you recommend it over the pocketwizard?

It's an accessory that PocketWizard is making.


It'll go on sale October 2009. Nope,


It'll go on sale December 2009. Nope,


It'll go on sale March 2009. Maybe.


http://www.pocketwizard.com/news_events/news/dec_updates/


[Edit: Oops, should have added for clarity here: it's an accessory that sits on the on-camera Mini/Flex and manages the E-TTL or manual flash balance for remote-adjustable flash units.]

To elaborate a little further, Canon's stock wireless flash system offers both E-TTL and manual flash settings.


In E-TTL mode, it's possible to split your remote flashes into two or three groups, A/B/C, with group C being optional (unavailable to ST-E2, it requires a 580 or 580/II as trigger). It's assumed/recommended that the C group not be used to light the subject. On-camera flash can be a part of group A, or merely a trigger point. Adjustments are set using flash exposure compensation (FEC), A:B balance, and (A:B):C balance (i.e. C is balanced relative to the A:B level), all using the existing flash metering methods and modes. As a result, if the A and B flashes are striking the subject in different ways (i.e. A is snooted to light the head, while B is gridded to light from shoulder up), A:B can be challenging to adjust. Newer cameras (from the 40D forward) offer the option to set this using the camera menus, which can be quicker and easier to understand than the flash menus. Slave flashes are always assigned to one group, A or B or C. If ratios (groups) aren't enabled on the trigger, all flashes (that receive the trigger signal) fire. If ratios are enabled as A:B, I don't think the C group will fire.


In Manual mode, the flash levels can be set relative to full power (1/1, 1/2, 1/4, etc.). Remote flashes can be split into A/B/C groups. Groups can be set to very low power (i.e. 1/128) but can't otherwise be turned off AFAIK.


There was no way (that I know of) to have Canon's stock system trigger some flashes via E-TTL and others at manual power (either set on-flash or from the camera) without aftermarket tricks.


The ZoneController, supposedly, allows easy off/ETTL/manual settings per-group, with some sort of spin wheels for adjusting the group balances. Amongst other things, it may become an expensive but easy/safer way to turn off remote flashes for a particular shot without having to change channels or turn off the on-camera Mini/Flex (necessitating 1-2 calibration shots before the E-TTL and timing variables are aligned).

I not sure if I am getting the gist or just getting more confused but I am setting up to try group A/B to see how it works.

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Originally Posted by Mark Elberson

Quick question peety3, will the FlexTT5 wake up a sleeping Speedlite?
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I'm going to experiment a little further today, but my basic understanding is that the FlexTT5 will keep the flash awake continuously, unless a Mini/Flex sitting on a camera receives an indication that the camera has gone to sleep. Only at that point will the PW let the flash go to sleep. I set up a scenario yesterday where I put a Flex under a 580, test-popped it a few times from my Mini, then turned off the Mini. Three hours later, the Flex and 580 were still on. I do need to re-check my settings though, as I may have disabled or delayed the sleep function.

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Originally Posted by peety3

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Originally Posted by Mark Elberson

Quick question peety3, will the FlexTT5 wake up a sleeping Speedlite?
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I'm going to experiment a little further today, but my basic understanding is that the FlexTT5 will keep the flash awake continuously, unless a Mini/Flex sitting on a camera receives an indication that the camera has gone to sleep...

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Thanks so much! I was (still am) seriously considering the RadioPopper JrX system because being able to control the output of my Canon Speedlites at the camera is very appealing to me. I know for a fact that they will not "wake" a sleeping Speedlite because I emailed their customer support. This is not a deal breaker but I'd really like to have it. What I don't get is that the RF-602s on eBay say that they will wake a sleeping flash gun. It surprises me that not all of the big players have this built in to their systems. Anyway, the Flex system from PW is about three timesthe cost of the RadioPopper system but it's about 10 times as robust! Having both the option for wireless E-TTL and manual controls all on the camera (via the yet to be released ZoneController as I have no interest in mounting a 580 to my camera to execute these functions) is truly amazing...on top of the countless other features that set this system apart from the others.

Mark,


The component to control flashes from your camera with the JrX has yet to be released (I believe as I stopped checking a while ago). It's apparently a "cube" that goes below the flash unit that plugs into the JrX. Great, another item to take up space in my already full bag.I have a couple of the JrX receivers and one of the transmitters. They are plenty handy in manual mode, have plenty of reach but I find myself wanting to get the MiniTT1 and Flex TT1. Simplicity and more control.

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Originally Posted by Graydon

Mark,


The component to control flashes from your camera with the JrX has yet to be released (I believe as I stopped checking a while ago). It's apparently a "cube" that goes below the flash unit that plugs into the JrX.
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Ha! So did I...ok so maybe I look once a month or so :-) Amazingly the 1st time I emailed them to try to get a better answer than what the website posted (6-8 weeks) I was told 6-8 weeks! About 9 weeks later I sent a follow up email and was told again 6-8 weeks. I'm done with email. Aparently this is par for the course for RadioPoppers. They really should consider holding back on making esitmates if the never seem to follow through. Luckily I'm in no hurry. I'm currently doing just fine with my CTR-301Ps. I'm just lazy and hate walking over to my flashes when I want to change my settings [:P]

<span style="color: #0000ff;"]peety3


One more question:


Do you know (or have you heard) if the range and/or reliability of the Flex system increases when using manual mode as opposed to E-TTL?

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Originally Posted by Mark Elberson

Do you know (or have you heard) if the range and/or reliability of the Flex system increases when using manual mode as opposed to E-TTL?
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Yes, it's theoretically a 50% increase. From http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=7-9884-9903:


"<span class="data"]The official range of the MiniTT1 transmitter, when
sending to Plus II and MultiMAX receivers and therefore using Standard
channels only, is about 1200ft (about 365m). When transmitting to a
FlexTT5 in a wireless TTL configuration, which means ControlTL channels
and Standard channels are being used (in this mode, the MiniTT1 sends
both ControlTL and Standard signals), the range is about 800ft (about
240m)."


That said, I had a few trigger misses the other night on a family portrait shoot, in a room that's about 11'x24'. Four flashes in use, all manually set: a key light (580II, with CP-E4 battery and PW AC5 soft shield), a fill light (580II, with CP-E4 battery and PW AC5 soft shield), a low background light (580II), and a high background light (580II, with PW AC5 soft shield). Interestingly, now that I think about it, it was the high background light that seemed to miss the most often. For the sake of mention, neither background flash had a CP-E4 to speed the recharge, and two cameras were in action for much of the night, so a variety of factors could have led the flashes to be not ready to fire.

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Originally Posted by peety3

That said, I had a few trigger misses the other night on a family portrait shoot, in a room that's about 11'x24'. Four flashes in use, all manually set: a key light (580II, with CP-E4 battery and PW AC5 soft shield), a fill light (580II, with CP-E4 battery and PW AC5 soft shield), a low background light (580II), and a high background light (580II, with PW AC5 soft shield). Interestingly, now that I think about it, it was the high background light that seemed to miss the most often. For the sake of mention, neither background flash had a CP-E4 to speed the recharge, and two cameras were in action for much of the night, so a variety of factors could have led the flashes to be not ready to fire.

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In this scenario I would certainly hope that it was the flash's inability to fire due to recharging time rather than the Flex system failing.Under the circumstancesyou described I would expect an ST-E2 to perform fairly well.

<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"]<span style="font-size: small;"]Below is an exchange between PocketWizard and myself:

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Originally Posted by Mark Elberson

Will the FlexTT5-Canon allow a Canon flash to go to sleep (Power Save Mode) and then wake it up when the shutter button is pressed half-way?

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Originally Posted by [email="customer.support@pocketwizard.com

<span style="font-size: small;"]customer.support@pocketwizard.com[/email]<span style="font-size: small;"]]
Thanks for your inquiry. Yes, our radios will allow a remote Speedlite to sleep. The flash can be woken up by half-pressing the shutter button on the camera. You'll need to enable Flash Idle Timeout Mode on the FlexTT5 attached to the Speedlite. It's under the Flash tab in the PocketWizard Utility.

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