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Archive 2012 · pocket wizards and remote shutter

  
 
CosmicCruiser
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · pocket wizards and remote shutter


I just bought 2 Flex TT5s and the patch chord from the TT5 to the camera. Now I'm a little ignorant as to how to make it fire the shutter . Does the TT5 on the remote flash become the transmitter? If so how do you fire it? Do I need another remote xmitter for the shutter?
New to off flash stuff.
Robert



Dec 25, 2012 at 12:06 PM
anndecrist
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · pocket wizards and remote shutter


I haven't tried it only with the TT5s, but with the PocketWizard transceivers, you would need 3 if you were including a flash as part of the scenario. One for the flash, one for the remote to trip the shutter and one to fire everything off. I've used it in a Church with the camera on the balcony and the transmitter in my hand to set everything off without the flash and in the studio with a strobe and again the transmitter in my hand to set off everything.


Dec 25, 2012 at 02:22 PM
alohadave
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · pocket wizards and remote shutter


You need a third unit for this to work.

One in your hand to trigger
One on your hotshoe, with the cord into the remote shutter release port of your camera
One connected to your flash

With the Plus III's the one in your hand, and the one on your camera are on the same channel, and the one(s) on your flash(es) are on one channel higher. I presume that the TT5's work in a similar manner.



Dec 25, 2012 at 02:59 PM
CosmicCruiser
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · pocket wizards and remote shutter


Thanks guys, I played around this morning and I found that to be true. What did confuse me was I had my 550ex off camera and manually pushed the shutter button. I was in Av and found the shutter still had a looong exposure and the flash fired twice. Why didn't the camera, 5D2, know the flash would fire and choose a shorter exp.V.?
I obviously have a lot to learn having not done a lot of flash photography period. Robert



Dec 25, 2012 at 04:00 PM
alohadave
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · pocket wizards and remote shutter


CosmicCruiser wrote:
Thanks guys, I played around this morning and I found that to be true. What did confuse me was I had my 550ex off camera and manually pushed the shutter button. I was in Av and found the shutter still had a looong exposure and the flash fired twice. Why didn't the camera, 5D2, know the flash would fire and choose a shorter exp.V.?
I obviously have a lot to learn having not done a lot of flash photography period. Robert


eTTL preflash accounts for the two flashes. The camera can't determine what exposure you really want, so it picks what it thinks is good, given the conditions.

Try going to www.strobist.com and read through Lighting 101 and Lighting 102. Then, do the exercises. You'll learn a lot.



Dec 25, 2012 at 08:22 PM
CosmicCruiser
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · pocket wizards and remote shutter


Thanks Alohadave. Will do. I hate to appear so ignorant of flash work but honestly never have done much due to the inability to get it off camera. Robert


Dec 26, 2012 at 09:56 AM
alohadave
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · pocket wizards and remote shutter


Don't worry about it. We all started out not knowing what we were doing.


Dec 26, 2012 at 12:34 PM
BrianO
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · pocket wizards and remote shutter


CosmicCruiser wrote:
...I was in Av and found the shutter still had a looong exposure and the flash fired twice. Why didn't the camera, 5D2, know the flash would fire and choose a shorter exp.V.?


It's the way Canons work. In P, Av, and Tv modes, the camera will try to set a good exposure for the background, and use the flash to raise the exposure on the subject, often at a "fill light" level. This is covered beginning on page 26 of the 550EX User Guide.

Many of us prefer to use Manual Exposure, where we set the aperture and shutter speed, even when using ETTL flash, so we can control DoF, motion, background level, etc., and the flash will then try to correctly expose the subject. If we set an exposure that will yield a dark scene, the flash will then automatically boost the light level, becoming the key light. If we set an exposure that will yield a lighter scene, the flash will then automatically adjust the light level to be a fill light. It'll always be our choice, not the camera's. (Of course, Manual Exposure and Manual Flash gives even more control, but that's another topic.)


CosmicCruiser wrote:
...I hate to appear so ignorant of flash work but honestly never have done much due to the inability to get it off camera.


As Dave rightly says, everyone was a beginner once. Ask away; that's what we're here for.

BTW, there are two books I like to suggest for people who are just getting into flash and really want to take it to a high level. The first is The Speedliter's Handbook, which is a Canon-specific text exploring all the bells and whistles of the Canon Speedlite system, and the other is On-camera Flash Techniques for Wedding and Portrait Photographers (title self explanatory).

http://www.amazon.com/Speedliters-Handbook-Learning-Craft-Speedlites/dp/032171105X

http://www.amazon.com/Camera-Techniques-Digital-Portrait-Photography/dp/1584282584

There's also a sequel to the latter, once you've mastered the first two:

http://www.amazon.com/Off-Camera-Flash-Techniques-Digital-Photographers/dp/1608952789

Edited on Dec 27, 2012 at 02:57 PM · View previous versions



Dec 26, 2012 at 11:53 PM
CosmicCruiser
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · pocket wizards and remote shutter


Thanks BrianO, It makes sense yet I kept thinking if I use Av then the speed wouldn't matter that much, no motion, and the flash "would know" but funny was the camera picked that long exposure and the flash shot once when the shutter opened and again when it closed. That really threw me.
I'll look at these sites. Robert



Dec 27, 2012 at 11:05 AM
BrianO
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · pocket wizards and remote shutter


CosmicCruiser wrote:
...the camera picked that long exposure and the flash shot once when the shutter opened and again when it closed. That really threw me.


The first one was the metering pre-flash, and the second was the actual exposure flash. If there's a noticeable lag between the two you probably have second-curtain sync (AKA trailing shutter sync) engaged.



Dec 27, 2012 at 02:55 PM
CosmicCruiser
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · pocket wizards and remote shutter


I'll get into the CF menu and chk that out. I just did a few shots of the dog shooting in M and that does work good.
Robert



Dec 27, 2012 at 05:05 PM
Michael White
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · pocket wizards and remote shutter


Another book for lighting subjects especially other than the human variety is Light, Science and Magic if IIRC the name correctly. The Speedliters Handbook will teach you how to use your gear the others will teach you how to light you subject.

And pick up any or all three of Joe McNally's books to see what you can light and how it turns out. These are great books to show some extreme lighting setups like a man working at the very top of the Empire State Building he is a master of the OCF( Off Camera Flash).



Jan 11, 2013 at 01:47 AM
Michael White
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · pocket wizards and remote shutter


The new manual covers how to hook up all the options for the various con figs you can come up with that will worl. You can trigger the shutter the the same flex will fire the flashes set to one channel higher than the channel selected for the shutter. I have plans to set my 40D up as a remote camera and trigger it either with my 7D in hand at the same time as the 7D or manually by a plus II. Both the 40D and 7D will share the same flashes at the same time.


Jan 22, 2013 at 10:32 PM





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