Pocket Wizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 on the job

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Archive 2009 · Pocket Wizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 on the job

K_Strecker
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p.2 #1 · Pocket Wizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 on the job

Ron Daniel wrote:
Mine are configured correctly, they just don't work reliably. You should send that to PW it use on there web site as their manual is terrible.

Ron

their manual is basic but that help button is where the real depth is. I wish more equipment manufacturers would go paperless, but I'm probably the minority in that respect.

Jun 19, 2009 at 06:04 PM

Bill Adam
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p.2 #2 · Pocket Wizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 on the job

I would have to say that I've gone from an initial unhappiness with the PW controlTL units to a mostly happy and even approaching delighted feeling. The rf interference was a real downer until I bought a superclamp and flexible extension arm to get the flex away from my 580 mkI. I already had an ETTL extension cable. The improvement in range was astounding. I lost count as I paced off the distance when testing with a mini on my 40D. Even with the 580 directly on the flex the range was consistently fine for any studio type work. With a 580 mkII on the camera with my mini the ETTL with ratios etc. works great.

The generic hypersync speed with my 40D is 1/250 sec. With the mini or flex on camera I show a very slight shutter curtain shadow at 1/400th sec. A bit of cropping takes care of that. Even 1/500 sec is sometimes usable as long as I compose the shot while keeping the curtain shadow in mind. When the mini or flex kick into hi-speed sync I dial-up +1 to +2 of FEC which takes care of the lower flash intensity unless I'm trying to work at too great a distance flash to subject.

I'm still a bit unhappy with the fact that I cannot trigger the flex with one of my PW plus II's or the PW cartridge in my Sekonic light meter unless I re-configure the flex to
fire with a standard channel instead of the ControlTL channel. Not a big deal as long as I remember to change the setting when needed.

Now that I've got all these variables implanted in my brain all I need now is a couple of shoots to confirm all this. I'm confident that the mini and flex will perform well and keep my happy.

Cheers!

Jun 19, 2009 at 09:28 PM

philllie1
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p.2 #3 · Pocket Wizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 on the job

@k_strecker: thanks for the settings;
is channel 20 the one that works for you best?

the manuals are ok, but I agree with ron that examples like the one you provided are really missing and would be helpful.

I have really not met another person (besides you

) that is really completely happy with the flex's

Jun 20, 2009 at 02:34 PM

K_Strecker
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p.2 #4 · Pocket Wizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 on the job

Yep, it's odd, since I had been told that the higher channels are further away from the RF noise. So I set it to 20 on day 1.

Then it was pointed out that the channel table in the help file lists channel 14 as actually being the highest frequency. So I tried it.

It cut my range in half. CH20 has been the best performer by a long shot. It's the difference between getting 30 feet with 580EX on flex, and 60+

From yesterday's test shoot. Some experimenting using 580EX inside an ezybox as off-camera fill

This image is copyrighted by the owner

Jun 20, 2009 at 03:13 PM

Cphoto1954
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p.2 #5 · Pocket Wizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 on the job

I'm also using channel 20 with great results.

Jun 20, 2009 at 04:38 PM

Ned Quick
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p.2 #6 · Pocket Wizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 on the job

I'd just like to add my voice to the chorus of disappointed PW customers. I shoot with a 5D Mark II and a EOS 1D Mark III and have found the range with my two 580EX II's to be limited to no more than 30 feet which all but eliminates PW's for sport shooting. (unless it's chess or tidliwinks) It took many hours of adjustments and juryrigging to get a modicum of consistency and even now, I'm never sure what is going to pop out of my flashes. When they work they are great, but predictability is the name of the game if you are a professional.

Unfortunately, I sold my PW II plus units to buy the TT1 and TT5's. I did it based on my experience with the Plus II's (rock solid) and trust in the truth of PW's advertising. (I was an early adopter). If PW didn't know about the problems before they put these units out they were truly negligent in their testing and evaluation process. (wouldn't it make sense to distribute a few hundred models to pros for testing before going to market?) If they did know of the issues we are dealing with an integrity issue which cuts much deeper into their credibility - it is after all the most valuable thing a company posseses. If this company has the audacity to charge it's customers for the fixes they issue to the defective products they've produced they are even worse than the US auto makers. Even they didn't charge for modifications they made to products they were forced to recall. For PW to charge for a "shield" which supposedly will bring their product into line with the specs they originally claimed is ludicrious at best and fraudulent in any other sense. I hope the user community will rise up as one in protest to this snake oil approach to marketing.

I want to like this company - I really do. But trust has to be earned and right now my trust in this company is at a tipping point. I appreciate that they have identified the problem and are working to solve it, but the cost of the solution should not have to be borne by their customers.

Jun 21, 2009 at 06:44 PM

philllie1
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p.2 #7 · Pocket Wizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 on the job

@channel 20 - users:
does it mean, you only work with one configuration? (or do you use a different channel for configutation 2)
thanks

Jun 22, 2009 at 06:27 PM

K_Strecker
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p.2 #8 · Pocket Wizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 on the job

philllie1 wrote:
@channel 20 - users:
does it mean, you only work with one configuration? (or do you use a different channel for configutation 2)
thanks

I don't have any need to setup C2 for anything different. Setting it for 19 should give good results as well if you want to have a backup in case you run into an event where someone else is using the system on channel 20.

Jun 22, 2009 at 08:39 PM

philllie1
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p.2 #9 · Pocket Wizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 on the job

ok,that makes sense. thanks for all your info.

Jun 22, 2009 at 10:20 PM

K_Strecker
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p.2 #10 · Pocket Wizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 on the job

I've borrowed a Pocket Wizard II Plus to do some exact comparative testing for both transmission and receiving.

I'll update with test results upon completion.

Jun 25, 2009 at 02:52 AM

K_Strecker
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p.2 #11 · Pocket Wizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 on the job

The test was pretty boring actually.

On the left I got about 200 feet out of the Mini transmitting to a standard PW

on the right I got about 230 feet with a PlusII transmitting to a standard PW

This image is copyrighted by the owner

The units really helped with an outdoor concert last night. They were under an ugly tent, with no real lighting inside. Overcast skies, in early evening.

On the left is natural lighting, on the right the lighting is supplemented with a 430EXII working double duty as fill and accent mounted in the tent using a superclamp.

This image is copyrighted by the owner

Jul 02, 2009 at 04:04 PM

Cphoto1954
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p.2 #12 · Pocket Wizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 on the job

Just another neat feature of the new PW TT5's.

I just tested my 5Dmk2 with a TT5 on top and a TT5 hooked into a WL X1600. I started my sync speed at 1/60 and went all the way up to 1/8000 with full sync and no issues. Very cool.....

Jul 02, 2009 at 08:44 PM

Eldor
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p.2 #13 · Pocket Wizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 on the job

K_Strecker wrote:
Here's the mini and flex on the job - outdoors!

a good ole ezybox w/ 580EX and the 430EXII on rimlight duty.

Very nice, Kurt. (I just now saw your thread.)

Was the 580 on or off camera? ETTL or manual mode?

Jul 02, 2009 at 09:13 PM

Eldor
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p.2 #14 · Pocket Wizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 on the job

Bill Adam wrote:
I'm still a bit unhappy with the fact that I cannot trigger the flex with one of my PW plus II's or the PW cartridge in my Sekonic light meter unless I re-configure the flex to fire with a standard channel instead of the ControlTL channel. Not a big deal as long as I remember to change the setting when needed.

I'm late to this thread and a new owner of three FlexTT5's and two MiniTT1's (plus a bunch of regular PW's and PWII's).

So far (and I'm still experimenting) I have C1 set to use a ControlTL channel for when I want to use ETTL. With ETTL there really isn't any reason to be using the handheld light meter so the fact that the meter can't trigger the flashes isn't really a big deal.

I have C2 set to use a standard Rx channel (matching the channel I use in my other PW's and in my Sekonic L-358) and it seems to be working fine this way. I can wirelessly trigger the flashes from my meter, another PW or a MiniTT1.

In fact, when I switch to C2 and the flash is still in ETTL mode, nothing works (I get a bunch of red flashes of the LED) and I have to switch the flash to manual mode.

Bottom line, less than 24 hours with the units and I'm liking them more and more.

Cheers!

Jul 02, 2009 at 09:31 PM

Eldor
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p.2 #15 · Pocket Wizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 on the job

K_Strecker wrote:
I don't have any need to setup C2 for anything different. Setting it for 19 should give good results as well if you want to have a backup in case you run into an event where someone else is using the system on channel 20.

Kurt, do you shoot exclusively in ETTL mode? Never in manual mode? My own experience with ETTL is pretty slim and most of my flash use has been fully manual, but now with the Flex and Mini units I'm anxious to experiement more with ETTL.

So right now I've got C1 set for ETTL (using ControlTL Rx channel 20) and it seems to be working well.

I have C2 set for manual use, with the Rx channel set to Standard channel 4 (the same channel I use in my other PW and PWII units as well as in my Sekonic L-358 meter). This allows me to use the meter to trigger the flash units for taking a reading.

Correct me if I'm wrong please, but the FlexTT5 units can only receive on ONE channel... either one of the ControlTL channels or one of the Standard channels. Is that right? If so, then I've got things set right. When shooting in ETTL mode, the units are using a ControlTL Rx channel (which my regular PW units and my meter cannot use) and when shooting in Manual mode, the units are using a Standard Rx channel (which precludes using ETTL anyway) which allows my regular PW units and my flash meter to trigger the flashes.

And this seems to be working quite well for me.

Jul 02, 2009 at 09:43 PM

K_Strecker
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p.2 #16 · Pocket Wizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 on the job

Yeah, i've had little need to go manual with the Flex and either 580 or 430EXII. The rational for using ETTL in stage-lighting is that when I focus on one musician near the stage in frame 1, and a musician on the far end of the stage in frame 2, they need to both get the same ammount of light. ETTL adjusts for this automatically, and does a damn good job of it.

You've got yours set up fine, though the strobes will continue to work in manual on your C1 flexes.

Also keep in mind that the mini sends *both* a controlTL signal and a standard PW signal, on two different channels.

So you can fire your ETTL flashes on Flexes on C1, while simulatenously triggering standard pocket wizards on manual strobes.

Jul 02, 2009 at 10:55 PM

Eldor
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p.2 #17 · Pocket Wizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 on the job

K_Strecker wrote:
You've got yours set up fine, though the strobes will continue to work in manual on your C1 flexes.

But the opposite isn't true... right? Meaning if I've disabled the ControlTL Rx channel and am using only a Standard Rx channel on the Flex, the flash must then be in manual mode. I've left all my gear at the office tonight but will experiment some more tomorrow.

In any case, even though the flashes would work in manual mode even in my C1 configuration (using a ControlTL Rx channel) from what you say, it wouldn't work for me because then my Sekonic L-358 with PW module wouldn't be able to trigger the flashes. So for my needs, I would really have to use separate C1 and C2 configurations, with one set to use a ControlTL Rx channel for when I'm shooting in ETTL mode and the other set to use a Standard Rx channel for when I'm in manual mode so that my Sekonic meter could be used to trigger the flashes.

Unless I've said something very wrong above, I think I'm starting to understand how this all works and I'm pretty pleased with it all.

Cheers!

Jul 02, 2009 at 11:22 PM

K_Strecker
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p.2 #18 · Pocket Wizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 on the job

seems like you've got it.

I'm pretty convinced that 90% of the issues people are having with these units is based more on the misunderstanding of how/why they work. You're 100% right about why they don't need triggering with the flash meter when in ETTL mode, yet it's a major point of complaint by people who have heard that it doesn't work and complain loudly about it without even owning the system.

But, as I mentioned, Pocket Wizard set it up in such a way so that you could . . .

have studio strobes lighting the background to get High-Key, use your light meter to trigger and meter them,

Then, without changing any settings, have your Mini fire the Canon flashes which are lighting the subject using ETTL . . . and fire the background flashes to get your white backdrop.

I've certainly been in high-volume situations using high-key backdrop where people don't pay attention to where they should stand ( X Marks the spot people . . . ) but they're still in front of the white background. Having them be lit by ETTL, and the background working in manual like normal, would be a great solution to this problem. Or a dancer who's jumping but not 100% predictably in front of that same background. If he jumps to close to a manually controlled light he'll be overexposed, but if he jumps right in front of an ETTL strobe he'll be perfectly lit.

Jul 02, 2009 at 11:27 PM

bugaglo
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p.2 #19 · Pocket Wizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 on the job

I realy like it, I have mini tt1 and PW plus, working with Broncolor packs and Whitelightning 2400 up to 1/1000 with my 1DII, interested if I'll buy Multimax instead of Plus will it go up to 1/8000?

Jul 03, 2009 at 04:07 AM

Eldor
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p.2 #20 · Pocket Wizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 on the job

Kurt, I really have just about no experience with ETTL flash shooting as everything I've done in the past has been fully manual. But based on your obvious success with this and the tips you've shared in this thread, I did some experimenting...

While my results were surprisingly good, I did run into some glitches which MAY be caused by the known problems PW has with the 5DII. I'll tell you what I was doing and perhaps you might be able to offer some comments.

Using a 580EXII on top of a MiniTT1 on a 5DII body, with a 430EXII on a FlexTT5 set to channel B, I used ratio control on the 580 to switch to A:B mode with a ratio of 1:2. I had the 430 off to one side of the subject to act as a bit of an accent light.

With the camera in "P" mode (I can't believe that I actually tried P mode!) the exposures looked really good. I switched to "M" mode on the camera with the flashes still in ETTL mode and with the same settings/ratios. Here's what I got:

1/160th @ f8 - Image was almost entirely black
1/160th @ f7.1 - good images
1/125th @ f8 - again a near perfect result
1/160th @ f8 - black band at the bottom of the horizontal image
1/125th @ f8 - image was almost entirely black
1/125th @ f7.1 - near perfect result

From my results it seems that not only is there an aperture-related issue (as is documented in the manual addendum) but that the results are inconsistent. And that's even more annoying than a known aperture-related problem (which hopefully would eventually be solved).

I sure hope the new firmware solves these problems and that it's available soon!

Jul 03, 2009 at 05:12 PM

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