Anyone using them? I read up on strobist about the new AC5 RF Soft Shield that PW is now offering to quell the RF issues many Canon users were having. Just wondering how well they are performing now that the issue has been addressed.
Mine are performing well even without any new modifications (got one from the original batch). However, the durability is not so hot - in 20+ years of photography I never broke a flash foot, and it took me one afternoon to break the base of the TT1. They replaced it for free but it was still a nuisance. Now I treat it like eggs.
The soft shields haven't arrived for me yet. Doesn't matter anyway, I don't have any interference issues with my 430EX II.
As for the durability, yeah. The FlexTT5/MiniTT1 are not very durable products. The foot is plastic ("glass-reinforced resin" = still plastic, and you're not fooling anyone). They feel cheap and the build quality is unimpressive for the actual cost of these devices. One of my FlexTT5's antennas won't stay in the down position.
That said, they generally work for me. But the actual value of these devices should be around $100-150, not $200, given how many corners they cut in manufacturing them. And that's coming from someone who generally *likes* what they do and is satisfied by their performance.
stanj wrote:
Mine are performing well even without any new modifications (got one from the original batch). However, the durability is not so hot - in 20+ years of photography I never broke a flash foot, and it took me one afternoon to break the base of the TT1. They replaced it for free but it was still a nuisance. Now I treat it like eggs.
Not the best news in regard to BQ, Stan A few questions...
-Under what conditions do/have you use them?
-Have you found the range to exceed 35ft?
-Have they been reliable--any notable weaknesses (apart from BQ)?
wickerprints wrote:
The soft shields haven't arrived for me yet. Doesn't matter anyway, I don't have any interference issues with my 430EX II.
As for the durability, yeah. The FlexTT5/MiniTT1 are not very durable products. The foot is plastic ("glass-reinforced resin" = still plastic, and you're not fooling anyone). They feel cheap and the build quality is unimpressive for the actual cost of these devices. One of my FlexTT5's antennas won't stay in the down position.
That said, they generally work for me. But the actual value of these devices should be around $100-150, not $200, given how many corners they cut in manufacturing them. And that's coming from someone who generally *likes* what they do and is satisfied by their performance....Show more →
Again, bad news in the BQ dept.
Have you had any experience shooting with them paired up with a 580II? The 430II has been said to put out much less RF interference than the 580's.
M Vers wrote:
Not the best news in regard to BQ, Stan A few questions...
-Under what conditions do/have you use them?
-Have you found the range to exceed 35ft?
-Have they been reliable--any notable weaknesses (apart from BQ)?
I use them only in the studio, actually, so I can't speak about range. I also use them outdoors as the base for my 580, because (as RG showed) they do something to reduce recycle time when used for fill flash.
In normal use in the studio I have occasional dropouts, as in, the camera triggers and the strobe does not, even though the strobe is less than 5 ft away and charged. So clearly the signal didn't make it for one reason or another. Also, I can't make my TT5 to work as a camera trigger. I have tried 3 different cables and none of them work, so I think I have a defective TT5 that I still need to send in (as I would like to use it as a remote camera trigger on occasion).
Seems to be the case with a lot of other users as well. Have you requested the RF shields yet? They may solve your dropout/misfire issue. The video posted in the strobist article seems pretty convincing.
I have been using the flex TT5 on my camera to fire Plus II transceivers at weddings. I have had no issues with range at all, but I find the units more of a hassle than I bargained for.
1) You can just put it on your camera and activate it and expect it to work. It takes some screwing around and a couple of shots before it starts working
2) You can't just turn it off if you don't want your remote flashes to fire because your on camera flash won't fire after you turn the flex off. You can change channels on the flex so that your on camera flash will fire but your remote flashes won't, but when you change channel back because you again want your remote flashes to fire neither your on camera flash or your remote flashes will fire without again playing with the test/learn button and firing the camera a couple times.
3) If you turn the flash off to shoot some available light stuff and then turn it back on, the flash won't fire until you screw around with the test/learn button and fire the camera a couple times.
4) The manual will tell you almost nothing about how to use this thing as a simple remote flash trigger, or about how to get everything to work. The flex only has channel 1 or 2 even though the plus II transceivers have four channels, so basically you lose two channels when using the flex.
These things are expensive, overly complicated and just plain fussy to use. I would not buy a flex TT5 again unless I relly needed to fire a bunch of canon flashes in ttl.
I have 4 TT5 Flexes currently and plan on getting a mini soon. I use them with the following Canon flashes 580EXII, 580EX, and two 550ex speedlites. I haven't had trouble with them firing once I set everything up correctly and did the test flashes as required and normal Portrait distances. I haven't tested my other than to see if it would fire from one end of my ranch style home to the other and it did without fail. I may do some more test on distances once the socks arrive so I can compare them with the socks and without with the same equipment and terrain. I can't tell you more than what I have experienced and tried. I do use the latest beta firmware on all four devices three were purchased together and the forth at a later time. I also added another 550 flash which doesn't effect them whatsoever from what I have read. It is like the 480 in that respect but can work as a master if needed but I normally use a ST-E2 unless I need the C group to be controlled from the camera position. Other wise the ST-E2 does everything the flash will do and I found that the price is dropping on them everyday. Pocket Wizard is also working on a different system with an insulated foot from the interference. It is a hard shield with the foot built in to it. I like the idea of the soft sock in that it will not take up much space in my ever crowed camera bag or more correctly speedlight kit. I have another lighting kit that has 3 Vivitar 285s and stuff for them in it and a studio light Speedotron kit. I can use the three in any combination or all together if the need arises. I still need more Pocket Wizards I figure a MultiMax for it's relay feature and several PW Plus IIs to use everything on radio triggers or use the eBay trigger that I have in my 285 kit in conjunction with the PW tt5s if everything is on manual as would be the case if everything is use together. But the 285's have been not used much since I got the Canon speedlights this year. I am still looking for more 580s and 550s I figure that 8 or night ettl 2 capable lights would be enough then some spares. Look at what and how many Joe McNally uses on some projects. He has an excellent set of videos oin using lights and speedlights over at KelbyTraining.com Well worth the monthly rate I went to the year supscription after using it several months in a row.
gene A. wrote:
I have been using the flex TT5 on my camera to fire Plus II transceivers at weddings. I have had no issues with range at all, but I find the units more of a hassle than I bargained for.
1) You can just put it on your camera and activate it and expect it to work. It takes some screwing around and a couple of shots before it starts working
2) You can't just turn it off if you don't want your remote flashes to fire because your on camera flash won't fire after you turn the flex off. You can change channels on the flex so that your on camera flash will fire but your remote flashes won't, but when you change channel back because you again want your remote flashes to fire neither your on camera flash or your remote flashes will fire without again playing with the test/learn button and firing the camera a couple times.
3) If you turn the flash off to shoot some available light stuff and then turn it back on, the flash won't fire until you screw around with the test/learn button and fire the camera a couple times.
4) The manual will tell you almost nothing about how to use this thing as a simple remote flash trigger, or about how to get everything to work. The flex only has channel 1 or 2 even though the plus II transceivers have four channels, so basically you lose two channels when using the flex.
These things are expensive, overly complicated and just plain fussy to use. I would not buy a flex TT5 again unless I relly needed to fire a bunch of canon flashes in ttl....Show more →
I have to ask if you read the manual and understood it? After that did you work with it for a couple of days to "learn" how to use the units. There are small differences when using the new PW, but after reading the manual and understanding it, then working within what it can do things aren't too bad; at least I don't think they are as bad as summarized here. Don't get me wrong, these suckers could be simpler.
cordellwillis wrote:
I have to ask if you read the manual and understood it? After that did you work with it for a couple of days to "learn" how to use the units. There are small differences when using the new PW, but after reading the manual and understanding it, then working within what it can do things aren't too bad; at least I don't think they are as bad as summarized here. Don't get me wrong, these suckers could be simpler.
I read the manual, and then called the company twice. The point I'm trying to make is you can't just plug these things in and use them, and in a wedding environment where you are often trying to capture the moment and need to change settings on the fly the flex tt5 really doesn't keep up.
cordellwillis wrote:
I have to ask if you read the manual and understood it? After that did you work with it for a couple of days to "learn" how to use the units. There are small differences when using the new PW, but after reading the manual and understanding it, then working within what it can do things aren't too bad; at least I don't think they are as bad as summarized here. Don't get me wrong, these suckers could be simpler.
PMFJI... I agree with most of what the original poster wrote. I have three TT5's. I cannot get either of my 580EXII's to fire further than 6 feet when outdoors. I ended up purchasing a 430EXII because I had a shoot to do and needed something that works. I've used the 430EXII 50-60 feet away without issue.
I did exactly what you suggest. I read the manual and played with them for a day before doing my shoot. I thought I felt comfortable with them. The problem is the units are so complicated and have so many little nuances that unless you use them everyday you are likely to forget something when out on a job. I had the exact experience of the OP in that I was shooting on a cloudy day and was alternating between available light and flash shots. To do that without running out to the remote I was turning off the TT5 on my camera. It took me a while to realize that upon powering the local TT5 back on it wouldn't always fire the remote right away.
There is no denying that remote TTL is a godsend for daylight fill. But IMHO, these units are just too complicated. I have a set of PW Plus II's that I only use 2-3 times a year and I can get them out, install batteries and they just WORK without any fussing or experimenting and they WORK with my 580EXII speedlights. For indoor work or studio setups I plan to continue to use my PW Plus II's.
gene A. wrote:
I read the manual, and then called the company twice. The point I'm trying to make is you can't just plug these things in and use them, and in a wedding environment where you are often trying to capture the moment and need to change settings on the fly the flex tt5 really doesn't keep up.
Right! And there certainly isn't time to drag out the laptop and USB cables and connect the units to check settings. Heaven help you if they ever lose their settings and you don't have a laptop near by.
I could almost live with the distance limitation if they still weren't so finicky otherwise.
Maybe PW will address this issue of simple plug and play for those that need it in a future firmware upgrade if they are made aware of them. I agree the manual lack some info about changing the settings and do more to address the configuration of these units. I know several photogs that would buy the minis or flex if two things would be changed. 1 the range made the same as the PWPlus IIs and simpler setups to use so you can treat them like PWplus2s.
Also remember that You can teach a unit or config a unit to a new or different channel without a laptop using a unit on the channel that you need. You need to read the manual and familiarize yourself with your new tools to be able to use them to the greatest possibilities.
Don't blame the tool for you not knowing how to use it.
They seem to improve with each firmware update. The new beta firmware is the most plug and play yet, and it adds 2nd curtain sync, an essential feature misisng in the Canon system on its own. I have to give LPA Designs credit for this.
I use mine with 550EX slaves, so I do not experience RF interference issues.
One more point is if you are using the flex TT5 on camera with a flash and you turn the flash off the camera still thinks there is an active flash on the camera and will not meter normally.
A few questions...