Pocket wizard questions

[zilly]

I have a set of flex and mini's im looking at triggering a camera as well as the strobes, could i get away with the flex and mini set up on the primary camera then a older (cheeper) model to fire the second camera?

If so what models will work

 

[Flash In The Pan]

The Flex and Mini are backwards compatible, so in that respect (assuming they are all the same frequency) they should work together fine.

 

[AliB]

Except mine didn't!

Best bet is to ask for someone local to you with the older kind and try it out before you buy.

I had to send my mini back because it was awful with the plus II's.

 

[HoppyUK]

Firing the flash and the camera are entriely separate functions, which obvioulsy need to be done on a different frequency anyway if you are operating the two simultaneously.

Cheapest way would be to plug in a Yongnuo RF-602 for the remote triggering function, and leave the PWs doing their own thing with the flash - £28 from FITP.

 

[zilly]

been able to answer my own question with a little help from Pocketwizard them self.

for future reference here is how to do it

* Attach a receiving PocketWizard to your camera's motor drive port and also place that same PocketWizard in the camera's hot shoe.

* Set up your remote flash and set its receiving PocketWizard to one channel higher than you're using to trigger the camera. So if the remote camera's PocketWizard is set to channel 1, set the PocketWizard attached to the flash to channel 2.

* Trigger your camera by pressing TEST on a PocketWizard in your hand.

* The receiving PocketWizard will trigger your camera and immediately switch to Transmit Mode. When it receives a sync pulse from the camera, it will transmit on one channel higher than it received on.

* The PocketWizard attached to the remote flash will receive the transmitted signal and trigger the flash in sync with the remote camera.

If you need to rapidly trigger your remote camera, I recommend enabling Bottom Shoe Disable Mode on the FlexTT5 attached to the camera. Otherwise, there will be a delay between subsequent triggers.

 

[HoppyUK]

been able to answer my own question with a little help from Pocketwizard them self.

for future reference here is how to do it

That sounds like the same as using the Yongnuo alongside your PW, but with an extra PW receiver set on a different channel. The main difference being about £200, but I guess you would also retain E-TTL functions.

 

[itsdavedotnet]

That sounds like the same as using the Yongnuo alongside your PW, but with an extra PW receiver set on a different channel. The main difference being about £200, but I guess you would also retain E-TTL functions.

and also the rock solid reliablity of pws as opposed to the performance of chinese triggers.

The pw system is pretty neat, how the transceiver on top of the remote camera 'hops' up a channel to trigger the flashes and then pops back down again.

uck anyone wanna buy me a few multimaxes?

 

[HoppyUK]

and also the rock solid reliablity of pws as opposed to the performance of chinese triggers.

The pw system is pretty neat, how the transceiver on top of the remote camera 'hops' up a channel to trigger the flashes and then pops back down again.

uck anyone wanna buy me a few multimaxes?

Yeah, the really cheap ebay triggers have a poor rep, but not the Yongnuo RF-602.

But if you want reliability, the new E-TTL PWs (which the OP has) seem to be abysmal at anything over normal IR triggering range (with some Canon guns) through RF interference. The suggested fix of an accessory RF shield doesn't seem to help much either. Which kinda defeats the whole point.

A cynic might say that is the reason for the continued delay for the release of the Nikon version. Which is a real shame as the system is really cool. I'm sure they'll get it sorted but it's a nightmare right now.

 

[itsdavedotnet]

Yeah, the really cheap ebay triggers have a poor rep, but not the Yongnuo RF-602.

A cynic might say that is the reason for the continued delay for the release of the Nikon version. Which is a real shame as the system is really cool. I'm sure they'll get it sorted but it's a nightmare right now.

yeah, I've heard the same about the rf-602's, but they're...still not pws

And indeed... though I always understood that at least some of the issues with the flex's was the insane RF interference given out by the canon speedlights that's always plagued radio triggers, but not nikon... my guess would be that they're doing some pretty major redesigns to stop any serious problems with the new line. I think I'll wait and see when / how good the nikon ones go down before dropping a fortune on pws (plus no custom channel programming charge on the new ones etc), but still :/

 

[zilly]

Yeah, the really cheap ebay triggers have a poor rep, but not the Yongnuo RF-602.

But if you want reliability, the new E-TTL PWs (which the OP has) seem to be abysmal at anything over normal IR triggering range (with some Canon guns) through RF interference. The suggested fix of an accessory RF shield doesn't seem to help much either. Which kinda defeats the whole point.

A cynic might say that is the reason for the continued delay for the release of the Nikon version. Which is a real shame as the system is really cool. I'm sure they'll get it sorted but it's a nightmare right now.

canon's IR system in bright sunlight will give me anything from about 5 inches to a foot, with the pocket wizards I start to see drop off at about 45ft which for me with ttl is about all the range im going to need.

 

[markrichardson]

Just to defend the new Pocket Wizards as well, I'm getting consistent firing at 50ft with a FlexTT5 attached to a 580ex II and I gave up testing after about 100ft with a 430ex II (which doesn't have any RF noise issues).

I'm not I'd want to use eTTL more than 100ft away so don't really see the issue.

There have definitely been some quality control issues (which I suspect is the explanation for Ali B's issues rather than an inherent flaw) but with the most up to date firmware they offer benefits other than distance beyond Canon eTTL (e.g. wireless multiple flash rear-sync)

 

[kiteland]

Just to defend the new Pocket Wizards as well, I'm getting consistent firing at 50ft with a FlexTT5 attached to a 580ex II

You have been very lucky or I have been very unlucky

Having tried 3 580EXII, 2 FlexTT1 and 6 FlexTT5 I couldn't get reliable triggering or exposures from 20 feet. Using the AC5 shields did little to help.

 

[HoppyUK]

canon's IR system in bright sunlight will give me anything from about 5 inches to a foot, with the pocket wizards I start to see drop off at about 45ft which for me with ttl is about all the range im going to need.

I have four 580EX guns and with bright sun falling on the sensor they won't fire reliably at more than about 4m - not much use really. However, just shading the sensor doubles that at least, to around 10m with direct line of sight, ditto overcast days. Indoors, no problem at all, even hidden behind furniture.

Another way of getting around the range problem outdoors is a 10m dedicated cord which can put the master unit close to the slaves in most situations. Not ideal maybe, but a reliable fix for £40.

You have been very lucky or I have been very unlucky

Having tried 3 580EXII, 2 FlexTT1 and 6 FlexTT5 I couldn't get reliable triggering or exposures from 20 feet. Using the AC5 shields did little to help.

Even if this experience is not typical, it's far too common for comfort. I would have bought a set of Flex's by now if it wasn't for these problems.

I think that if PW switched to the higher frequency used by other brands they could solve this problem instantly, but that would make the new units non reverse compatible.

 

[IanFlaherty]

Just to add my experience with the TT1 and TT5, I've struggled to fire them consistently anything up to a car length apart (I.e. me stood in front of the car and the flash unit behind the car.) They have also failed to fire in our living room, which is at most 6 metres.

I've bought (was given - top marks Calumet) a short PC cord to separate the TT5 and the 580EX II, but I've not had chance to see if it makes a difference. I hope so though, as it's not what you expect from £600's worth of equipment.

 

[zilly]

I have four 580EX guns and with bright sun falling on the sensor they won't fire reliably at more than about 4m - not much use really. However, just shading the sensor doubles that at least, to around 10m with direct line of sight, ditto overcast days. Indoors, no problem at all, even hidden behind furniture.

bit of a clat though shading the sensor when your trying to get "in the rhythm" with a model or trying to relax a member of the public and you have to play around with shading the sensor.

you guys tried having the PW on ETTL leads ?

 

[HoppyUK]

bit of a clat though shading the sensor when your trying to get "in the rhythm" with a model or trying to relax a member of the public and you have to play around with shading the sensor.

you guys tried having the PW on ETTL leads ?

Yeah, shading the sensor is difficult in practise. Just trying to make the point that in anything less than direct bright sun, the IR range can be enough.

As an alternative to expensive and possibly unreliable PW Flex's, and given that it usually takes a few minutes to set up a multi-flash shot anyway, cheap radio triggers like the RF-602 in manual seems like a reasonable way to go, providing you can get easy access to the guns to make adjustments. That will work under absolutely any light, at any range.

Then again, if you want E-TTL control, then putting the master flash on the end of a 10m cord should allow you to place it within a few metres of the other guns, and it shouldn't be too much trouble to angle their sensors for line of sight. That will work okay under anything but bright sun.

Between those two options, you should get reliable performance outdoors under pretty much any cirumstances, at a fraction of the PW cost.