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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
remote camera/pocketwizard help please
Harry Engels, Student/Intern
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Bristol | UK | United Kingdom | Posted: 7:25 PM on 05.08.10 |
->> Hi
I use a remote camera which is triggered by pocketwizards when i shoot with my handheld one. Pretty standard setup except the remote camera does not always fire at full speed.
The remote ( a canon 1d mark ii) will fire at full speed if triggered by pressing the "test" button on the pocketwizard but if fired by shooting with the handheld camera ( a canon 7d with pocketwizard on hotshoe) it will only shoot slowly (3-5 fps).
Can anyone help me out? Thanks in advance, Harry. |
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Eric Canha, Photographer
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Brockton | MA | United States | Posted: 7:46 PM on 05.08.10 |
->> Harry I'm willing to bet that the problem is that the two bodies are not in sync with each other. If the FPS of the two cameras isn't equal OR if shutters speeds are different enough then you will not get a 1:1 shot rate.
Which PW are you using? |
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George Bridges, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Washington | DC | USA | Posted: 10:00 PM on 05.08.10 |
| ->> Try going into your settings and increasing the contact time. Can't remember if it's on the transmitter or receiver, but it should help fill in the gaps if the cameras fire at different fps. (Been a long time since I've played with that setting) |
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Robert Hanashiro, Photographer
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Los Angeles | CA | | Posted: 11:02 PM on 05.08.10 |
->> Increasing contact time can help.
Also in my limited experience, the best way to insure the remote fires reliably in continous when the handheld does is using a motordrive cord in the transmitter instead of using the hotshoe.
You have to keep in mind the camera hotshoe is intended to trigger a strobe. The "contact" through the hotshoe will trigger the Pocket Wizard but not long enough for a continous burst ...from what I understand.
I also experienced "hiccups" using the hotshoe to trigger the Wizard...it'll fire 2 or 3 frames....stop ...fire another frame or 2...stop...
But in my limited experience, when I've used a motordrive cord to the transmitter the remote fires fine.
Also, check the "keep alive" feature. This could cause a hiccup on the initial frames.
(All typos or other keyboarding errors please blame on my iPhone.) |
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Scott Serio, Photo Editor, Photographer
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Colora | MD | USA | Posted: 11:21 PM on 05.08.10 |
->> OK, so this is an interesting thread. I have run the gamut of good and bad with Pocket Wizards. It has been a while since I direct-wired the trigger remote from my Wizard to thecamera and I have had a tenuous relationship at best recently. I had pondered the effects of just letting a 1200 pound animal step on them and starting over.
So...hot shoe or hard-wired from the Wizard? I have a pretty convenient setup on the receiver end where I can get my one Wizard to trigger however many cameras I need. I have had it work perfectly, but definitely unreliably.
I really hate the thought of going back to add-a-taps and having an assistant hand trigger the hard-wires.
What have others found that works best??? |
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Robert Scheer, Photographer
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Indianapolis | IN | USA | Posted: 8:51 AM on 05.09.10 |
| ->> Heck, I might be in the minority, but I've had so many problems with misfires/no fires with wizards that if given the option and the setup time, I'd hard-wire any day. I want my stuff to fire 100 percent of the time, a good hard-wire makes that happen. |
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Chuck Liddy, Photographer
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Durham | NC | USA | Posted: 9:28 AM on 05.09.10 |
| ->> bert, thanks. I had no idea that worked that way. since I hardly ever uses a flash....anyway I'm going to get the motor drive cord for next season. that explains why I had so many missed frames ths year.... |
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Shawn Cullen, Assistant
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San Diego | CA | | Posted: 2:34 PM on 05.09.10 |
->> Harry,
You can only change the contact times in the Pocket Wizard Multimax Transceivers not the Plus units. If you have the Transceiver units, you can change the contact time in the Transmitter, or the Receiver, or both. However, you still might experience a stutter in the FPS. As the contact time expires, there will be a short delay before the next contact time starts when you are shooting a large burst of frames.
You will have to think about how long of a burst of frames you might fire on your hand held camera, so you can set the appropriate contact time in the Transmitter or the Receiver in order to reduce the number of delays in the contact time ending and restarting again. I understand that the frame burst will be different each time, but if you think it will be a second or longer it will help in knowing how long to set the contact time.
You can find the contact time setting by pressing the MENU button, then press “B”, and then “A”. |
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Svein Ove Ekornesvaag, Photographer
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Aalesund | Møre og Romsdal | Norway | Posted: 5:46 PM on 05.09.10 |
->> Harry,
which PW do you have? I had the same problems with my Flex, but some custom settings in the PW software fixed it. |
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Harry Engels, Student/Intern
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Bristol | UK | United Kingdom | Posted: 6:19 PM on 05.09.10 |
| ->> I have the Pocketwizard Plus II's. Sounds like I need a motor drive cord for the handheld. Thanks for all your help. Harry |
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Robert Hanashiro, Photographer
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Los Angeles | CA | | Posted: 11:15 PM on 05.09.10 |
->> I did some testing just a bit ago ... and I was a surprised at some of the things I discovered.
Notes: The tests were shot with both Nikon D3 and D300 bodies. I tested Pocket Wizard Plus II, older/original MultiMax (non-USB port) and the newest MultiMax (with USB port).
- The Pocket Wizard Plus units (as noted by Shawn above) does not have a lot of features (thus the very low price) so there is no way to adjust the contact time. HOWEVER when using a transceiver on the hotshoe, it fired the remote camera reliably, WITHOUT the "hiccup". This was a surprise to me. However I have never used the Plus units to fire cameras --- I have them just to use with my lighting kits.
- The older/non-USB MultiMax units exhibited the firing hiccup when triggering via the hotshoe. (It would fired two frame, pause, then fire another 2 frames, pause, then fire...)
- Increasing the contact time of the RECEIVING older MultiMax eliminated the hiccup, though it would fire 3 or 4 frames after I stopped pressing the shutter button on the triggering camera.
- Using a motordrive cord connected to the older transmitter MultiMax ---rather than using the hotshoe--- eliminated the hiccup.
- When using the new/USB MultiMax units, there was NO hiccup. I have not been using the new MultiMaxes for very long, so I assumed it worked like the older units. This was a bit of a surprise that it would trigger the remote without a hiccup without increasing the contact time.
These were quick, preliminary tests but I thought I'd share this info.
I'm not sure if using a Canon body had anything to do with the PW Plus exhibiting the firing hiccup. But with the Nikons, it was not a problem.
(If I get time in the next day or two I'll do a another test and shoot a quick video that I'll post somewhere.) |
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Dan Powers, Photographer
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Appleton | WI | USA | Posted: 11:52 PM on 05.09.10 |
| ->> I use the motor drive cords. But I place the Pocket Wizard on the hot shoe and then plug it in. Are you guys suggesting that if I use the cord I should not slide the Wizard on to the hotshoe? I'm sure this is a dumb question...sorry 'bout that...Dan. |
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Robert Hanashiro, Photographer
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Los Angeles | CA | | Posted: 12:17 AM on 05.10.10 |
->> Not knowing what Pocket Wizard you are using ... Pocket Wizard Plus, original MultiMax, new/USB MultiMax ... I will just make a general observation:
I don't know what the default triggering method on the transmitter is when two methods are employed. But if you're using a motordrive cord to trigger the transmitter, I would recommend disabling the hotshoe.
(Either use a piece of tape or non-conductive material between the hotshoe contact and the transmitter contact. Also note: The newer MultiMax units have the ability to turn the hotshoe contact off.) |
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Eric Patterson, Photographer
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Louisville | KY | United States | Posted: 9:58 AM on 05.10.10 |
->> Most excellent info.
Many thanks to The Kahuna. |
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Dan Powers, Photographer
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Appleton | WI | USA | Posted: 1:09 PM on 05.10.10 |
| ->> Interesting. I have a set of Pocket Wizard Plus as well as two Multi-Max transceivers that I got just before Beijing. |
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Robert Hanashiro, Photographer
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Los Angeles | CA | | Posted: 1:52 PM on 05.10.10 |
->> Which version MultiMax?
My preliminary test have indicated there's a difference in triggering. |
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Dan Powers, Photographer
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Appleton | WI | USA | Posted: 3:14 PM on 05.10.10 |
->> The instruction manual says Pocket Wizard MultiMAX. I don't see any USB connection on it. Also on page 49 under Technical Information, there is a highlighted note stating...
"Some cameras may exhibit undesirable behavior of the RECEIVE unit is mounted in the camera hot shoe when the camera is being fired remotely. Some cameras' hot shoe and motor drive contacts may share some connections. This can cause the camera to lock up or stop operating normally. If your camera does not function properly in this mode then remove the unit from the camera's hot shoe."
I'm using OverXposed plates a lot of times, with a Slik ball head. Maybe it's a good idea to see if OverXposed makes an accessory for mounting a Pocket Wizard on to it...instead of the camera hot shoe.
Most times my remotes work...but lately they have been hit and miss. That's why I'm thinking it MIGHT be because I'm using a motor drive cord to plug it in and I'm also mounting on the hot shoe. |
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Thom Kendall, Photographer, Assistant
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Sunderland | MA | USA | Posted: 4:43 PM on 05.10.10 |
->> Bert,
When you say "motordrive cord" in relation to triggering the transmitter on the handheld, do you mean a 10-pin "motordrive" cord, or a "PC to miniphone" cord? I'm thinking the latter...
FYI...I just tested (2) d200 cameras and (2) non-USB MultiMax transceivers, both hot shoe mounted, and the only hiccups or slow downs occurred when: the buffers stalled on NEF(RAW) image quality, or the AF-C setting on the handheld was set to FPS Rate+AF, (but that only slowed down the handheld camera)...When I set the handheld to FPS Rate and JPG Basic, they both pretty much did the Energizer Bunny thing...Contact time on the transmitter was 0.12 (default) and on the receiver was 0.50 sec.
Bottom line...In this case there appeared to be no MultiMax-specific hiccup anomolies, but rather camera setting-specific slow downs... |
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Robert Hanashiro, Photographer
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Los Angeles | CA | | Posted: 9:22 PM on 05.10.10 |
| ->> Glad it works for you and your D200 bodies. |
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Thom Kendall, Photographer, Assistant
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Sunderland | MA | USA | Posted: 9:39 PM on 05.10.10 |
->> Bert,
Any feedback on the first question in my post? Just trying to clarify which cord you're specifying...
Thanks |
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Patrick Fallon, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Columbia | MO | USA | Posted: 9:43 PM on 05.10.10 |
| ->> You cannot use the Miniphone to PC connection cable to trigger a camera. You have to use the 10-pin |
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Robert Hanashiro, Photographer
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Los Angeles | CA | | Posted: 9:51 PM on 05.10.10 |
->> But as I mentioned above, the old 'Maxes "hiccup" triggering via the hotshoe, without increasing the contact time on D300 and D3 bodies.
Can't say for Canon cameras or Nikon D200 bodies.
Shawn and I talked a while this morning about this. Shawn suggested the issue Harry might have is mixing camera bodies. Every camera is different and with a Plus this might be the cause of the hiccup.
Using a motordrive cord to trigger the transmitter insures that both the handheld and remote fire continuously if your remote/camera combo has the hiccups and you can't adjust the contact time.
Nuff said!
(Blame any typos or keyboarding errors on my iPhone.) |
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Thom Kendall, Photographer, Assistant
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Sunderland | MA | USA | Posted: 9:55 PM on 05.10.10 |
->> Patrick,
I'm aware of that...You can, however, use a PC to miniphone to connect the HANDHELD camera to the transmitting Pocket Wizard.
What I'm trying to pin down is what Robert means when he says "when I've used a motordrive cord to the transmitter the remote fires fine." |
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Thom Kendall, Photographer, Assistant
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Sunderland | MA | USA | Posted: 10:24 PM on 05.10.10 |
| ->> Prior to this thread, I had never heard of anyone using a 10-pin motor cord to connect TO and fire the TRANSMITTING Pocket Wizard, so I thought maybe the cord was being misnamed...However, I just tried it, and it does work, so my apologies to Robert! |
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