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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Nikon Pocket Wizard Flex System Reviews?
Mark Sobhani, Photographer
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San Antonio | TX | USA | Posted: 11:40 PM on 07.05.11 |
->> There was quite a bit of concern about the consistency and quality of the Mini TT1 and Flex TT5 when they first came out, but haven't seen any recent reviews.
Have the bugs been worked out? Anyone using them regularly? I'm thinking of buying one Mini and a couple of the TT5s.
Thanks |
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Russ Erbe, Photographer
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Lubbock | TX | US | Posted: 9:58 AM on 07.06.11 |
| ->> I've got a set of TT5's and they've been great for me. The only problem I have with them is that they go through AA batteries like they are going out of style!! As long as you have plenty, you're good to go. |
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Paul DiSalvo, Photographer
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Highlands Ranch | CO | United States of America | Posted: 10:06 AM on 07.06.11 |
->> In the studio, they're great. The TTL stuff works perfectly. I use with both Einstein and SB900's. The AC-3, awesome.
In the gym, well the jury is still out. When using the TTL channels, the range is just not close to what PlusII's and MultiMax can do. There is a link below that says TTL range is about half of what "regular" TX range is. I would agree.
I ended up using TT5's for RX with MultiMax back on the camera for TX and that was fine. But Flex for the TX side just was too inconsistent. My Einstein Power MC2's came too late to test so I don't know how they will be in the gym but again, in the studio.. awesome.
Only shortfall for the AC-3 is it has a 7 stop range. The SB-900 goes to 8, Einstein goes to 9. Maybe someday, they'll go to 11 !
Here's a good comparison http://dpanswers.com/content/radio_flash.php#pwctl
Last comment is I skipped the Mini and just bought all Flex's, price difference was minimal and could go with all AA batteries plus a few more features.
Cheers.. Paul D. |
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Brad Barr, Photographer
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Port St. Lucie | FL | USA | Posted: 6:33 PM on 07.07.11 |
->> They are great, when they work.
Thing is, they become quite flaky once you add an on camera flash in combo with it. May be the flash shoe connection is poor considering the amt of info transmission required.
Use rechargeable AA's....good solution to that issue Russ.
IMO, manual is not that hard, and MUCH more consistent. TTL i use for run n gun portraits..ie at wedding or engagement sessions, and is pretty workable for that. Dont really need the on camera flash part so much, so i leave it off. During any shooting using on camera flash in combo, it often fails to fire. Sometimes locks the camera up, and often needs to restart everything over again like a 1999 windows pc.
During receptions and many other times, I've gone back to just dumb triggers that never fail. I use the pcb cybersychs, but reg pw's are fine too.
One good note, using the older dumb flashes, you can use the Nikon FP hack...which for those not familiar allow you to use your studio flash (AB1600) or similar and get ultra hss. Just put your camera in auto fp mode, hook your on camera flash up to the dumb trigger via pc cord, and fire away...easily up to 1/4000th second and often 1/8000th. Brilliant for outdoor portraits in the daytime. |
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Matt Cashore, Photographer
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South Bend | IN | USA | Posted: 7:03 PM on 07.07.11 |
->> I don't use TTL flash & I almost never do on-camera flash so I can't speak to any of that. What I can say is that I really like the smaller form factor of the TT1. My TT1 had a dead battery (after a surprisingly long run...no complaints there) on a shoot today and I had to use an old PW Plus II in the hotshoe. Yuck. As luck would have it I was in a tight-ish corner and the extra inches on top of the camera were logistically inconvenient. I need to remember to carry some of those CR2 batteries with me all the time so that doesn't happen again.
I haven't experienced any range issues & I've used the TT1 in arenas. I have experienced random "won't trigger" moments which require pulling the TT1 off the camera and re-setting it. Those instances are rare. Overall I feel it was worth the considerable wait. |
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Brad Barr, Photographer
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Port St. Lucie | FL | USA | Posted: 8:45 PM on 07.07.11 |
->> Over on the wedding forums, where they are used by many, the same sort of flaky behaviors has been well documented. Much of it seems to occur as I said with an on camera unit.
the foot is very fragile as well. but, on the good side, they are pretty easy to switch out yourself. I'd HIGHLY recommend buying a couple to keep on hand if you decide to go with these units. 20 bucks each. |
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Steve Violette, Photographer
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Gulf Breeze | FL | USA | Posted: 9:19 AM on 07.08.11 |
->> I use the TT5's for on location portraits - love the ETTL with my speedlites-I shoot canon- stick with MultiMax's for gym lights(AB's) becasue of range.
with the TT5's - you need to use fresh batteries every time. I have gone with the recharables(eneloops) and my occurrences of misfires or non-fires has gone to almost zero. The other thing is to absolutely make sure the firmware is the same on all units - common problem is for people to pick up "another" used unit and not match the firmware and then complain of misfires etc. |
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