M9 and PocketWizard

[ianspector]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Ian, really nice shot. Would you describe the light placement?

 

Best regards,

 

Thanks so much for your kind comments. The lights are as follows:

 

Camera right Westcott Spiderlite TD5 1KW, camera left Westcott Spiderlite TD3 500W

Background Lastolite Hilite with one SB800 at full power on floor inside hilite facing up. My wife, Marci was holding a large gold circular reflector facing up at her face; also just out of frame.

 

The Baffled Spiderlites were as tight in as I could get them for the softest wrapiest light. I would normally go for maybe a three stop difference between left and right side of the face but this was for a passport photo so I used the gold reflector to fill in shadows but also even out the image left and right.

 

A lot of work for a passport photo? Consider the alternative, if she hated the picture she would remember who was responsible every time she travelled.

 

Incidentally, I took this handheld and I also had my D3 with the 85mm f/1.4 tripod mounted. The treatments were different but I personally preferred the Noct/M9.

 

Ian

[wparsonsgisnet]

Thanks for the info. Great lighting. Lovely shot. It'll be a treat for every customs inspector. As a result you'll have to travel more often.

 

 

This thread was very helpful to me (and thanks to Jamie for his many anwers to my too many questions). I've got an indoor celebration coming up, a 1-yr birthday with ethnic costumes. So far, I've been using an off-camera Metz 54 with a wrist strap, a la Sean Reid.

 

For this gig, I want to try bounced, stand lighting and will be renting a Qflash and some Plus II remotes.

 

I'll report on everything -- right now I'm in sticker shock because I just bot a 2nd Turbo 2X2 as a backup for the unit I have. Nice stuff; no wonder it cost so much. As I recall, the 1st battery cost more than the Metz 54.

[k-hawinkler]

Indeed a spectacular image.

Just wondering, in a passport photo doesn't one ear have to be visible?

I may confuse that with a requirement of a particular country though.

 

K-H.

[ianspector]

Hi Ian,

 

I've been using the old PWs on the M8 for a long time now, and I have a couple of questions...

 

1) are you saying you only have a single synch speed with your M9? Isn't it 1/180th and below or something? I won't synch at say, 1/30s?

 

2) If you turn off the power management of your flash, you shouldn't have to test fire anything. I've never had to do that with PWs.

 

Well, give and you receive. I realised that perhaps I have only tried faster than 1/180 so I tried some test shots just now ably assisted by a bunch of bananas, M9, Noct, two Pocket Wizards and an SB800 set to remote and manually dialled to 1/8 power.

 

Happy to report it works at every speed slower than 1/180 as well as advertised lightning bolt speed.

 

Also, I did not have to ever do a test firing to wake it all up and it never went to sleep even after I turned off the M9, took out the SD card, loaded images, edited in Photoshop, uploaded to site, uploaded here and wrote this. It was still awake when I put the card back in.

 

This makes lots of sense because a feature of Nikon's Creative Lighting System is that all the remote strobes stay fully powered up. I guess I was not in Remote mode when I have previously tried.

 

So, Jamie, I have learned some good tips here this evening. Thankyou.

 

Oh, and you may as well enjoy the bananas now taken at 1/90 on rear curtain sync and looking much better for it.

Ian

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[wparsonsgisnet]

Wasn't there a group call the Electric Banana on the Muppet Show?

[giordano]

Ian, I'd be interested too to know whether the picture you posted here was the one they accepted as a passport photo. The UK rules don't mention ears but they do insist on "a full front view of face and shoulders, squared to the camera", as well as "natural skin tone" and absolutely no retouching or photoshopping.

[ianspector]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Ian, I'd be interested too to know whether the picture you posted here was the one they accepted as a passport photo. The UK rules don't mention ears but they do insist on "a full front view of face and shoulders, squared to the camera", as well as "natural skin tone" and absolutely no retouching or photoshopping.

 

Dear John,

 

Yes it was accepted but my wife is American and their rules are much less dirigiste than ours. Of course I try and ensure that the photoshopping is not too obvious. One key difference is that in the US one can actually smile but for our EU passports misery is mandated.

 

I believe that there is a business in giving people great passport photos. Prison shots, less so.

 

Ian

[giordano]

my wife is American

 

I thought she looked too perfect to be English.

 

I believe that there is a business in giving people great passport photos.

 

There should be. I can imagine the ads. Before: oh god i've got to get another bloody passport photograph. After: Hooray! I've got an excuse to get another lovely picture of myself! Also a big security improvement having pictures that look like the person in question rather than a generic criminal type.

[Jamie Roberts]

{snipped}

 

Happy to report it works at every speed slower than 1/180 as well as advertised lightning bolt speed.

 

Also, I did not have to ever do a test firing to wake it all up and it never went to sleep even after I turned off the M9, took out the SD card, loaded images, edited in Photoshop, uploaded to site, uploaded here and wrote this. It was still awake when I put the card back in.

 

{snipped}

 

Hey Ian--

 

Thanks! Good to know everything works as it should. Interesting banana shot, too!

 

Jamie

[brill64]

personally speaking, i've found pocket wizards to be generally unreliable and i have three

[ianspector]

personally speaking, i've found pocket wizards to be generally unreliable and i have three

 

I am sorry to hear that. I have personally found them the most robust part of the production chain (myself being the weakest). In what way do they fail you?

 

Ian

[Jamie Roberts]

Gotta agree, Ian--I've used PWs in the studio and on the road and they've always been great. I know some people break the antennas off in transit or use but I've never found them to be a problem and I'm pretty rough on auxillary gear, too (I baby my cameras and lenses as much as possible)

[photoshutter]

I'm using Mini tt1, and small radio trigger from Paul C Buff, both work perfectly, but I'm preffer smaller trigger from Paul, mini tt1 work better with 1DSIII at very short shutter speeds (1/1600), leica has only 1/250 for flash.

 

Hi. Have you used the MiniTT1? I thought this was just for Canon cameras? Is it that it has an open protocol? So that just like the Canon and Nikon flashes work on the M8/9 the minitt1 will work as well?

[conorbradshaw]

Thanks for the info. Great lighting. Lovely shot. It'll be a treat for every customs inspector. As a result you'll have to travel more often.

 

 

This thread was very helpful to me (and thanks to Jamie for his many anwers to my too many questions). I've got an indoor celebration coming up, a 1-yr birthday with ethnic costumes. So far, I've been using an off-camera Metz 54 with a wrist strap, a la Sean Reid.

 

For this gig, I want to try bounced, stand lighting and will be renting a Qflash and some Plus II remotes.

 

I'll report on everything -- right now I'm in sticker shock because I just bot a 2nd Turbo 2X2 as a backup for the unit I have. Nice stuff; no wonder it cost so much. As I recall, the 1st battery cost more than the Metz 54.

I would be very interested to hear how you get on Bill, so please do post RE: your experience.

If you don't mind me asking, how soon is the celebration/event "coming up"?

[vk2109]

Another Question I would like to ask for those using the TT1/TT5

 

I have the ones from my canon, but it looks like it takes a bit for the 2 to get paired ?

is it normal ? after a 1 minute and 1 "test" triggering it's working well but a bit fustrated that it's not instant !

 

Thanks

 

Vadim

[Reds]

Sort of related... I use the little Elinchrom skyport triggers - very reliable and pocketable. An option if you've not already bought in to PWs. (They are cheaper too).

[brill64]

I am sorry to hear that. I have personally found them the most robust part of the production chain (myself being the weakest). In what way do they fail you?

 

Ian

 

i admit that it could be me but when using with studio flash, i've found them temperamental and slow work intermittently. when this happens, i need to remove and re-insert cables, pop out batteries and re-insert, remove the transmitter from camera hotshoe and re-insert and swap channels, or any combination of those, to encourage them to work smoothly again. i have had my strobes cla'd so my next idea is to change the cables that came with the transmitters to omit the optional adaptors, which could also be the culprits..

 

I also use the tt1 & tt2 transmitter set ups with smaller strobes. once set up from a pc, they work great but with the tt2 i have to occasionally open the battery door, pull out and re-insert batteries to get the set to work from time to time..

 

saying all that, i always eventually manage to coax my set ups to work and find them absolutely invaluable in day to day use on my m9 and other cameras.