PocketWizard Flex TT5 and Mini TT1 on M8

[Jamie Roberts]

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The Flex TT5 is PocketWizard's newest transceiver and the TT1 is its newest transmitter. Their prime value, according to the company, is that they provide ETTL flash exposure from remote flashes instead of just a manual trigger. So far, they've only been released for Canon, but Nikon won't be far behind.

 

The other main design change on both of these items is that they have a pass-through hot-shoe on top. In other words, you put the PW on the camera, your flash on the PW and voila--local flash plus remote triggering of flashes elsewhere.

 

Why is this important for the M8? Well, since the M8 lacks a pc / flash synch, having a device like this is the only reliable way to trigger a local flash and a pocket wizard from the camera. Yes, there are other ways to do it (bracket, y connectors, wein or other safe-synch devices) but on the whole they're too flaky for actual work: the cords get in the way of the lens or rangefinder; the firing is intermittent at best; the physical qualities of holding it all together are horrible.

 

Wouldn't it be great if the PW TT5 / TT1 would work on the M8?

 

Sad to say, I don't ever see PW implementing a Leica-friendly TTL flash system. They're having enough trouble with Canon's and Nikon's ETTL / iTTL.

 

But--and this is all that's important for me--with the very last firmware update to the TT5/TT1 you can run the PWs in completely manual mode (called "simple trigger" mode).

 

With this enabled, I can use the Canon TT5 transceiver on my M8 (and on the DMR, come to that, or a D3) and it will fire the Metz on top of the M8 and trigger up to two groups of PW enabled strobes around a room. Since this is the way I shoot receptions (just adding enough light to "sweeten" the ambient) this is crucial for me.

 

No more cords, no mis-fires, and the camera with PW/ flash handles well too (ok, not perfectly, but very, very well).

 

Most people won't care about this, but it's a big deal for me. If you use your M8 for events or in a studio, this is really good news!

 

I should add that if I were a betting man, I'd bet that a full manual version PW with the new form factor will come out sometime in the next year. In the meantime, the Canon ones work beautifully.

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[rob_w]

Jamie, thanks for posting this. Very intersting description of flash technique with the M8 as well as the PW itself. I have been pondering for the last few months how (and if) I would use flash with the M8, having avoided it so far. Sean Reid's article was thought-provoking, for example, but I did not like the idea of hand held flash alongside one-handed use of the M8. Not sure I could achieve that successfully. What I most like the idea of is what you describe: mounting one or two strobes in the room where the photos will be taken, balancing them correctly and then triggering them remotely. Essentially, lifting the light level without destroying the atmosphere, if that can be achieved.

 

I have held off doing anything because I do not want to invest in a whole set of flash equipment which then does not get used. After all, I have used Ms for many years with no flash or just the occasional fill flash at most. But there are times when the ambient light is just not good enough and a discreet addition of flash could help. Your example has got me thinking again. I would like to see some samples if you have time to post them.

 

Cheers

 

Robert

[lxlim]

Thanks Jamie, I was wondering about the it myself and its a big deal for me

 

So far the 24D worked great as fill in daylight conditions but I didn't like it when flash becomes the main light.

 

Btw, do you work with flash in hotshoe of the M8 or do you work like Sean. With flash in one hand and M8 in the other. Must say Sean's style requires a coordination that is beyond my abilities.

[Jamie Roberts]

{snipped}

Btw, do you work with flash in hotshoe of the M8 or do you work like Sean. With flash in one hand and M8 in the other. Must say Sean's style requires a coordination that is beyond my abilities.

 

I usually have two cameras on my neck (and that means two flashes as well). I don't hold the camera with one hand and the flash with the other, but 99.99% of the time I'm bouncing the "local" flash away from the subject to provide a bigger and more directional light.

 

So I don't see the need to hold my flash at arms-length when the light isn't going to come from that direction anyway (and I will snoot my flash to give it more direction when necessary). And I admit Sean must be much more manually coordinated than I am I'd rather set up the remotes and work the angles.

[lxlim]

Good thing its the M8s around the neck and not Canon 1D(s) Two of those would have killed me. But seriously, two M8s with flash ( I assume you are using Canon flashes on the M8) must be quite unwieldy.

 

I've been working with pocket wizards and multiple groups of flashes but only on commercial jobs and not events. The PocketWizard Flex TT5 and Mini TT1 idea seems very workable and I look forward to your experimentation.

[Jamie Roberts]

Good thing its the M8s around the neck and not Canon 1D(s) Two of those would have killed me. But seriously, two M8s with flash ( I assume you are using Canon flashes on the M8) must be quite unwieldy.

 

I've been working with pocket wizards and multiple groups of flashes but only on commercial jobs and not events. The PocketWizard Flex TT5 and Mini TT1 idea seems very workable and I look forward to your experimentation.

 

LOL! I usually use a D3 and M8 together, so that's better than two D3s

 

I've been doing this multiple flash mixing with my Canon and Nikons for awhile, so it will be nice to have this kind of control from the M8. We'll see how it turns out this weekend!

[amedick]

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Jamie

 

Thanks for this info....

 

A question loosely related that perhaps you or someone else may know the answer to.

 

Could you use the setup you mention with TT5 and TT1 with Sekonic flash meter (758), to setup the lighting?, You would use the Sekonic to trigger flash at subject to get exposure value on M8.

 

The 758 Sekonic meter has pocket wizzard incorporated. Is this compatible with TT5 and TT1 is the techie question.

 

Thanks and Best Regards

 

John

[Jamie Roberts]

{snipped}

Could you use the setup you mention with TT5 and TT1 with Sekonic flash meter (758), to setup the lighting?, You would use the Sekonic to trigger flash at subject to get exposure value on M8.

 

The 758 Sekonic meter has pocket wizzard incorporated. Is this compatible with TT5 and TT1 is the techie question.

{snipped}

 

Hey John--

 

Yes, the Sekonic will send a signal that the TT5 can receive (on its normal PW channel), so if you're using it as a remote slave then you can fire it from the meter just like a regular PW. If you're using a local flash as well it will fire that as well, so you could measure the effects of all your flashes with the meter. Is that what you're asking?

 

The TT1 is only a transmitter so it won't talk to the meter (but then it doesn't have to )

 

And of course you can use the Sekonic to set up the PW-controlled exposure values in the venue (I do that all the time), and then use the TT5 and TT1 from the M8 to fire the remotes.

[amedick]

Hi Jamie

 

Yes that is exactly what I was asking. Many thanks.

 

I never saw anything said that the TT5 was compatible with the legacy PW system, like that incorporated on the Sekonic light meter. Flad to hear it works!

 

Take Care

 

Joh

[Arif]

And of course you can use the Sekonic to set up the PW-controlled exposure values in the venue (I do that all the time), and then use the TT5 and TT1 from the M8 to fire the remotes.

 

Dear Jamie,

I just picked up a used 758 and am wondering if you can please direct me to some setup instructions on PW controlled exposures (does that mean the 758 meter reading controls other PW output or that the 758 is triggered simultaneously only?) Apologies for the very basic question.

 

Thank you,

Arif

[Jamie Roberts]

Hi Jamie

 

Yes that is exactly what I was asking. Many thanks.

 

I never saw anything said that the TT5 was compatible with the legacy PW system, like that incorporated on the Sekonic light meter. Flad to hear it works!

 

Take Care

 

Joh

 

Hey Joh--

 

Yes, the new TT5 and TT1 PWs are backwards compatible with older PW transmitters and receivers. They can actually send both a legacy trigger and an ETTL trigger (of course on the M8 I'm only interested in the legacy trigger).

 

You can only set up 2 legacy channels though, not four as with the previous PWs, and you need to do it, pretty much, through the software interface these new units have (you can do a field reset if you have to).

[Jamie Roberts]

Dear Jamie,

I just picked up a used 758 and am wondering if you can please direct me to some setup instructions on PW controlled exposures (does that mean the 758 meter reading controls other PW output or that the 758 is triggered simultaneously only?) Apologies for the very basic question.

 

Thank you,

Arif

 

Hi Arif--

 

First if you have the newest 758 then you already have the Pocket Wizard module; my Sekonic 558 had to have the module installed (it wasn't the Digital Master model).

 

So basically you just need to set up the channel your PWs are on from the meter. I'm not sure how to do this from the 758, but on the 558 when I switched to radio mode it let me pick the channel. Since I'm not using subgroups of flash, for measuring I set everything to channel 2. When I'm working I use channel 1 or 4 (only because they're easy to set manually in the dark when working with the older transmitters).

 

Anyway, with the channel set you just use the incident meter like you would for any normal flash exposure: position the meter in the subject space, hit the measure button r on the meter and take a reading from the subject position.

 

Remember you need to understand what your remote flashes are doing in relation to your main light and your ambient. A quick meter reading can really help with that... I usually set the ambient first from the camera, then the remotes and then my main or key light.

[Arif]

Thank you Jamie,

Will try this weekend but sounds simple enough.

 

Thanks again,

Arif

[stephan_w]

Hello

 

I want to bring up this thread again and ask about how to use PW Nikon TT5 and the AC3-zone controller together with an M9?

 

I don't expect i-TTL but is it possible to use this combo in manual mode? (without damaging flashes, controllers and the M9)

[AncientCityPhoto]

I use this combination all the time. My usual location portrait set up consists of two canon speedlights and an alienbees strobe.

 

I use the M8 with a TT5 and AC3. The other lights have TT5s as well. Everything is in manual mode. I prefer manual mode anyways. I rarely ever use TTL even with my canons.

 

The AC3 works great. You set the AC3 to manual mode for the light groups you want to control. As you turn the dials, they represent the power level. Very easy and effortless. You can control your lights without having to keep walking to them.

 

The M8 triggers everything fine. Having a 1/250 sync speed is great, even before the TT5 HSS. No problem at all!

 

Actually, with the pocket wizard utility, you can customize two separate settings on the TT5. I can use a 5DmkII and an M8 at the same time and just switch channels to trigger my lights. OR I can just swap the TT5 from the canon over to the M8 and change channels. The TT5s are set so the second channel is all manual everything for the Leica. Very smooth!

[stephan_w]

thank you for your reply. To be honest i got the PW only last week and had no time to check everything.

 

The support recommended me to programm the mode 2 for manual mode with this tool, so you can switch modes all the time if needed. I will have to check it out.

 

Thanks again.

[geotrupede]

what about the elinchrom skyport on the top of a sync adapter?

it all works, all manual... you need to connect the receiver to your flashes and it is done, also smaller than the PW...

 

to be honest TTL is not that important when you can adjust manual exposure and check on a screen... especially looking at how the Ms measure light (which is not that precise)

 

It all depends what is the context of you photo shoot, but if you ca gauge the distance to the subject it should not be impossible to get the correct exposure the old way... you even have a telemeter for distance measurement :-)

 

G

[stephan_w]

me again.

 

Sorry, for me it doesn't work. I can make work the PW in manual mode on the D700, but not on the M9. Escept scratching the body of the M9 with their lousy fixation mechanism, there is no result.

 

Btw I'm disapointed also from the less than perfect built quality. i thought to buy a quality product, but definitively it isn't. Everything seems loose and of average quality.

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[stevieraveon]

Hey Stephen,

Did you ever get it to work? It's weird that it worked for M8?

Sorry I haven't tried this yet and am just looking into it.

 

Looks like they have a MiniTT1 which may work better than TT5 as the attachment between AC3? Not sure if you have gotten around to it again...

 

The scratch hurts...

 

Let me know.

 

Thanks,

Steve

[stephan_w]

Hi Steve

 

After the last firmware-update the pocket wizzards TT5 work fine in manual mode on the S2 (and probably M9, as the system is the same), and I sold my black M9 already (it was not the only scratch after all) to get a chrome M9P

 

The manual mode is very usable as I use the seconic for radio triggered light metering and set up usually 4 flashes with it (with SB900). This works great for me so far.

 

Of course, and this is the downside, you don't have any ttl function and no zone control, so in other words any cheap radio transmitter would do the same for you.

 

What I didn't test yet is to use the PW TT5 together with the Leica SF58 flash as fill in (this means the SF58 in TTL and the other flashes in manual). On the other hand I doubt that this makes sense, as you loose the advantages of full manual control.