Pocket Wizard

I have tried to find an answer to one question but only really found some vague answers.

So here I go.

If I mount my 580 EX II flash on my 1D3 I can control it and other slave flashes from the "External Speedlite Control" menu on the 1D3.

My question really is very simple. If I instead use a set of pocket wizards will I then still be able to control the flashes through the "External Speedlite Control" menu on the 1D3 ?

Tommy, there are several different types of Pocket Wizard radio devices but I'm going to assume that you are referring specifically the ControlTL devices like the MiniTT1 and the FlexTT5.

The only control you have from the camera flash menu when you have the any ControlTL unit mounted in the hot shoe and an EX flash on top of that is to enable or disable the flash. Without the flash mounted on top of the ControlTL device, you can also set the FEC and the ETTL mode from the menu.

Ok thats a shame.

tommykjensen wrote in post #11541732
Ok thats a shame.

I wouldn't rule out LPA Design coming out with a firmware upgrade sometime in the future which will allow you to control many, if not all, features of the ControlTL device from the camera flash menu, especially when there's a flash mounted on top as the master. Hopefully, it'll be much sooner than much later.

I'll just have to wait and see. They are too expensive to buy them on something that might come later as a firmware update. I can live with having one of my flashes on cable.

What exactly did you want to be able to do with the camera menu? Because there's always the option of entering the lighting ratio setting on the master flash itself.

Well I like the fact that I quickly can adjust output of each flash group.

When I play with shots like this I still need to shoot several shots before I get the rigth amount of output from each flash. So I like the control I have from the menu.

As for doing it on the master flash itself, well I don't really think the flash is very userfriendly and its not easy to remember exactly which buttons to use. Also the master flash could be off camera (granted not far with the kind of shots I experiment with currently )

Yes, it is very intuitive controlling the flash from the menu, isn't it? But if you do it enough times, it's very quick and easy to set the flash settings from the flash also, especially if all you're doing is change the A:B ratio (changing the A:B C ratio is a little more involved but not much more complex). But if the flash is connected to an off-shoe cord, then controlling the setting from the flash could get a little cumbersome, huh?

There's this neat little gizmo that LPA design also makes. It's call the AC3. It sits on top of the MiniTT1 or FlexTT5 and with it, using three little dials, you can control the power outputs of up to three flash groups. Changing flash setting with the AC3 would be even much faster and easier than changing the settings via the menu.

With the AC3, you no longer need a master flash connected to the camera to control the lighting ratio. The flash can then be kept off camera without being tethered to the camera via an off-shoe cord. Of course, that also means that you'll need another FlexTT5 for that flash.

Ahh interesting. So without the AC3 I would actually have to put the master on the camera. I thougth that too could be placed off camera.

I have 2 flashes and I have set one to group a and the other to group b and use the manual setting where I can adjust each individually.

So if I wanted to have both of my flashes of camera I would need:

1 MiniTT1
2 FlexTT5
1 AC3

?

Hmm that would be over $1000 Would be cheaper to buy a third 580 ex II and put that on camera to control the other 2 with the limits the infrared gives.

tommykjensen wrote in post #11542230
Ahh interesting. So without the AC3 I would actually have to put the master on the camera. I thougth that too could be placed off camera.

I have 2 flashes and I have set one to group a and the other to group b and use the manual setting where I can adjust each individually.

So if I wanted to have both of my flashes of camera I would need:

1 MiniTT1
2 FlexTT5
1 AC3

?

Hmm that would be over $1000 Would be cheaper to buy a third 580 ex II and put that on camera to control the other 2 with the limits the infrared gives.

For indoor shooting, yes, it would be much, much cheaper to just use a 580EX as the master and fill light (on the camera). The real advantage of the Pocket Wizard ControlTL devices is the use of RF to communicate with the slaves and the greater distance range that affords compared to the IR communication of the Canon wireless system which becomes very limited in range outdoors.

Yeah thats why I was considering this system. Well maybe later. There are a couple other things I need more at this time.

tommykjensen wrote in post #11542230
So if I wanted to have both of my flashes of camera I would need:

1 MiniTT1
2 FlexTT5
1 AC3

?

Hmm that would be over $1000

closer to $800 than over $1000... still expensive, but not *that* expensive

SMP_Homer wrote in post #11544604
closer to $800 than over $1000... still expensive, but not *that* expensive

Not in Denmark