The unstoppable Erik Valind demonstrates PocketWizard’s new MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 with AC3 ZoneController at Photoshop World. Valind is featured on D-Town, Episode 71, along with all the other image-creating characters you’d expect. Looks like everyone had a great time.
Frame from D-Town, Episode 71.
For the past three years, our local ski resort, Stowe, has hosted the East Coast Super Shoot, a photo competition for ski/snowboard photographers, which took place last weekend and is co-sponsored by PocketWizard. Five photographers are selected from portfolio submissions and teamed with a skier and snowboarder and given two days to shoot like mad. At the end, they presented slideshows in the brand new Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center in front of an audience of a couple hundred people and three judges. The overall winner received $1000 cash and a photo shoot assignment by the main sponsor, Orage ski clothing.
You can make your voice heard by checking out the SmugMug PocketWizard Gallery. Take a look at the range of images and let us know your favorites. Here’s just one of many images you can vote for.
Educator and photographer Neil van Neikerk recently posted a review of his initial experiments with the PocketWizard AC3 ZoneController.
Charleston, South Carolina wedding photographer Patrick Hall teamed up with his friend Lee Morris in 2009 to create the photography resource Fstoppers.com. The site has become an online destination showcasing behind the scenes videos of professional photographers at work. Originally primarily a site known for high quality videos, it has branched out to include written articles by guest photographers, and is worth the time of anyone interested in the art and practice of photography.
©Patrick Hall
At long last, we have the final installment of T. Michael Testi’s marathon review of the PocketWizard MiniTT1, FlexTT5, AC3 and AC9 units all for Canon cameras. The first part was a general overview of the products and their capabilities. The second part was a detailed look at the seldom-covered AC3 and AC9 units.
In Part 3, Testi tests his PocketWizard gear at a Gary Thomas Extreme Lighting Workshop to chronicle the Outwest Outlaw Roller Derby team. The venue has spotty lighting at best, and even appears to have unfinished walls. Testi mentions dialing strobe power up or down with his AC3 in several shooting scenarios without completely halting his workflow. He shoots both sports action and more posed portrait work during this workshop.
Testi ends his three part review with the following two paragraphs. They follow in their entirety.
Again and again, I am amazed at the reliability and quality of all of these pieces and how well they work together in any situation. I also love the HyperSync ability that comes with the ControlTL system. This is what allows you to shoot at faster speeds than your camera would normally allow — all the way to 1/8000 second with full power flash. It allows you to capture more creative shots than you can with regular flash.
I also like the fact that everything just works together. There are no cords and no Velcro — just the FlexTT5 and the Speedlite. The ability for the system to work seamlessly with the Alien Bees and the flash unit made this a joy to work with. If you want the ultimate in the ability to control your flash and strobes from right on your camera, then I very highly recommend you add the AC3 and the AC9 to your MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 units.
Thanks for the details, T. Keep up the great work!
T. Michael Testi has published Part 2 of his review of PocketWizard MiniTT1, FlexTT5, AC3, and AC9 For Canon. Previously, the PocketWizard blog informed readers about Part 1. Part 2 goes into detail on how the AC3 and the AC9 work with the MiniTT1 and the FlexTT5.
In Part 1, Testi didn’t get into the AC9. In Part 2, he explains how the unit controls Alien Bee strobes and can regulate how much power the strobe fires with. He praises it’s small size, and that via the FlexTT5, you can dim modeling lights and control the sleep mode.
Testi writes, “Once again, I continue to be amazed at the reliability and quality of these all of these pieces and how well they work together.” He continues with, “…if you want the ultimate in the ability to control your flash and strobes from right on your camera, then I very highly recommend you add the AC3 and the AC9 to your MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 units.”
In the forthcoming Part 3, Testi promises to take his PocketWizard units to “uncontrolled situations,” such as a Gary Thomas Extreme Lighting Workshop. We look forward to the last installment in this detailed series.
T. Michael Testi of the Enlightened Image has gone all out with a detailed review of the PocketWizard FlexTT5, MiniTT1, AC3 and AC9 for Canon, although owners of the new Nikon units will find much of his information valuable, too. In particular, he stresses the importance of loading PocketWizard units with the latest firmware via the PocketWizard Utility application. It is available for Mac OS X or Windows.
Testi ends his review with the following two paragraphs:
Once I got everything setup with the FlexTT5, I found the set to be incredibly reliable and easy to use. I do not think I have had a misfire yet. I have used them to shoot with flashes in E-TTL and manual as well as using Alien Bees studio lights.
I really like the smallness of MiniTT1 – you really almost forget that it is on your camera. I also like flatness of the FlexTT5′s design as well. With all of the configuration abilities and reliability, if you want professional grade remote flash triggering, then I can highly recommend the MiniTT1 and FlexTT5.
Testi has labeled this review “Part 1,” so we assume there will be more content forthcoming. We like his writing, and the rest of his blog. We hope to see more in the future. Thanks, T.
On January 18, 2011 we announced the PocketWizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 radios for Nikon are now shipping everywhere. Shipments to dealers continue daily in order to meet the high demand for these new units. These Nikon i-TTL compatible radios are being shipped with the latest ControlTL firmware for Nikon, version 2.100.
ControlTL firmware v2.100 for Nikon adds compatibility for the new Nikon D7000 and addresses some other operational issues. Current owners of the MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 radios for Nikon can upgrade to the new firmware for free via the PocketWizard Utility.
This firmware does not include compatibility for the new SB700. This will be addressed in a future firmware version.
PocketWizard has also just released an online wiki format manual for both Nikon and Canon versions of the ControlTL system. The PocketWizard wiki is a work in progress and will continuously be updated as new features are added and improvements are made to the easily-upgraded ControlTL system.
The AC3 ZoneController for Nikon is on schedule for February deliveries. The AC9 AlienBees Adapter for Nikon is on schedule for March deliveries.
The boys at Fstoppers published a post entitled “Fstoppers Nikon PocketWizard FlexTT5, MiniTT1, and AC3 Review.”
Using beta units, the team put the new gear through all the usual Fstopper paces. A substantial video is included in the post, and plenty of sample photographs. Calling the technology “the best out there,” they cite the auto TTL feature as a standout, and praise LPA for not rendering the Plus II model obsolete.
We’re really impressed with the inclusion of two completely different photo shoots done under different lighting conditions. The writing is detailed, and definitely worth reading. Don’t forget to scroll down for the 13 flash dunk! Be sure to check it all out here. Oh, yeah. And the Comments section has absolutely exploded!
Wedding and lifestyle photographer Chris Diset came up with an idea to help bring in the new year. What would happen if he got in a car, drove for 24 hours, and took one photograph every hour, wherever he was? His friend and fellow photographer Kerry Garrison signed on board, and New Year’s Day will find them driving and shooting, driving and shooting for 24 hours. They hope to cover 1100 miles in the Southwestern United States. Here’s Diset’s blog post about how Photo Project 24 came into being.
The team will be using a Canon EOS 5D Mark II as the primary camera with Canon EOS 7D’s as backup cameras and a handful of Canon 580 EX, Canon 580 EX II’s as the primary light sources. Garrison is a fan of the PocketWizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5, and will be utilizing them on this trip.
Photo Project 24 has numerous challenges. With such a short amount of time available at each location, the team is also facing the struggle to get great shots in the middle of the night where there is likely to not be any usable available light. With lighting being such a key element for half of the adventure, the team has chosen to use PocketWizard’s ControlTL system along with the AC3 Zone Controller. “The combination of the ControlTL system and AC3 Zone Controller will greatly enhance our ability to setup lighting fast and dial in the exact amount of light from up to three different groups of lights,” says Kerry Garrison. “We’re both huge fans of the PocketWizard ControlTL system, and use it for our wedding and portrait photography businesses. It was only natural we choose a system with the flexibility it allows.”
Due to storm activity predictions, they’ve had to reroute their original travel plans, and are relying on Plan B, which you can follow here. The duo will attempt to upload images in real time, depending on their Internet access. You can follow them on Twitter and Facebook.
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