Flexing

My girlfriend bought me four Pocket Wizard Plus II transceivers back in December 2009, and I've used those devices reliably and consistently ever since.  My only complaint was that they couldn't control the flash power remotely like the the RadioPoppers, until last year.  Last year Pocket Wizard released their Nikon version of the Flex system, which has been fairly successful for Canon shooters.  At the end of March, my buddy Brian sent me link for a deal on Pocket Wizard's Mini TT1 and Flex TT5 wireless trigger system from Amazon that basically cut the costs by $50 per device.

I decided to take the plunge and buy the two devices. The image above was shot in the early evening in Aperture-Priority Mode with the flash in TTL Mode.   Previously I used to use Nikon CLS to remotely control my Nikon Speedlights, but since they require Line-Of-Sight, they wouldn't perform consistently due to light modifiers blocking the sensor, or the distance between flash and the camera was obscured by bright light.  Because the Pocket Wizard system uses radio signals, Line-Of-Sight is not an issue.  The flex system mimics the Nikon CLS, which means it still suffers the same issue when your composition contains both bright and dark areas, or you are shooting in very low light in Aperture-Priority Mode.

This image was shot outdoors into the sun using AP mode,  the flash was too bright, so I had to set the flash power to -1 E/V, however; switching over to Manual Mode worked much better.  The real test would be to shoot in broad daylight with a model.

I called a new Member of Kern Models and Photographers, Jessie, and she agreed to meet with Rob and I to shoot.  Based on the results, I think it worked out really well since I was able to shoot images at f/2.8  and 1/1250 of a second using my SB-900 shot-through an umbrella. These images were shot around 12:30 PM through 1:30 PM all using Aperture-Priority Mode and TTL mode.  IMHO, Nikon CLS works better than Pocket Wizard's Flex system when it comes to automatically determine the correct exposure.

I then ordered the MC2 which was made to remotely manipulate my Einstein Strobes.  This was really a pain in the arse to use.  The MC2 needed to be set to -2 E/V so that the pictures weren't over-exposed.  Further, since they are studio strobes, you can't push them above 1/320.   I'm missing my Pocket Wizard Plus IIs.  The image below was shot using my Einstein in a Beauty Dish.  Thank to Katheryn for being a patient model.



After my shoot with Jessie, a small breeze blew over my light stand which sent both my SB-900 and Flex TT5 toppling over on to the pavement.  The Flex survived, but the SB-900 cost $185 to repair the flash tube.   While my SB-900 was out for repair, I photographed a friend's son using two SB-600s controlled by two Flex TT5s and the Mini TT1 with the AC3 controller.  As the sun was setting, shooting in Aperture-Priority Mode was unreliable, so I had to switch to Manual and everything looked much better and was reliable.

I'm second-guessing my Flex System purchase, but I won't give up and will continue to use them until I hone my skills, or sell them and buy the Pocket Wizard IIIs.