Pocket Wizard TT1 & TT5 range with Canon flashguns.
August 7th, 2009
All the worries are over. We have been using and shooting with the new PW mini and flex units now for some time and they are brilliant and work well at up to 35M with all the Speedlights I can lay my hands on. We have not had one return from the hundreds of units we have now sold so the proof is in the pudding.
(Original post) I have been informed that the known issue with regards to the 580EX and the 580EX11 Speedlites is that a few discrete internal components namely a capacitor and transistors emit high levels of radio frequency or RF noise. It is not the same for all 580 Speedlites as the suppliers of these components and indeed the component batches have been changing throughout production. Hence, some people my get 30m range with their 580EX11 connected to FlexTT5 units and others only 10m range. The worst range recorded is 10m so you can expect this to be a worst case scenario.
It may be possible to have the rogue components replaced in 580 series Speedlites with less noisy ones. If I owned a camera repair shop or indeed a TV repair shop I’d be investigating this as a service to offer. The components are likely to be inexpensive and the benefits of increased radio triggering range of a 580 Speedlites is a big one. – The race is on!
The range of the MiniTT1 to regular pocket wizard plus 2s etc is more than enough and if like me you already own a pair of PWs then the addition of the compact MiniTT1 is an excellent investment as it will free up one of your existing PW plus 2s to be a second receiver. Remember, with regular non TTL triggering you can use just about any flashgun with the Pocket Wizard system. I often use my Nikon SB-800s or SB-900 with my PWs triggered by my Canon 5Dmk11.
The 430EX11 Speedlites has no noisy components, recycles faster than the 580EX11 and is the perfect companion for the FlexTT5.
I will be testing my units the day we get them in and if they perform as they should I will release them onto market. I will tweet their arrival and testing results. Then once they are okay’d I’ll give a full report on this blog.
Damien.
14 Comments Add your own
1. Dave Packer | August 7th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Hi Damien
Pocketwizard are bringing out a plastic sleave to “protect” the transmitter from the radio waves. They have also posted a few ideas about how to get the most effective range on their website.
Cheers
Dave
2. damien | August 7th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Hi Dave,
I’ve seen the demo videos on their website but without the coilly lead and another brackety thing not a lot can easily be done.
I was getting 10m
with my 580EX11 with the Demo CE units I had on test. So I guess my flash gun is one of the worst offenders.
The plastic sleeve might be a sort of work around but as yet It’s not on their latest UK price list.
I’m going to investigate the surgery route for my 580EX11. If this works it might just be the cheapest and best solution.
All the best Damien.
3. Martin Currie | August 8th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
Hi Damien
Are your demo units full UK spec – or US. I thought/hoped that the UK/European production units would be operating on a different frequency, hence they wouldn’t share the US model’s shortcomings…
Regards
Martin
4. Devon | August 9th, 2009 at 5:15 am
I was under the impression that the CE units would have much better range because they use the 433 MHz frequency that is less subject to interference from the flash. Is this not the case then? That would be disappointing. Is getting an interference free capacitor installed actually an option? What would this “lobotomy” entail?
5. damien | August 9th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
Martin and Devon,
My test units were with the full CE spec PW units. I’m not sure that the operating frequency shift from US to EU will affect the range. However we will wait and see.
I’m not sure if the alternative Radio Popper systems will ever be available in the UK. At the time of writing Pocket Wizard units are on their way to us UK distributors. The question is will operating TTL systems via radio transmission rather than line of sight infra red change the way we shoot? In my case it will. I’ve been working within the restrictions of IR for so long now I’ve been at the limits wanting to break free. This system from Pocket Wizard might just give us all the opportunity to reinvent Speedlight shooting systems and techniques for good. I really hope so. ST-E2 and SU-800 commanders will not be obsolete either. They will take on a new role as directors rather than commanders in the new era.
Damien.
6. Devon | August 9th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
That’s disappointing. I was hoping for a clear resolution to this frankly annoying issue. On various forums that I have visited people were speculating that the CE units would be less subject to RFI because the interference has the greatest impact on the lower channels in the FCC model’s range. Some people have mentioned that they get ’slightly’ better results on the higher frequency channels with their FCC models. I get the sense that most people want more than 10m with the 580 EXII out of a very expensive piece of hardware.
7. damien | August 9th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
Let’s not jump to conclusions until we have a chance to check out the production units this week. I’ll report as soon as I get a chance. The biggest variation will be with individual 580s.
Damien.
8. KarlB | August 10th, 2009 at 8:36 am
Hi damien, do you have any inside info as to when the Nikon version will be available?
9. michaelbs | August 10th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
I just received my CE units (I live in Denmark).
Initial testing looks very promising indeed. It triggers round corners 20m away. I haven’t been able to make it miss one single shot so far.
10. damien | August 10th, 2009 at 11:14 pm
Hi Michael,
I too have had great success with our CE units. I’ve posted my findings to my initial tests as a new post.
Karl,
There’s no news on the Nikon units yet although I’m led to believe that they won’t be long.
Damien.
11. Martin | September 14th, 2009 at 1:14 am
Are the results any better if you use the Flex 5 as a transmitter instead of the Mini? I read somewhere Radiopoppers where destined end of Sept?
12. damien | September 15th, 2009 at 8:57 am
Hi Martin,
I’ve never found the limit of the range as it is so there is no need to use a Flex on the camera.
Radio Poppers, if indeed they do eventually appear in CE guise, have one big distinct disadvantage. They are not able to reset the timing sync of your flash and as a result you will not get the extra power out of your flash with high speed sync. You will also need a regular transmitter on your camera like the ST-E2 as the Radio Poppers are not stand alone devices.
They might not work with Canons next generation built in flash trigger system either. I’m not sure on that but it is worth checking the future proofness of the system.
If the Radio Poppers work well and have distinct advantages over the PW system for some users we will be selling them too.
Regards, Damien.
13. Martin | September 16th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
Thanks Damien,
I emailed RadioPopper HQ, and they said they are in the process of releasing a CE product, and where hoping to ship at the end of the fourth quarter [then went on to talk about Australia!] so not sure i’m any wiser. But yes I guessed the issue would arise about the on camera flash as trigger…ala Nikon creative lighting. I’ve just switched from Nikon to Canon 5d mkII and L lenses…and got rid of my Plus II’s…so am toying with the Pocket Wizards, or the ELINCHROM Quadra’s. Obviously the difference in price is an issue. But after reading a lot about the RF noise troubles I’m left wondering if the PW’s will fall short of their creative ambition. I talked with PW and they have said that their RF shield is soon to be released, but a possible solution is to use a grounding bag [of which motherboards come in] and the Canon cable…but again it begs the question, how much ‘in the end’ will the cost amount to if I have to buy extra equipment just to get the product to work. It seems we have another case of running before walking in the digital world.
Martin
14. damien | September 19th, 2009 at 12:56 am
Hi Martin,
Radio Popper have been in the process of releasing a CE product for years now. Deadlines have come and gone so don’t hold your breath.
Forget RF troubles re the PW range. They have sorted the initial problems the US units had. Unless you shoot with a 500mm lens you’ll have plenty of range with the Pocket Wizard Mini and Flex combo. PW TTL has opened up opportunities for me and I’m a tough photographer to please when it comes to kit. You can see my range test here
You wont need to mess around with grounding boards and the like just plug and play. If you buy the PWs from us here you will get a full 2 year warranty and peace of mind. Plus you might be quick enough to get yourself one of the 3 places left on our PW creative day workshop.
Regards, Damien.
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