Thanks for that very comprehensive reply. I’m not allowed loose with such things as soldering irons – no telling what damage I might do!

I do have the leads from my skyports so perhaps they might be compatible?

I’m changing from the skyports because they have become unreliable and also I like the idea of being able to have an on camera flash and being able to control an off camera flash at the same time.

Anyway an order is on its way.

David

I make my leads up for pence with components from Maplin. I find the off the shelf leads are rarely the right length for where I want to sight my PW on the flash. I have made leads for my Bowens and Broncolor Mobil. I have also used the mini pc to 3.5mm mono adapter that came with my Plus 2′s with my original sync leads. I did buy a lead to remotely trigger my Camera from the PWs from Warehouse Express. If I need a mini mono jack (3.5mm) to mono jack (6.5mm) then I buy a mini jack to mini jack lead and cut the lead down to make two new leads of perfect lengths then I solder on the bigger and therefore easier jack plugs. If you can’t be fussed with that process then the Flash Centre who are Elinchrom in the UK should be able to help you as they will know the type of lead a D-Lite takes. If you know the lead number (PW code) I can supply it for you as we have an account with PW and we pride ourselves on helping our customers. Kind regards, Damien.

Do you supply any necessary leads to attach the Pocket wizards to Elinchrom flash heads? I have Elinchrom 500′s and a D-Lite unit so need two different types

David

Thanks for answering Rory’s question earlier. D.

Thanks for the links. I shot at 1000th at f/4 today with great results. I think I was a little optimistic when I thought there was 2 stops of advantage over conventional high speed sync. On reflection of today’s full on shoot in the real world I think 1 stop is more likely.

The units worked at great distances without missing a beat. Both the 430 and 580 Speedlights were fine all day. Six of us shot all day and there were no dropped or missing frames.

Damien.

About half of my Urban Portrait delegates are Nikon based and as you know there is no Nikon unit available yet.

I will probably run ‘Classic’ workshops based on infra red triggering and ‘New’ workshops based on radio triggering. As we have a maximum of 4 delegates on an urban portraits workshop it should be easy to accommodate the delegates wishes and juggle places to suit all needs. Let us know what you want and we’ll probably ‘put it on’.

I was out today on a creative shoot day with a group of Canon shooters and we shot several wonderful photographs with the new PW system that were just not possible to take using infra red triggers.

These will be blogged soon.

Regards,

Damien.

I’d probably go for one Mini TT1 and one Plus2 (secondhand?) then add a Flex TT5 when you want to use TTL with your Speedlites too. The Plus 2 can trigger cameras, and studio flashes. It can be secured easily to one of your flash heads with Velcro and connect to the head with a mini (3.5mm) mono jack to normal mono jack lead. The Plus 2 is used the world over, uses AA batteries and is very robust. Your other flashes can be triggered using the inbuilt cells. The Mini TT1 is light, smart and reliable on camera and will ensure you are future proof.

You can also use the Flex TT5 to trigger your Bowens and cameras too. In fact you can use it to do everything a Plus 2 can do but it is going to be more awkward to attach to your flash units perhaps. One solution is to use a Honl Speed Strap to avoid sticking Velcro to your TT5. The same lead is used for a Plus 2 as is for a Flex TT5.

The Flex TT5 has an auto switch off facility that may be useful if like me you are prone to forget such tasks.

Damien.

If you already own an ST-E2 there will be no need to buy a zone controller as the ST-E2 is light enough and does the job. Using a 580EX11 to do the job is overkill unless you happen to need on camera flash.

Cheers,

Damien.

There are a couple of useful video tutorials on the Pocket Wizard site. Thought it may be useful for readers to look at, as it answers some of the questions raised and shows the kit in action.

http://www.pocketwizard.com/inspirations/tutorials/

One of the tutorials explains the high speed synch aspect and although mounted on a lighting stand there is a clip where 580EX II flashguns are used with the Flex TT5 in a vertical position.

Dave

Having enjoyed your various workshops and our conversations, I have decided to buy a Bowens studio kit to practice all my ‘Lovegrove training’ (I’ll leave the Broncolor to the real professionals for now!). I want to use a Pocket Wizard trigger unit and wondered whether you can advise if I could use the new Mini TT1/TT5 for the studio kit which would also enable me to use them on my Canon speedlites. Do I need to buy both units (one on camera and one on flash?) or would I be best to buy the Plus 2 unti for studio kit?

Your help is very much appreciated.