I'm about to buy some wireless triggers...

[dearlybeloved]

And I'm wondering if picking up a pocket wizard plus III and a flextt5 is going to be what I need.

I'm wanting to be able to take my flash wireless and use it to shoot from a distance. Is this what I should start with or are there other pocket wizard combinations that will be more beneficial in the long run. i don't know too much about triggers so if I'm missing something then I'd like to be filled in.

Thanks guys and gals!

 

[tirediron]

It depends on your requirments. The Plus III (or cheaper PlusX) will allow you to remotely trigger strobe units in excess of 1000`in manual mode only. If you require TTL, then you will need to go with the [much more expensive] Flex system which will work with certain speedlights & monolights.

 

[dearlybeloved]

I've got a nikon 910 that Ill be using with it. at the moment i dont HAVE to have ttl but it is always useful. I just have been shooting a lot of events lately for clubs in my town and I'm wanting to put flashes up in the rafters and fire them separately.

 

[Gavjenks]

Basically, if you don't care about TTL, I suggest any of a variety of $20 or so radio triggers you can buy from Chinese manufacturers. They work just fine at syncing up to your camera's sync speed. Maybe 1 in 10 will break after a little while, but so what? Buy 2 pairs for a backup, and still save tons of money. Alternatively, buying cheap lights that have slave modes (as in, they fire when they see sudden bright lights from other flashes. NOT brand-name proprietary slave systems) also works very well on the cheap.

If you do need TTL, it's going to cost you hundreds more dollars for flashes that can do TTL + radios that can transfer compatibly with TTL. So be darn sure you need TTL, and it's probably not worth it if you just would like TTL as a casual afterthought.

 

[dearlybeloved]

In all honesty, I say I don't really need ttl because I don't know how useful it is or isn't. I have used it as sort of a automatic mode for my flash which I haven't used that often in the past (I prefer more natural light). I have recently been trying to use it so I can learn how to use it and work with it to my advantage so I can produce different results in the images I shoot. So I have been using it and keeping it in manual so I can learn how to use it from what I see and not what the camera sees.

If you are interested in helping someone learn the uses of ttl and how it can work to my advantage or take away from what I'm doing then I am more than interested in learning more about it.

Thanks for your responses!

 

[Big Mike]

Personally, I'd go with manual mode. TTL can work but it's an added expense and it does have it's idiosyncrasies.

I have used a couple sets of the 'cheap' triggers and while they did work...I was far from satisfied with the quality and consistency. Playing around at home it's fine...putting them up in the rafters while on a job...I'd go with something more reliable. The PW Plus III units look good to me. For full manual control, you wouldn't even need the flex.

 

[jwbryson1]

Basically, if you don't care about TTL, I suggest any of a variety of $20 or so radio triggers you can buy from Chinese manufacturers. They work just fine at syncing up to your camera's sync speed. Maybe 1 in 10 will break after a little while, but so what? Buy 2 pairs for a backup, and still save tons of money. Alternatively, buying cheap lights that have slave modes (as in, they fire when they see sudden bright lights from other flashes. NOT brand-name proprietary slave systems) also works very well on the cheap.

If you do need TTL, it's going to cost you hundreds more dollars for flashes that can do TTL + radios that can transfer compatibly with TTL. So be darn sure you need TTL, and it's probably not worth it if you just would like TTL as a casual afterthought.

^^^ This. I have both Cowboy Studios radio triggers (about $35'ish for the set) and Phottix Strato II radio triggers (about $99 for a set of 2). I also have 4 Yongnuo YN 560 II speedlights which have an optical slave that you can set for them to fire when they see another flash fire. Saves the need for triggers to be included on them. In all, going this route will save you $$$$.

The YN 560 II's are about $75 each and work great.

 

[Robin_Usagani]

Really too bad you are not a Canon shooter .

 

[Derrel]

If you get some Chinese-made cheapie triggers, you'll usually have a ready-made excuse when things go wrong. If you buy genuine PocketWizard triggers, then when things go wrong, the only person you can blame is yourself. I find some of the stories about cheap trigger sets malfunctioning kind of amusing, especially when I see the excuses in on-line videos-- even from big-name shooters trying to either save a buck, or who are payed to plug some imported stuff. It's funny, watching people dick around with cheap junk, making excuses for it when they are doing "how-to" videos. lol.

 

[Buckster]

The thing about Pocket Wizards is that they NEVER fail like that cheap Chinese crap
that ALWAYS fails (all those happy users who say they've never had a failure with
the absolutely horrible cheap Chinese garbage triggers that are nothing but fail, fail, FAIL
are obviously lying). Pocket Wizards ALWAYS work PERFECTLY and FLAWLESSLY and...

Excuse me...

Whoops!

umm...

Never mind... :mrgreen:

 

[Derrel]

Check out this great review of a Chinese-made trigger system...read the comments at the bottom from actual owners. These things are a JOKE.

Inexpensive Chinese Flash Triggers similar to Pocket Wizards ? Aputure Trigmaster Plus | Peter Tsai Photography Blog

Sometimes these things work...sometimes....reliability is an issue...so is incompatibility with TTL flash power adjustments. All in all, par for the course. Cheap. Chinese-made. No guarantee of actual full functionality in TTL mode. OR of even triggering. Just look at the list of owners who cannot get the damned things to WORK RIGHT...

It's laughable. A lot of fanboys of the cheap triggers and cheap flashes love to save a bit of money. I can understand that. Discount lifejackets, Goodwill cooking pots, refurbished smoke alarms, thrift store ladders, and so on...all great places to save money.

 

[Derrel]

Here's a good one: Wireless flash triggers that work RELIABLY with XPro1: Fujifilm X System / SLR Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

"Is anyone currently using a flash trigger system that works reliably with the XPro1?I have 4 of the Yongnuo RF-603C that works flawlessly with Canons and used to work ok (70% success rate) with my XPro1. Recently they became very unreliable on my Fuji, not triggering 50% of the time, when they do it's before or after the curtains have closed so no flash would show up in the photo. Note that there's nothing wrong with my flash because it works well when attached directly to the hotshoe.
I'm now ready to spend more on the triggers, but I have to know which one works 100% for the XPro1. So this question is only for people who have actual hands-on experience, please! Range isn't too important but 20-50 meters would be nice."

Or...check this thread, and read the opinions of 20 different shooters...

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?54853-Cheap-Chinese-Wireless-Remote-Syncs
http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?54853-Cheap-Chinese-Wireless-Remote-Syncs/page2
http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?54853-Cheap-Chinese-Wireless-Remote-Syncs/page3

 

[tirediron]

I have limited experience with anything but PWs (starting with the old, brown gen one models), and the ONLY time they have ever failed to fire it was because:

(1) I forgot to put a battery in one;

(2) I had one set to the wrong channel; or

(3) I had forgotten to turn it on.

OTOH, the cheap trigger set that came with an otherwise very good monolight kit has, at best a 75% track record. Not making any judgegements, simply stating experience based on fact.

 

[Buckster]

I have limited experience with anything but PWs (starting with the old, brown gen one models), and the ONLY time they have ever failed to fire it was because:

(1) I forgot to put a battery in one;

(2) I had one set to the wrong channel; or

(3) I had forgotten to turn it on.

OTOH, the cheap trigger set that came with an otherwise very good monolight kit has, at best a 75% track record. Not making any judgegements, simply stating experience based on fact.

And, similarly, my experience is never having had a single failure with any of the Yongnuo triggers I've used, nor the Radio Poppers, nor cords, nor a couple other off-brand radio triggers I've used over the years.

So, from what I can see, most people have no failures with either one. Some people have failures with either one. The big difference then, is the price.

 

[TCampbell]

And I'm wondering if picking up a pocket wizard plus III and a flextt5 is going to be what I need.

I'm wanting to be able to take my flash wireless and use it to shoot from a distance. Is this what I should start with or are there other pocket wizard combinations that will be more beneficial in the long run. i don't know too much about triggers so if I'm missing something then I'd like to be filled in.

Thanks guys and gals!

I noticed you said "a pocket wizard plus II and a flextt5". Don't confuse the Plus III and FlexTT5.

A Plus III is a manual transceiver. It can be mounted on the camera in order to send the firing signal to the remote lights and then of course one more unit per remote light. It is not capable of working in TTL mode. Basically if you get the Plus III's then you get _all_ Plus IIIs (no FlexTT5).

The FlexTT5 can work in TTL mode (and they make specific versions depending on the brand of your camera (Canon or Nikon.) It likewise can be a master or remote. They make the MiniTT1 which can only be the master but it's smaller. That means you can have a single MiniTT1 and several FlexTT5's (one for each remote light) or you could go with all FlexTT5's. A FlexTT5 can do manual mode too... but it'd be a waste of money to buy Plus III's and then just ONE FlexTT5 because a FlexTT5 needs a Pocket Wizard compatible TTL trigger in order to use TTL mode (either another FlexTT5 or a MiniTT1).

If you have highly variable lighting then a TTL system is nice. I can understand why, for example, a wedding photographer who has to move from position to position and doesn't stay in the same place very long might really benefit from a TTL system (though when I did weddings... it was all manual). Wedding photography is like an action sport... you're constantly on the move and you need to nail every shot. You cannot take two or three test shots for every "real" shot. We did wedding photography with manual flashes because we knew the the relationship of distance to f-stop for our lights. That meant we could focus, read the distance off the focus ring, then dial in the right f-stop and nail the flash power every time. But frankly, when you do this enough, you have a REALLY good idea of your subject-distance without even looking at the focus ring. With prime lenses, the framing of the shot pretty much tells you your distance (can you only see their head & shoulders? Can you see down to waist level? Can you see their whole body? Several whole bodies with room to to spare? You get the idea. But if you use a zoom lens then the framing of the subject isn't a reliable indicator of their distance.)

When you're in more of a controlled studio environment or even setup at a location shoot ... where you CAN take test shots to determine the power you want to go with, then manual is probably the better way to go. While modern TTL systems (iTTL, E-TTL, E-TTL II) are pretty smart and much more accurate than older TTL systems, they still make mistakes and can fire at less-than-ideal settings. A manual flash will fire at the power level YOU dial in... every time (unless it's a really low quality flash and can't consistently control it's power output... in which case it needs to go into the trash bin.)