PocketWizard Mini TT1 and FlexTT5

 

PocketWizard remote flash triggers have been around in a few different incarnations since the late nineties. The latest generation comes in the form of the MiniTT1 transmitter and FlexTT5 transceiver. In a nutshell, the Mini attaches to the camera’s hotshoe and communicates wirelessly with a Flex which is set up off-camera with a flashgun attached. The killer feature of these units is that TTL information from the camera is sent to the receivers allowing for automatic flash metering. As far as the camera is concerned, the flash is still attached to the camera and regulates its output power even though it may be many metres away. You can use as many FlexTT5 receivers (if you can afford them) as you like, with numerous flashguns set up to fire as groups.

Features
About the size of a matchbox, the MiniTT1 transmitter is the simpler of the two PocketWizard units and attaches to the camera hotshoe. One slider serves as an on/off switch as well as selecting one of two configurable channels in which to fire. There is a hotshoe if you wish to use either an on-camera flash or a flash commander unit, such as the Canon ST-E2. Lastly, the MiniTT1 includes a USB port, allowing it to connect to a computer with the PocketWizard Utility but more on this later.

The FlexTT5 is a transceiver, working identically to the Mini. As with the TT1, the transceiver has an on/off/channel switch as well as a USB port. Additionally, there is a zone selection switch to identify groups of receivers. Lastly the Flex has a short, flip-up aerial for receiving the TT1’s radio signals.

As well as the ControlTL functionality (using Canon’s ETTL II and Nikon’s i-TTL CLS) the MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 units have Hypersync, which lets you use flashguns beyond the camera’s max sync speed. There are two Hypersync methods available. The first fires the flash fractionally earlier than normal in an effort to catch the peak of light output despite an increased shutter speed. This allows marginal improvements in flash sync speed. The second method (FP Sync) theoretically allows for flash usage up to the camera’s maximum shutter speed. In this mode the flash is deliberately fired well in advance of the shutter, so the camera picks up the fading light from the flash as it tails off. Clearly this second method will work best with long duration flashes and those with plenty of power.

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