A couple of weeks ago I received the first EU batch of the new Nikon PocketWizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 radio triggers. “A new generation of PocketWizard radios providing i-TTL and power control capabilities with Nikon Speedlights” was stated on the press release. I never used the PlusII transceivers because I switched from cheapo Cactus triggers to mid-priced Elinchrom Skyports, Skyports that stay in my lighting bag most of the time because I trigger my off-camera flashes with Nikon CLS. In some cases when I need to place a speedlight behind a wall or out of sight I use the Skyports for manual triggering because the CLS signal fails when there is no line-of-sight between the master and the remote speedlight.
Until one day I received the “classified – area51” announcement that peeps at PocketWizard where designing a Nikon version of the previously released MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 Canon radios. I knew the Canon version worked like a charm but would Mr.Wizard be able to translate the complex Nikon CLS language into a radio-signal triggering device? This could be a fail-proof solution when I need to shoot quick and move fast, plug&play-wise, set-up a remote flash and activate the PocketWizard system without having to worry about distance or obstructions.
My partner in photographic crime Bert Stephani, who has a little bit of field experience in off-camera flash, contacted me with a great proposition: “Let’s go outside and test-drive those new radios”, and so we did! We contacted a good looking assistant and a very handy model, or the other way around, and chose Ostend harbor as our playground (thank your Visit Oostende for providing us that playground).
During the test shoot I wanted to rely on the new i-TTL system hoping it would be able to properly expose my images. I wanted to test how the system would respond when using 100% automatic settings in camera in combination with an automatic remote TTL flash. I was shooting aperture priority mode (f2.8) and my metering was set to spot-metering, images below show the results of trusting the system.
Test #1:
Natural light Vs. 1 Bare Nikon SB900.
Both images are non-retouched D700 raw files converted in Lightroom to jpg and I applied a 25% sharpening – I used the automatic white-balance settings. I must admit non of both images fit my personal style but It’s a fact that during this first test the PocketWizard system proved to replace my trusty Nikon CLS workflow perfectly.
Test #2:
1 Nikon SB900 trough a diffusion panel.
I’m not a big user of strobes, I try to rely as much as I can on bounced natural light (Sunbounce). I could easily make the shot without adding a flash but since I was testing the TTL capability of the PocketWizards I decided to use a big diffusion panel to create soft (more natural looking) flash-light. For this kind of set-ups a California Sunbounce Translucent -2/3 Stop Screen is my preferred light-modifier. The screen creates a large light-source from a small flash and it allows me to be creative with the quality and direction of the light.
Test #3:
1 Nikon SB900 trough a diffusion panel + 1 Nikon SB900 as a rimlight.
Unfortunately the AC3 Zone Controller for Nikon isn’t available yet, using only the MiniTT1 as a transmitter I wasn’t able to control ratios between channel A & B speedlights (more information about the ZoneController can be found in this video tutorial from Marc Wallace). The 2nd speedlight is placed about 15m behind the model, zoomed in to 200mm (not visible in the BTS images). The reason for using a rimlight here is to have more separation between the model and the background, making the image more dimensional.
Test #4:
1 Nikon SB900 trough a white umbrella.
Shooting trough a white umbrella is a classic, it’s a very cheap and light modifier. When entering the location we walked pass this giant glass structure with a typical mirror effect. I decided to place the umbrella on the opposite side of the structure and shoot trough the glass. I asked the model to take several poses, looking into the glass or away from the glass, and nature worked with me … the setting sun acted as a warm fill-light. With some minor flash exposure compensation (in-camera) I was able to create a natural balance between the setting sun and the flash-light.
Test #5:
1 Nikon SB900 trough a white umbrella – Setting sun as a rimlight.
For this last image I used the last bit of available light as a rimlight which worked great with the stones in the background. The PocketWizard i-TTL compensated the main-light perfect here, I didn’t need to adjust flash exposure … this was a fail-proof shot.
This concludes my first part of testing the new MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 for Nikon. Don’t forget to read Bert’s thoughts on using the Canon versions on his blog!
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