Difference between revisions of "Advanced Wireless TTL"

Revision as of 09:20, 23 December 2013

This section talks about Advanced Wireless TTL where you can use groups or zones of Speedlights and adjust the light levels among them while still letting the camera make the exposure decisions. You may also want to read about Manual Flash.

Make sure you read the Getting Started section first!

Canon E-TTL II

Here are some tutorials discussing Canon Wireless Ratios or Manual operation:

• Wireless Ratios with on camera Flash This tutorial talks specifically about ratios with a MASTER flash on camera contributing light to the exposure in Zone A, and adjusting ratios with a remote flash in Zone B.

• Wireless Ratios with Remote Flash This tutorial talks specifically about ratios with a flash on camera which is NOT contributing light to the exposure, and is only used for AF-Assist and as a ratio controller for adjusting remote flashes in Zones A and B. It also talks about using an ST-E2 as a ratio controller.

• Remote Manual Flash Control with a 580EX II This tutorial talks about controlling the manual level of a remote Speedlite from a 580EX II in Manual Master Mode.

Nikon Advanced Wireless CLS / i-TTL

Here is a video specifically discussing Nikon MASTER flash operation.

1. Slide the MiniTT1 Transmitter onto the camera and tighten the locking ring.
2. Slide a Nikon SB-900 or SB-800 Speedlight onto the MiniTT1 radio.
   • Set your Speedlight for MASTER = ON and enable remote groups/zones per Nikon instructions. The Nikon SU-800 Wireless Speedlight Commander may also be used.
3. Set remote FlexTT5 radio to desired remote group/zone (A, B, C) using FlexTT5 zone switch.
4. Slide Speedlight onto remote FlexTT5 Transceiver. Set Speedlight for standard i-TTL mode (not REMOTE or MASTER). Repeat for each remote Speedlight. All remote i-TTL Speedlights on the same group/zone will be treated as one zone of light.
5. Adjust flash output level compensation using MASTER Speedlight flash controls.
6. Make sure all your PocketWizard radios are on the same channel and take pictures normally.

IMPORTANT: Nikon Speedlights set to REMOTE = ON and connected to remote FlexTT5 radios will not function properly as remotes. You must be in normal i-TTL mode for remotes to operate properly. Turn off REMOTE or MASTER for your remote Speedlights. Set desired Nikon remote group/zone via remote FlexTT5 zone switch. PocketWizard channel is used instead of Nikon channel. ISO, aperture,aperture, flash exposure compensation (FEC), and other settings will work with exposure normally via the PocketWizard ControlTL system.

Note: Most changes made on camera (ISO, aperture, etc) will not display on back of remote flash’s LCD and the remote flash will not zoom with the camera lens. Due to the way our radios communicate with Nikon flashes, the display on the flash LCDs will default to ISO 200, and the zoom will go to the widest the moment you turn on the FlexTT5. Automatic zoom only works for the on-camera Speedlight. The zoom feature on the Speedlights is designed to match the flash's light output to the current focal length of a lens only when the flash is at the camera position. If you want to set the zoom level of a remote Speedlight, it needs to be set manually via the flash's controls. This behavior with our radios is actually the same behavior that Nikon's optical iTTL system exhibits.

The ISO display isn't transmitted to the remote flashes with our radios, because it isn't actually needed for TTL operation. This doesn't affect exposure in any way. Changes in camera ISO will still be accounted for, because our radios do send the TTL metering information to the flash, which responds to changes in power. You'll notice that when using Nikon's own CLS, no ISO information is even displayed.