Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

my TT5 or my multimax will simply not fire the E640 or maybe one every 10 shot... no matter what the speed is...
with my balcar, or the 550 EX, or the ABR800, there is no problem at all.

the only way i could make the E640 work with the PW is to use a 60 feet sync cord.... and i would still have a range limited to 35/50 feet from the remote....

this suck really bad as otherwise i love the einstein, but for now, I'm holding on my order for two more until this get fixed.

I know that AB and PW are working together on compatibility, and i would be so stoked if i could have a remote that have both function of the PW TT5 and CC...

HYPERSYNC is a must have for action sport photographer like me, as well as, remote power management.

but the most important function is the ability of the system to be 100% reliable...

Suggestions to the Tech Support :
1) please keep us informed by email regarding emi issue, like you guys deed for heat issue on E640....
2° get rid of quartz/halogen as a model light, go LED like the ranger, less heat, less drawn of the vagabond.

Am having the same problem!

Just got my Einstein and testing it out with my TT5 and Mini..updated to the newest firmware beta..Using a MKIV and a 5D II

Highest I can sync without a black bar in the frame is 1/100

I've reset my units and still the same....What's going here?? Kinda sucks ;(

For those getting a black bar in your frame:

a- is the black bar at the top or botton of the frame?
b- what is the power level of the flash during these tests?

Mostly top....one the bottom once for me

I turned the Einstein on out of the box..So I assume the lowest power.

ok, as a diagnostic function, turn the flash to max power and try again. Does the problem persist, or go away? I bet it goes away. I think i know what the problem is, and i am working up an explaination now, but it is involved and will take a while. Hopefully, solutions will be included or followed shortly thereafter.

EMI is not a factor to this, and please remember the remotes are Pocket Wizard devices, not ours, so I ( and the rest of our company) am having to learn this system as well. I also do not believe there is a "fault" in either system causing this, but a difference in how some flashes work vs. others.

stay tuned for more information.

OK, got to playing around with a rebel and einstein and the TT system today. I was able to reproduce where the top would get a black bar at standard sync speed and even well below. The issue is too early of a trigger in the TT system. This should be reduceable in the software. The theory behind the early trigger is to maximize the burn time to increase sync speed achieveable on most studio lights.

Here is what happens with a standard monolight, like an AB, when used with the TT system:

The shutter button is pressed. The camera finds focus. The camera sends a signal to the TT transmitter (because it is dedicated, the camera thinks the TT transmitter is a speedlite, and this is how HSS sync works) that a picture is about to be taken. The TT fires a signal. The flash fires and continues a relatively slow reduction in light output. The shutter opens. The shutter closes. Then the flash output finally tapers off. The flash is on the entire time the shutter is moving. This is how the hypersync function works, as well.

Standard syncing with any flash does this:

The shutter button is pressed. The camera finds focus. The shutter opens. the flash is fired and all light is dissipated. Then the shutter closes. If too high of a shutter speed is set, then a black bar will appear in the frame (this would be at the bottom of the horizontal frame in most cameras, perhaps at the top in others).

With the Einstein and TT system this is what happens (or if too much pre-trigger is dialed in for a given flash):

The shutter button is pressed. The camera finds focus. The pre-trigger signal is sent to the TT. The flash fires. The shutter starts to move across the frame. The flash suddenly cuts the light output (due to the IGBT). The shutter finishes moving across the frame. Since the flash stopped, the top of the frame does not get exposed. This is virtually identical, but reversed of a too high shutter speed hardwired. The lower the power setting, the worse the problem. Also, Action mode will be worse than Color mode at any given power setting.

Hypersync relies on the flash duration to be as long or longer than the entire travel time of both shutter curtains, not just the difference between them. Einsteins IGBT control can make the t.1 flash duration up to 40x that of a B1600 at a given power setting, thus negating the hypersync ability at lower power settings. Also, at some shutter speed/output/pre-trigger settings, you may see bars at the top and bottom of the frame.

Now for the good news. At full power, Einstein has a longer flash duration than a B1600. Since Hypersync is typically used in situations where full power is preferred, this does not create an issue, and actually helps. Secondly, I know 1/100-1/250 is not “hypersync” speeds, but I believe all settings are treated the same way, as it will usually not cause an issue. The TT system does allow pre-trigger time to be adjusted in the bundled software. As different flash systems will act differently, PW included this feature.

Again, this not a “fault” in either system. The PW hypersync approach is a relatively successful capitalization on a weak point in standard monolight design. While Einstein is not a standard monolight, improving on the weak point of slow flash durations.

I know this a long a complicated answer, and I hope I made my self clear, but if any other questions arise, please ask them!

A little late to the discussion but:
a) I am getting the bar at the top.
b) I don't think I've tried it any higher than 1/2 power. Definitely not at full power.

Your description of the problem seems right to me.

Hopefully I can try out three things tonight:
1) Higher flash output
2) "Dumb Trigger" mode - should trigger at the same time as a PWII ignoring the pre-flash signal (if I understand the system correctly.)
3) Adjusting the trigger offset (I haven't had luck doing this in the past but that's a user error, not a system error.)

I really enjoy both systems and I'm glad that your two companies are collaborating on the PowerMC2.

Here's my testing results:
Full power - no bar up to 1/250 (all I tested)

Set PW for Manual Trigger and Flex to receive on normal channels - no bar up to 1/200, even at lowest power setting. A slight drop from the 7D's 1/250 sync but acceptable.

Adjust Hypersync offset to zero (based on http://www.pocketwizard.com/inspirations/tutorials/hypersync_tutorial_video/ ) - bar is reduced but still visible after 1/100 at -4 stops power.

I'm just going to leave my C2 config to be a manual trigger for when I'm using the Einstein.

Sorry if this subject was answered elsewhere, but I found this thread using google while trying to fix the Einstein 1/100 max sync issue and thought I would update the info here with what I found.

(Did my testing with the Einstein set to 1/8 [80w/s] and color temp mode.)

Using the FlexTT5 as the receiver the only way I could get it to sync above 100 was to put the TT1 in manual mode. Not ideal since my 5D2s sync speed seems to be only 1/160 with the einstein and in manual trigger mode you can't take advantage of any hypersync.

I found though that if I use a regular PW+II as the receiving unit on the Einstein, I could achieve a max sync speed 1/250 with the default TT1 settings.

I'm hoping that the Einstein specific PW units that will be coming out will fix all these timing issues, but until then, don't sell off all your old PW+/+II units just yet.

First, we are not developing the module for Einstein, LPA (Pocket Wizard) is (with input from us), though I am sure they will test it thoroughly. Second, there is not a timing issue with Einstein. It's physics. Hypersync is a capitalization on what would otherwise be a negative trait of standard flash design, long flash durations. The idea is to trigger the flash a tad early and have the shutter open and close within the duration of the flash. One of the big advantages (probably the biggest) of Einstein is the fast flash duration. If it takes longer for the shutter to complete its cycle (from remote activation to second curtain closing) than the flash duration lasts, you will get dark areas on your image. The lower the output, the faster the flash duration. For best results, use a higher flash output, use the color mode (it does not matter the mode if you are at full power), and set a low pre-trigger setting on the TT transmitter.