Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I have basically been using Canon Speedlites... namely 580exII and a 430exII both on camera and off camera with my Canon 5d mkII. I want to get some strobes so that I can light group shots for weddings and events, and also I'd like to be able to mix whatever strobes I get with the speedlites in a mixed ETTL and manual mode. I have the pocketwizard equipment I need to address the off camera nature of the canon flashes. I would probably use a combination of the strobes and the speedlites in a 4 to 5 camera portrait shoot. I would then use the strobes with big umbrellas to light the groups....

Here are my specific questions....

Which strobes should I be looking at from among the Buff products... Alien Bees or White Lightnings?

How can I trigger the strobes with pocketwizards in manual mode... will this work if I add a pw plus II receiver to the strobe? What accessories if any would be required. I realize there is no TTL here even though I have the minitt1 and flextt5's for the canon speedlites. My desire here would be to control ttl on the speedlites and manual on the strobes but trigger them all with the pocketwizard minitt1 and an ac3 zone controller.

How much difference in white balance is there between the strobes and the canon flashes? What is the perferred method of correction... maybe a ctb gel for the strobes?

If I were going to buy 2 or three strobes what mix of power should I use...

What if I intended to try to get over the top of sunlight on a bright day.. what strobe among your line is required...

thanks for any help/guidance you can give...

You are omitting Einstein from your question, which is the route I would reccomend. However, many event shooters choose the Bees over the X-Series due to size and weight considerations. In your case, I do not think 640Ws is too powerful for anything you do, so Einstein, B1600, or X1600 would likely do fine. Customer service can help you has out anything more specific.

The flex and mini remotes can trigger any other reciever from Pocket Wizard, however, I do not know what the relationship is between the Control TL channels and regular channels. These specifics should be directed toward Pocket Wizard for the best answers. All you will need is a non-attenuating 1/8-1/8 mini male mono cord. We carry these as do most major camera stores.

The "flash" white balance of Canon cameras is 6000K, so I presume that is the color temperature of thier flashes. Our analogue lights are 5600K at full and about 5200 at -5f (Einstein is more 5600K +/-50K across its power range in color mode, and the color temps get higher as power is reduced, i.e. moving toward the speedlite's color temp ranges).

Getting absolute color temperture equality will be difficult if not impossible, but gelling is an option. However, it may be easier to gel the speedlites than it is the monolights.

I asked the PW folks about placing a CST in the shoe of a MiniTT (Nikon version). They said it "should" work, but they would not, of course, offer any assurances. Logically, it should not be a problem, so I'm going to order the PW gear today and give it a try.

Why would you recommend the Einstein's over the X1600s? What do they bring to the table that the X1600's don't? I noticed they are on backorder... when would they be available?

I suggest you spend a bit of time reading Einstein specs, AB1600 specs, and google Einstein reviews. The Einsteins offer a great many benefits over even high priced competitors like Profoto.

At least with Canon, placing a CST in the TT1 does work, and you do get "a little faster than x-" sync, but not the full deal. Since the TT1 is considered a dedicated unit to the camera, this can also help if trying to use certain live view or rear curtain sync when using the CyberSync system on a Canon. I do not think Nikon needs the TT1 help for the latter two problems.

You were asking about what mix of power you should use, the Einstein covers all of the power ranges, plus one stop on the low end, of all of our lights from the B400 to the X1600.

Since you are using PW's, they are (well, will soon be) more easily integrated into the Flex/Mini system. Or you can run two parallel systems with the CyberCommander or CST in the hotshoe or PC terminal (probably what I would do).

The back order time is getting considerably shorter, but a call/email to customer service will give you a more accurate time.