Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Hello,

With my Pocket Wizard FlexTT5 and MiniTT1 units (for Canon), should I be able to wirelessly fire my new Einstein at shutter speeds well beyond 1/250th via the HSS/HyperSync functionality of the PWs?

if so, what cabling/connection is necessary between the TT5 and the Einstein? Is it just the 1/8" mono cable?

I could've sworn I accomplished this about a year ago via an AlienBee that I borrowed, but I simply cannot remember how I connected everything. So far, no luck reproducing it with the Einstein.

Thank you very much
-Chris

You should be able to use the same cable as you'd use with the AB...

This weekend, doing equine photography, I actually ended up using the FlexTT5 in conjunction with the CyberCommander and Buff's little receivers that fit in the slots in the Einsteins.

I had the FlexTT5 on the camera, then mounted the CyberCommander on top of that. As far as I could tell, the Flex delayed the CC, so the CC effectively gained the HS ability.

(My initial reason for doing this was that one of the PW Plus II's that I was triggering the Einsteins with was proving unreliable, due to distance/positioning/reflector-blocking, or whatever, so I decided to try just trigger them with the CC, but still use the Flex for the HS.)

Perhaps the AB requires different timing settings on the TT1 than the Einsteins do?

This is very true. In fact, unless the E640's are at or near full power, they do not hypersync very well. This is due to Hypersync relying on slow shutterspeeds, where as one of Einstein's main features is a fast flash duration, that gets faster as power is reduced.

Yes, going back and looking at the images, the Einsteins definitely did not HS as well as the WL's, at the same timings. It worked well enough to use (since the banding will be cropped anyway), but definitely had much more banding.

Ok, thanks. I was doing my testing at very low power, so that likely explains it. I appreciate the timely response.

So, looks like I may need to pickup an AlienBee instead of/in addition to my Einstein. Despite all the great features of the Einstein, hypersync is a priority for me, and I rarely need full power. Bummer.

For HyperSync, The Bees are better. The higher the power, the better, as the higher power lights have a longer flash duration, and it only gets longer as you dial the power down. That said, in what conditions are you using the hypersync?

Often I am outdoors doing environmental portraits, dialing down the ambient sunlight with fast shutter speeds, and adding in my own light via speedlite flashes. I was hoping to bring a more powerful/pleasing lightsource into the mix, and hence my Einstein & Vagabond purchase.

Little did I realize that some of the specs that make the Einstein so attractive would actually work against me when it comes to hypersync/hss. Doh!

Although, it appears that the upcoming "PowerMC2 for Einstein" might give me what I need afterall?
http://www.pocketwizard.com/news_events/news/mc2_intro/
There is a line that reads "In addition to power control, photographers can take full advantage of other ControlTL features including HyperSync™, Rear Curtain Sync and PowerTracking."

So, before I swap my Einstein for an AB1600, I'll hold out for more info on that product when it becomes available. Also, the rear-sync support over wireless will be fantastic as well.

-Chris

oh, getting back to part of my original question: If I wish to do hypersync/hss via my pocketwizards and either an AlienBees1600 or Einstein (at full-power), I can simply connect the FlexTT5 to the light using the male mono sync cord, correct? Or is that cord not capable of transmitting the necessary data for hypersync?

Hypersync is just a matter of timing, which is controled by the transmitting device (by communicating to the camera). A TT5 connected via sync cord should work fine for that purpose.

Unfortunately, until camera makers wake up and develop and redesign the D40 style electronic/mechanical shutters to use modern CMOS sensors, all high speed sync methods by necessity throw away most of the flash power. The faster the shutter speed, the more that goes unused.

At this date, everything high speed schemes are a huge compromise when ambient vs flash is an issue.

In the studio (or in the dark) Einstein delivers all the power it produces to the sensor. With standard sync, it also does this in high ambient situation. But the camera itself doesn't allow high shutter speeds to freeze the ambient light induced blur. If I may be so bold, modern SLRs are archaic Rube Goldberg contraptions.