RadioPopper PX Receiver
Different than some photographers, my style of flash photography benefits from TTL control of the off camera flashes. I know many stick to manual control, but TTL works for what I do. And so I want a TTL based system that does not depend on line-of-sight or the “right” ambient light conditions.
I am using the RadioPopper PX system with my Nikon speedlights (SB-900s) and used them, before my switch to Nikon, with Canon speedlites (580 EXs). They work very well and provide all of the native Nikon (i-TTL) or Canon (E-TTL) system features because they work by intercepting the pre-flash signals, translating them into radio signals, transmitting those signals to the receiver and then decoding the radio signals back into light. Here is a past article of mine about the RapioPopper PX system for Canon.
The main reason I chose the RadioPopper PX system for my Canon flashes was due to the RF interference problems the PocketWizard ControlTL system has with Canon flash (which is not true of their PocketWizard Plus II or MultiMAX systems). Now that I’m using Nikon flashes, the PocketWizard ControlTL system is again an option as there is no such interference problem. So I wanted to document my research comparing the two systems for Nikon flashes. I don’t have the PocketWizards, so that information is based on online research.
PocketWizard MiniTT1
A key difference in the systems is that the PocketWizards use their own flash control “language” called ControlTL (Control The Light). They work by taking the camera’s TLL signal from the camera’s hot shoe and converting that to ControlTL, transmitting that to the receiver and then sending commands to the flash through the flash’s hot shoe. Either a MiniTT1 or a FlexTT5 can be the transmitter while only the FlexTT5 can be a receiver.
As best I can tell, there are no radio interference problems with the Nikon flashes. That’s good because, for me, that was the no-go problem with using the PocketWizard system with Canon flashes.
PocketWizard FlexTT5
Because PocketWizard uses ControlTL to control the remote flashes, there is not a one-to-one correspondence between Nikon i-TTL commands and ControlTL commands. In practice that means:
ControlTL Can Do Some Things i-TTL Can’t
- HyperSync—allows studio flash and some hot shoe flashes to sync at faster than x-sync speeds and up to 1/8000 second.
- Simple hot shoe connections—no need for the special brackets the RadioPoppers use to line up with the flash control sensor on the speedlight.
- Work without an on camera flash controller—no need for an SU-800 or a speedlight.
- Change with firmware revisions—both the MiniTT1 and the FlexTT5 can have firmware updates (to correct bugs or to add features) made using your computer and the USB port on the devices.
i-TTL Can Do Some Things ControlTL Can’t
- Separate exposure compensation and flash exposure compensation—Nikon’s i-TTL system let’s you control one separately from the other.
- Use the SB-900 light patterns—using the Center or Even light patterns available with the SB-900 will casue exposure errors using PocketWizards.
- Work in mirror up mode—ControlTL just won’t.
- Allow flash repeat mode—ControlTL just won’t.
- Mix radio and pre-flash—RadioPoppers don’t interfere with the pre-flash as PocketWizard does.
- Control flash zones from the camera menu—you’ll need a PocketWizard AC3 Zone Controller for that.
- Future “proof”—PocketWizard firmware may have to be updated for future flash and cameras.
PocketWizard AC9
Of course, PocketWizard’s upgradable firmware means that its abilities can expand with revisions.
PocketWizard also offers matching radio controls for studio strobes that allow the strobe power to be controlled from the camera (although not in TTL):
- AC9 AlienBees Adapter
- PowerST4 for Elinchrom RX
- PowerMC2 for Einstein E640 Flash
So, will I be selling my RadioPopper gear and buying PocketWizard equipment? Maybe. But probably not right now. I’d like to see if RadioPopper will make another firmware upgrade to allow more of i-TTL’s features into ControlTL. Or even surpass them.
