PocketWizard ControlTL System for Nikon

Roughly a year after the release of the PocketWizard ControlTL System for Canon, the Nikon version of the system is available. Good news Nikon photographers—it was worth the wait! The Nikon ControlTL System does everything that Nikon’s i-TTL system does, while extending the operating range and reliability between camera and remote flash.

The ControlTL System for Nikon consists of three major components: the MiniTT1-Nikon transmitter; the FlexTT5-Nikon transceiver; and the AC3 ZoneController and its accessories. Without compromising any of Nikon’s i-TTL capabilities, these overcome the one shortcoming of the Nikon flash system—the limited range and the need for line-of-sight communication of Nikon’s infrared (IR)-based control system. With the radio frequency system of the ControlTL units, range is vastly increased over IR and remote units no longer need to “see” the camera unit. With the PocketWizards, you can mount Nikon flash units in umbrellas in the studio or on booms or stands during events and shoot without worrying if the remote units will fire. They will.

In my testing, I found the limitation of the system to be Nikon’s SB900 flash, not the PocketWizard ControlTL units. Several times I overheated my SB900s by shooting too many exposures too quickly, but I never missed a shot due to the PocketWizard system.

The MiniTT1 is PocketWizard’s smallest transmitter and mounts on the camera hot shoe. The FlexTT5 is a larger transceiver unit that you can mount on the camera hotshoe as a transmitter, or mount remotely as a receiver using the 1/4-20 standard mounting built into its base. The AC3 mounts on either unit and extends their capabilities by providing three zones of independent control for Nikon flash units, or with optional accessories, Elinchrom RX, AlienBees, White Lightning and Einstein E640 flash systems. And all units are compatible with any other PocketWizard units for triggering remote flashes or cameras.

MiniTT1-Nikon
The MiniTT1 slides onto the hot shoe of compatible Nikon cameras. It sports its own hot shoe for connecting an on-camera flash unit if you desire. With its small size, controls on the MiniTT1 are minimal. Along with the Power/Channel1(C1)/Channel2 (C2) slider is a TEST/LEARN button, a status LED and a USB port. A CR2450 (or CR2354) 3-volt button battery supplies sufficient power for hundreds of hours of operation and thousands of flashes according to PocketWizard.

You can program the two Channels on the MiniTT1 to any of the 20 channels unique to the Control TL system. By using the LEARN button you can also program it to any of your PocketWizard MultiMAX channels. If you don’t have a MultiMAX, you’ll need the free PocketWizard software utility for Mac or Windows computers along with the USB cable and port to reprogram the MiniTT1 channels.

I was never in a situation where another photographer was triggering my remote flash. But if both channels are used by other photographers you must use a MultiMAX or your laptop to find a free channel on your remote flash, program it into the FlexTT5, then program the same channel into the on-camera MiniTT1. Fortunately, for most photographers this will never be necessary. A good safeguard if you are often in shooting situations with other photographers is to program your MiniTT1 and FlexTT5s to some obscure channel number that is unlikely to be used by another photographer.

FlexTT5-Nikon Transceiver
The FlexTT5 transceiver is larger than the MiniTT1, but capable of receiving as well as transmitting. On top of the FlexTT5 is a hot shoe and on the bottom is a hot shoe connection for mounting the unit on your camera as a transmitter and a standard tripod mount for mounting the unit on a light stand as a receiver. The FlexTT5 takes commonly available AA batteries.

As with the MiniTT1, the FlexTT5 provides two programmable channels for communicating between the camera and remote flash units. But the TT5 also includes three zone controls that work in conjunction with the Nikon flash zones. With a compatible Nikon CLS flash or the AC3 Zone Controller mounted on the FlexTT5, you can control and trigger multiple flashes in three separate zones with different power settings. This allows you to set and adjust lighting ratios from the camera as you shoot.

You can also use the FlexTT5 to trigger a remote camera, or to trigger a non-Nikon manual flash. The FlexTT5 performs all of the functions of a PocketWizard MultiMAX. The biggest difference is the need to program channel frequencies with a computer rather than with buttons, as you can with the MultiMAX.

The FlexTT5 includes PocketWizard’s Hyper-Sync technology that allows you to extend the limit of flash sync shutter speeds to 1/8000 automatically with Nikon flash units. Set your shutter speed higher than 1/500 and the FlexTT5 automatically goes into high speed sync/FP mode. It is also capable of extending the camera’s sync speed for non-Nikon flash units to 1/500 of a second depending on the flash system.

AC3 ZoneController
The third major piece of the system is the AC3 ZoneController. With the AC3 mounted on the MiniTT1 or FlexTT5 and that unit mounted in the camera hot shoe, you have control over three separate zones with as many flash units in each zone as you want, without having a flash unit on the camera. Rotary dials for each zone give +/- 3 f-stop control over each zone. Separate slider switches allow you to turn each zone on or off and to select manual or automatic i-TTL control. You can also use it with optional adapters to control Elinchrom RX, AlienBees, White Lightning and Einstein flash systems.

In practical use, all of the PocketWizard gear performed as specified. The range of the system tested out to about 800 feet without any obstructions in the path. This is less than a MultiMAX, but far greater than you would achieve with Nikon’s infrared system.

My favorite part of the system is the AC3. Shooting portraits in the studio with a Nikon SB800 bounced into one umbrella and a SB900 bounced into another, I was able to shoot a variety of lighting ratios quickly without moving from my camera position. On location with my assistant aiming the SB900 mounted on a FlexTT5, and with the AC3 mounted on a second FlexTT5 mounted on my camera with a long lens, I was able to try different flash/ambient lighting ratios until I found one that I liked. The PocketWizards never missed a beat. I wish I could say the same for the SB900 which overheated.

Street price of the MiniTT1-Nikon is about $200; the FlexTT5-Nikon is about $220; and the AC3, about $80. Documentation and video tutorials from PocketWizard are excellent and get you up-to-speed quickly. The units themselves are very intuitive to use in their base configuration, but there is a lot of capability beyond what you find by using them straight out of the box. Study the manual and tutorials, download the software utility and you will find a complete system for controlling your Nikon and non-Nikon flash units.

Stan Sholik is a commercial/advertising photographer in Santa Ana, CA, specializing in still life and macro photography. His latest book, Nik Software HDR Efex Pro, is scheduled for release in October.