Ready to Go Einstein, any issues?

<p>I have a buyer for my trusty Alien Bees units, cords, wired remote, and radio trigger.</p>

<p>I am planing on getting two Einsteins with receivers and Cyber Commander. This set-up looks very good to me due to the higher power (I have AB400's), much fewing wires littering the room, and the wide level adjustments. Plus, all my modifiers and stuff mont right up.</p>

<p>Of course, the Einsteins are not cheap, therefore I inquire if there are any issues I should be aware of.</p>

<p>Thanks....</p>

<p>With the Einstein v2 versions ( the ones that are now shipping) not really. I use mine pretty hard. I still don't like connecting a very large softbox ( 54 x 72" ) directly to my Einsteins, but this is true of every single make of light I use whether it is the Einstein, Broncolor, Profoto, Elinchrom or Dynalite. Usually I keep my Einsteins in constant color mode. </p>

<p>The only issue you'll have is the moment you spend wishing you'd switched 'em around sooner, Dan. Really nice lights. Took me a little while to get used to the fact that when I'm manually setting power levels, I'm not reaching up blindly to move a slide control ... but once you play with the Cyber Commander, that's so much better. My Pocket Wizards have been more or less in hibernation ever since.</p>

<blockquote>

<p><em>My Pocket Wizards have been more or less in hibernation ever since.</em></p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>My MultiMAx units have been too, but the Einsteins with PowerMC2 receivers have been keeping my PocketWizard ControlTL MiniTT1 transmitter and AC3 ZoneController busy! Just goes to show there are different ways of working intelligently and wirelessly. </p>

<p>Good to hear, and I do hope I regret not jumping in sooner.</p>

<p>One question. How well do you like the Cyber Commander user interface for setting lights and all? It seems really small, can you get your fingers in there and run it OK?</p>

<p>I would love to get the Einsteins, but for now the Bees have to do. I did get myself a mini vagabond. I think I like it more than the Einsteins.</p>

<p>The little joysticks on the CyberCommander are not hard to use. When I've used it it has been ver reliable. </p>

<p>Thanks you.</p>

<p>Dan said . . .</p>

<blockquote>

<p>I am planing on getting two Einsteins with receivers and Cyber Commander.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Congrats, Dan! Why did you choose the Cyber Commander over the ControlTL MC2?</p>

<p>I'm ready as well. I just ordered a bunch of PocketWizards for my Nikon i-TTL system, a MiniTT1 and three FlexTT5s for use with my Speedlights. But when I need to compete with the sun, I was also about to order the Einstein E640 and the ControlTL PowerMC2 receiver for use with my MiniTT1. Any pros and cons of the MiniTT1/MC2 over the Cyber Commander/CSXCV worth noting? Ellis? Matt? Thanks!</p>

<blockquote>

<p>I still don't like connecting a very large softbox ( 54 x 72" ) directly to my Einsteins . . .</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Why is that, Ellis? Does the weight flex the ring too much?</p>

<p>Ralph said:</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Why did you choose the Cyber Commander over the ControlTL MC2?</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>Because I have never heard of a "ControlTL MC2". Do tell?</p>

<p>Dan said:</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Because I have never heard of a "ControlTL MC2". Do tell?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I'm sure Ellis and Matt can explain it better, but from what I've gleaned from their website, the Power MC2 is a receiver made specifically for the E640 that works with PocketWizard MiniTT1 transmitters. Although the MC2 is sold through Paul C. Buff, it's manufactured by ControlTL, the manufacturers of PocketWizard remote RF triggers. So, if you already have Nikon i-TTL (or, Canon) MiniTT1 + FlexTT5 PocketWizard triggers for your Speedlights, all you need to control your Einstein E640, is the MC2 (plus, the MiniTT1 on top of your camera's hot shoe) to control it as well.</p>

<p>I was all ready to order an E640 and a PowerMC2, but Matt seems to prefer the Cyber Commander/CSXCV solution, while Ellis uses the MiniTT1/MC2/AC3 solution. I was just wondering what the comparative merits of each system were.</p>

<p>Oh boy! Looks like it's time for another ride up the learning curve LOL.</p>

<p>You can use Cybersyncs to control both your speedlights, AB strobes or E640. I don't use anything TTL when using strobes. Another alternative for those who don't want to break the bank buying Wizards is Radio Poppers. Radio Poppers can remotely manually control the power of both your strobes and speedlights. Overall keeping your solution simple will generally allow for better reliability and ease of use.</p>

Because RadioPoppers depending on either dedicating a flash to be set on camera as a master or purchasing

something like a Nikon SU-800 are they really a lower cost alternative?

 

With a MiniTT1 or FlexTT5 on camera as transmitter and a PocketWizard ControlTL PowerMC2 receiver in an Einstein

and FlexTT5 receivers on your speedlights you can control energy levels of all ControlTL synced lights from the

camera with the flash exposure compensation setting. Add a ControlTL AC3 ZoneController to the transmitter and you

can break up the lights into 3 separately biased groups, each over a six stop range. You can also switch from TTL to

manual control or switch off a group.

<p>Yikes!</p>

<p>I'm not interested in TTL, I just want to control the light simply without a tangled mess of cords. Think I'll stick with the Cyber Commander.</p>

<p>Thanks...</p>

Good choice. But if you are also using Nikon Speedlights or Canon Speedlites as well as Einsteins, ControlTL is

something to seriously investigate. There are also ControlTL receivers for Alien Bees and White Lightnings, Elnchroms

with ports for external Skyport receivers, and soon for Air equipped Profotos.

<p>Ellis said:</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Good choice. But if you are also using Nikon Speedlights or Canon Speedlites as well as Einsteins, ControlTL is something to seriously investigate. There are also ControlTL receivers for Alien Bees and White Lightnings, Elnchroms with ports for external Skyport receivers, and soon for Air equipped Profotos.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Yes, that's why I chose PocketWizard over other solutions. I just sent this e-mail to LPA Design (makers of PocketWizard RF triggers):</p>

<p><em>"Does the Nikon SU-800 also control the PowerMC2?</em><br /><br /><em>I just bought a MiniTT1 + three FlexTT3s with ControlTL for Nikon. I use a Nikon SU-800 on top of my MiniTT1 on a Nikon D3s. I want to buy a PowerMC2 to also control an Einstein E640 monolight. Do the SU-800 'i-TTL commands' channel through the MiniTT1, and communicate to the MC2 on the E640 as if it were another Nikon Speedlight?"</em><br /><em></em><br />Ellis previously said . . .</p>

<blockquote>

<p>With a MiniTT1 or FlexTT5 on camera as transmitter and a PocketWizard ControlTL PowerMC2 receiver in an Einstein and FlexTT5 receivers on your speedlights you can control energy levels of all ControlTL synced lights from the camera with the flash exposure compensation setting.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Yes, that's precisely what I'd like to do Ellis!</p>

<p>So, last night I open up my B+H box and start unboxing my PocketWizards. I put the MiniTT1 onto my Nikon D3s' hot shoe. Then I put my Nikon SU-800 commander on top of the MiniTT1 (the Nikon SU-800 performs the exact same functions as the AC3 zone controller). I throw up three Nikon SB-600 Speedlights, and attach a Flex TT5 transceiver to each unit. Each is set to a different zone: 'A,' 'B,' and 'C,' and everything works like a charm.</p>

<p>Now, how would I then control the Power MC2 on the Einstein E640 monolight? Does the MiniTT1 use the same "Nikon i-TTL-speak" to send its control data to the PowerM2? Would the Einstien E640 then behave just like a another Flex TT5-equipped Nikon Speedlight?</p>

<p>I said . . .</p>

<blockquote>

<p>The Nikon SU-800 performs the exact same functions as the AC3 zone controller . . .</p>

</blockquote>

<p>To clarify, I should have said, "the Nikon SU-800 performs the exact same functions as the AC3 zone controller [<em>when attached on top of the MiniTT1</em>]."</p>

<p>"Because RadioPoppers depending on either dedicating a flash to be set on camera as a master or purchasing something like a Nikon SU-800 are they really a lower cost alternative?"<br>

To be more precise, the Radiopopper PX isn't that useful w/ studio strobes (unlike the PW TT system).<br>

The Radiopopper JrX Studio however *is* useful w/ studio strobes. 3 knobs like the AC3 to control inexpensive old/used TTL speedlights as well as AB/WL. The Einstein unfortunately got rid of the RJ11 phone socket, so the JrX Studio can't be used to control power levels with them....I keep bugging the Radiopopper folks, but can't get an answer from them on when they'll release it :-P<br>

I've been fairly happy w/ the JrX Studios for over a year...just makes location shoots much faster once you've tried remote power control ;-)</p>

 

@Ralph.

 

I haven't worked with the SU-800 + ControlTL combination so I do not know the answer. I kind of think it might not but

I can also see how it possibly would work seamlessly. I suppose it depends on how the ControlTL Transmitter and SU-

800 communicate with each other.

<p>Thanks for your reply, Ellis. So, I assume you haven't used your TT1/AC3 with both your E640s, mixed with some Speedlights? Here's what I think may be going on:</p>

<p>1. The AC3 generates the same Nikon-code that the Nikon SU-800 does, since they both have identical capabilities (when used with the MiniTT1).<br />2. So, if either a Nikon or Canon version of the AC3/TT1 is used in manual mode, where any chosen bank(s) can be set at fractions of full-power, the PowerMC2 receiver on the Einstein E640 monolight simply translates the power setting code from Nikon/Canon-speak to whatever the E640 understands.<br />3. Similarly, if the Nikon SU-800 is used (instead of the AC3) to "control" the MiniTT1 in manual mode, the Nikon-speak power settings are again, translated by the PowerMC2 receiver on the E640 (this does, in fact, work with Speedlights--I tested it last night, and was able to dial my SB-600s from full power to 1/32nd power from the SU-800 control panel).</p>

<p>At least, I hope that's what's going to happen. Won't know until I receive my MC2/E640. I didn't even realize that the SU-800 could be used instead of the AC3 until I got eveything unboxed, and started to go, "Huh?" Then, when I went to the PowerWizard support site, there it was in the form of a video tutorial: <em><a href="http://blog.pocketwizard.com/?p=2822">"How to: Using Your SU-800 as a Master Controller."</a></em></p>

<p>Adjusting the AC3's rotary pots (to select either exposure compensation, or manual power settings) is quicker than punching through values on the SU-800, but you do get the benefit of a digital display of all EV values, or fractional power settings, plus the built-in AF-illuminator with the SU-800. I kinda lucked out, since I already owned an SU-800, and actually forgot to order the AC3.</p>

"Thanks for your reply, Ellis. So, I assume you haven't used your TT1/AC3 with both your E640s, mixed with some

Speedlights?"

 

No

I didn't say that. In fact these days I very frequently use a TT1 + AC3 to control a mix of Einsteins and Nikon

speedlights or Einsteins + Canon Speedlites! I don't really care what the numbers are as long as the results look look the way I want them too. Having the red focus pattern light from The SU-800would be useful however when I am working in a dimly lit space and not using the Einstein's modeling light

<p>Ellis said:<br /></p>

<blockquote>

<p>In fact these days I very frequently use a TT1 + AC3 to control a mix of Einsteins and Nikon speedlights or Einsteins + Canon Speedlites!</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Thanks again for your reply. So let me get this straight, because this is exactly what I'm confused about. I assume that this works in either one of two ways, or both:</p>

<p>AC3/TT1 + Speedlights + E640 example 1: On the AC3, you set each group at manual power levels for both the Speedlights w/TT5s, and the E640 monolight with an MC2.</p>

<p>AC3/TT1 + Speedlights + E640 example 2: Say for example, on the AC3, you set group 'A' and 'B' each for two Nikon Speedlights w/TT5s, both in TTL mode, and EV adjustable on the AC3 unit itself. Then, I would presume you are able to set the third group at, say, 1/8th manual power, to control the MC2 on the Einstein E640 monolight.</p>

<p>Is this correct? Are those the ways in which you can use your AC3/TT1 set-up, controlling a combination of both Speedlights w/TT5s, and an Einstein E640 monolight with a PowerMC2 PocketWizard receiver? Thanks!</p>

Basically I keep everything in "A" mode on the AC3. That let's me dial the power setting in I want on the Einsteins as

well as TTL compensation on the Speedlites or Speedlights.

 

With lights like an Einstein, the +3 setting is full power, 0 is down three stops from full and -3 is down 6 stops. All in

1/3rd of a stop increments of course.

<p>Great! Can't wait to order my Einstein!</p>