Hi again ocabj, ah ! Thanks for clarifying this. I guess it didn't register with me when you spoke of that. Very good info, thank you. I'm ordering that also. Thanks again for your time.
I'm not sure what you're referring to. As I indicated, It's D200 grip head on a 40" boom arm. I think it's the Avenger D520. The AB is attached to a simple stud, which is attached to the grip head, which is attached to the D520 boom arm, which is attached to the C-stand.
The AC9 is necessary for controlling the power output of the Alien Bee flash unit, which was stated this in the beginning of the vid. If you don't have the AC9 for the FlexTT5, the AB will only be a manually controlled flash/strobe.
Hi there, I like the clamp you are using, along with that arm, I also see a tiny ( short) arm that is holding the Alien Bee, could you give us info on what these parts are ? Thank you.
If you have the AC9 hooked up properly to an AB and you hit the red test button on the panel, it's going to give off a weak flash. Not sure why it does that, but it's 'normal'. When you dial the power of the strobe up (e.g. via the AC3 zone controller), the flash should track your dial setting.
Hi again ocabj, thanks for the info and helping me, another quick question... in this video you have a short rod that you have your Alien Bee attached to, ( it attaches to one of your grip heads ) what part would that be ? I've been searching B&H and can't find that part. It looks to be about 8" long perhaps . Thanks in advance
Cool, I found this video exactly one year after you posted it ! ( today is Feb 3, 2013 ) Ok, my question.... what does the AC9 do that you can't do with the Flex system ? a good video, but you didn't tell us exactly "what" the AC9 does... I'm guessing you can change the output power of the AlienBee from the AC controller... ( on top of the camera ) you never mentioned anything about that, but watching the video I'm guessing that is what it is all about. Any extra info, much appreciated :-)
Are you referring to 1:18 or so in the video? I was demoing how you normally connect a PW to an AB (or most any strobe with a standard 3.5mm mini plug). If you're just going to connect a PW to an AB straight up with no AC9, then you just use a 3.5mm to 3.5mm mono cable. If you do it this way, you will need to use the non-ControlTL channels when triggering the AB; any channel that isn't ControlTL.
Well, you can just use the AC9 by adjusting the in-camera Flash Exposure Compensation controls on your camera. That's originally how the TT1 and TT5 were designed to be used to remotely control power output on Speedlites before the AC3 was released.
Hi, and thank you for that info ! just looking at it now on the web. I also sent you another comment, about the actual function of the AC9, ( I'm going to order this ) but wish to know if this will allows me something extra over the Flex itself and the AC controller already have. Thanks very much, and great video. Thanks for responding, I appreciate it.
why are you not using the radio triggers from paul c buff, the cyber commander and the compatible receivers? Are they less reliable or are not working for big distances?
LOL... I just figured out you and me, we have a lot of things same... 5D mkIII, 70-200 IS with red hood, Einstein, Alienbee, love weapons (but I just have airsoft only. Nice to meet you.
whats the maximum speed sync you can achieve with that combo? im thinking about buying the b1600 but cant find any info on their site about high speed sync.
I am asking because soon I'll buy an einstein and to know which path to choose afterwards. For the beginning I'll just use the cactus v1 triggers that I modified to gain consistency and distance, but in the near future i'll upgrade. What do you recommend? with the AC9 can you also increase/decrease in smaller increments than a full stop?
for now, for 6 months, I'll stick with the cactus until i'll learn the einstein and also save some money for a better triggering system. In the future I plan to buy a triggering system that allows me to control the power output because it takes time to ask my assistant to change the power level at outdoor photoshoots and also during weddings to be able to change the lighting ratios for different moods. Thanks'
For basic non ETL triggering, you can use 3.5mm to 3.5mm from AB to TT5. Sometimes they sell 3.5 to 3.5 as sync cord cables, which are supposed to work. However, you can also try any 3.5mm to 3.5mm audio cables you already have, which should also work, mono or stereo.
Hey! When you using the a9 on a b400, does it lower the power of the flash? I noticed if the a9 is not connected and I press the red test button on the AB, I hear a louder flash along with seeing a more powerful flash. When I connect the a9, the sound of the flash is way less and the power of the flash is way less as well. Thanks
great review, I have two questions, can you go up and down on the alien bee in 1/3 stop increments? and ho you have to have the modelling light on? I ask this because mark Wallace implied you did and i shoot on location with a battery pack and the modelling lights kills the battery many thanks in advance
Really does seem like a lot BUT I absolutely love that you can control the power sans using the actual strobe. Saves time and is super convenient and easy to use. how did you resolve the "placement" of the TT5? Surely you wouldn't let that just dangle or hang from the unit. I'm curious.
Jonathan, I see you’re using the AC transmitters from Pocketwizard. I can’t help but ask, why not the PW II’s or III’s? Can they also be used for this system? Or, to ask in another context, what are the advantages of using the AC9 / TT1 / TT5 trio versus a series of PW III’s mounted to your flashes? I’m hoping I did not jump the gun & purchase the wrong equipment after errantly researching all of this stuff. Oy. :(
The only reason I use the AC9 with the TT1/TT5/PowerMC2 is because I want to have remote power control over the strobes. This helps out when I'm doing a multiple light setup and need to change power on the fly. On a single light setup, I have no problem using just standard dumb triggers, though.
***** Many thanks for the super-quick response this evening. It’s all so much to learn, this “remote lighting” stuff, lol. I just picked up a trio of Pocketwizard III’s, but maybe I should be considering the others at some point. I do like the idea of changing settings remotely. It’s not something I gave much consideration to until watching this video, honestly, but some prospective setups will have my Bee’s set up YARDS from one another.
fotaugrafee To be honest, I haven't used the AC9 in the field at all. I bought it because I got it on the cheap. The lights that I primarily use are my Einsteins + PowerMC2 and trigger using a TT5+AC3 on the hotshoe. I use my AB1600 mainly for outdoor single light setups where I need big light, and fast use (no digital controls, just fast analog slider). Just stick with the Plus IIIs and keep things simple. You'll be fine.
I"ve just purchase the AC9 and have hooked everything up in the correct order but it is not working. In fact, when I plug the cord into the ac9, the ac9 stops blinking. Any suggestions?
I noticed you triggered the AlienBee connected to the Flex TT5 before attaching the AC9. However, the end of the cable that plugged into the Flex TT5 seemed different that the standard connector that ships with the AlienBee. Were you using an adaptor? I guess the question is, what cable do you use to connect the Flex TT5 to the AlienBee? And is there a need to change the trigger mode of the TT5 and/or the Mini to basic trigger?
Nice short video Jonathan. Thanks for sharing. I have tried the same system with success except for that I can't get the modeling lights to work while using AC9. Am I missing a step ?
That is because your camera is not detecting E-TTL / HSS capable flash on the hotshoe. If you're using regular PW (non MiniTT1 or non FlexTT5), that's why. You can't go beyond flash sync speed (which sounds like 1/250s for your camera). If you *are* using a TT1/TT5 system, you might not be configured to use the Control-TL channels on the Pocketwizards. When in doubt with the TT1/TT5, update firmware to latest, factory reset. Try setting to use ControlTL Channel 1 on the transmitter and receiver, and go from there.
Jonathan Ocab ok thanks. But what is the difference between the both if you don’t mind answering a few questions I have and thanks in advance for helping me out with these questions I have
You'll want to google this for the full, technical explanation, but HSS works by strobing multiple times throughout the shutter pass to fill the frame, while HyperSync works by using a long flash duration to last the entire pass of the shutter throughout the frame.
EPIC FAIL...You should have called this AC9 with AC3...I watched this because I have an AC9..only to find out that you also have the AC3..which for some bizarre reason is NOT mentioned in the title of this video..so it's pretty useless to me now...
