# profoto B1 with pocketwizard plus X?



## erkindemir

hello. Im gonna order B1 but since it hasnt got the nikon air remote (even if it had i wouldnt buy because of the high price) so i wanna use pocketwizards. does the B1 work with them? and my other question is how many pocketwizards do i need for just one head? sorry about the silly question lol but i have to be sure that its correct because Im gonna order from overseas. hope you don't mind.


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## Designer

PW is a trigger, not a power source.  It will trigger the B1.  You will need two transceivers, one on the camera and one connected to the light head.  In the future, if you get a second light head, you can trigger that one in "slave mode" with the flash from the first one.  Or purchase another transceiver.


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## sscarmack

^^^Exactly this


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## studio460

I don't own a B1, so I just derived this from their product description. But, sure, you could use a PocketWizard transceiver to trigger a B1, but you wouldn't benefit from any of the B1's TTL capability. For any strobe, you would need one transmitter for the camera, and one receiver for the strobe. Most of PocketWizard's units are both receivers and transmitters, called transceivers, and switch modes on the fly, depending on their application (e.g., PlusX). Some units are transmitters only (e.g., Flex TT1). So, if wanting to use PocketWizard-brand triggers, the least expensive set-up would be a pair of PlusX transceivers, totaling $198.


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## studio460

Note that PlusX transceivers are limited to a maximum sync speed of 1/250th (1/500th for leaf shutters). Shooting above x-sync (i.e., >1/250th) would require PocketWizard Flex TT1/TT5 triggers. The ability to shoot above x-sync without a visible curtain-shadow is both flash- (the longer the t=0.5 value, the better), and camera-dependent. While Flex triggers make shooting above x-sync possible with certain equipment, they incur a 1-2 stop loss of recorded flash output.


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## MOREGONE

You can trigger the B1 with a PW but you will not get TTL with it. You will need the Air Remote for TTL. I did some assisting on the Profoto promo videos for the B1, let me know if you have anymore questions. 

Beautiful yet pricey device. Going that far, might as well get the Air remote to take full advantage of the equipment you have invested in.


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## studio460

MOREGONE said:


> You can trigger the B1 with a PW but you will not get TTL with it. You will need the Air Remote for TTL. I did some assisting on the Profoto promo videos for the B1, let me know if you have anymore questions.



Did you happen to note how many real-world, full-power pops you could get from a single battery? Also, do you know if Profoto's Nikon Air Remote i-TTL transmitter is as fully functional as Profoto's Canon E-TTL Air trigger?


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## MOREGONE

The work we did wasn't full power all the time, we were really demo'ing the TTL functionality so its hard to gauge. I would guess that is will get you 300 though. The battery is decent in size and the most I ever saw it loose was 1 bar from the battery display after a couple hours of intermittent use on TTL. The photographer who was doing the demo'ing mentioned using them over the course of a weekend and never changed the batteries. 

We used the Canon variant as that's what was available at the time. I don't have any reason to not expect the Nikon air remote itself will not work the same as the Canon variant. Once it becomes available.


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## studio460

Thanks for the info! I didn't realize the Nikon Air transmitter was not yet available. Are the B1 units themselves identical, or is there a "Canon" version and a "Nikon" version? Thanks again! Any other observations you may have, I'm all ears!


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## studio460

Very nice portfolio, MOREGONE!


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## Tee

Receiver, transmitter, transceiver- all mean different things in the world of wireless triggers.  Your best best bet is purchase the transceiver which means you can transmit and receive the signal.  Plus, you don't have to worry about connecting the right equipment to the wrong outlet.


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## Village Idiot

studio460 said:


> Note that PlusX transceivers are limited to a maximum sync speed of 1/250th (1/500th for leaf shutters). Shooting above x-sync (i.e., >1/250th) would require PocketWizard Flex TT1/TT5 triggers. The ability to shoot above x-sync without a visible curtain-shadow is both flash- (the longer the t=0.5 value, the better), and camera-dependent. While Flex triggers make shooting above x-sync possible with certain equipment, they incur a 1-2 stop loss of recorded flash output.



The PW X will actually allow you to shoot above a 1/250, it's the camera's x-sync that limits you. There are some cameras out there (like the older Nikon D70) that have an electronic hybrid shutter that will allow you to shoot above the advertised x-sync.


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## studio460

Village Idiot said:


> The PW X will actually allow you to shoot above a 1/250, it's the camera's x-sync that limits you. There are some cameras out there (like the older Nikon D70) that have an electronic hybrid shutter that will allow you to shoot above the advertised x-sync.



The PlusX cannot sync above 1/250th, according to the manufacturer. I can shoot up to about 1/2,000th without any significant curtain-shadow using a Nikon D800E, and a long t=0.5 value strobe, using PocketWizard Flex TT1/TT5 triggers. But, I'll get severe curtain-shadow at only 1/320th using the PlusX. The D70/D40's sync performance is a different issue.


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## Village Idiot

studio460 said:


> Village Idiot said:
> 
> 
> 
> The PW X will actually allow you to shoot above a 1/250, it's the camera's x-sync that limits you. There are some cameras out there (like the older Nikon D70) that have an electronic hybrid shutter that will allow you to shoot above the advertised x-sync.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The PlusX cannot sync above 1/250th, according to the manufacturer. I can shoot up to about 1/2,000th without any significant curtain-shadow using a Nikon D800E, and a long t=0.5 value strobe, using PocketWizard Flex TT1/TT5 triggers. But, I'll get severe curtain-shadow at only 1/320th using the PlusX. The D70/D40's sync performance is a different issue.
Click to expand...


Unless they did something to artificially limit it, it will go over 1/250. The PW PII's will. It's not the trigger that's the limiting factor, it's the camera.

Here's a list of older cameras that will sync greater than the advertised xsync:
&#8226;Nikon D1
&#8226;Nikon D1X
&#8226;Nikon D1H
&#8226;Nikon D70
&#8226;Nikon D70s
&#8226;Nikon D50 
&#8226;Nikon D40
&#8226;Canon 1D


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## studio460

Well, I have a PocketWizard Flex TT1 transmitter (capable of up 1/8,000th), and the PlusX will not trigger a curtain-free frame over 1/250th using a Nikon D800E. Do you own a PlusX? Can you post an example of an above-x sync trigger using a PlusX? Because I fully expected it to trigger over 1/250th, since even according to PocketWizard, "most" of the HyperSync capability is in the transmitter. One more thing that could be preventing my PlusX' sync above 1/250th is that I need to re-check how my TT1's firmware is set.


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## krbimaging

OP, I'm late in coming in to the post and I hope you haven't bought your B1 yet. The #1 feature the B1 offers is the TTL capability. That only works with Profoto's $350 air remote as mentioned above. Also they don't have it working with Nikon as of yet. So if your getting the B-1 for the portability you might consider another option because the rest of it's key features aren't working for you. 

The B-1 has IR and cable methods of working. It has a USB port and can be controlled on your computer. So if you can run your Pocket wizard to your PC you can fire the flash in the software. All this is a big hassle.

Considering a single B-1 costs 2K why not just get the Air Remote when the Nikon ver comes out? get all the advantages this system offers. JMHO


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## Village Idiot

studio460 said:


> Well, I have a PocketWizard Flex TT1 transmitter (capable of up 1/8,000th), and the PlusX will not trigger a curtain-free frame over 1/250th using a Nikon D800E. Do you own a PlusX? Can you post an example of an above-x sync trigger using a PlusX? Because I fully expected it to trigger over 1/250th, since even according to PocketWizard, "most" of the HyperSync capability is in the transmitter. One more thing that could be preventing my PlusX' sync above 1/250th is that I need to re-check how my TT1's firmware is set.



The plus-x may not allow hyper sync with a PW TT transmitter, but I'm not talking about hypersync. I'm talking about a different shutter mechanism. And even then, hyper sync never was really much of a solution for breaking the x sync with certain full frame cameras.

Ask someone with one of the cameras I mentioned to try it out.


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