Feb 16, 2009 Photography

Salient differences between the PocketWizard TT5 and TT1

Update: one question I still had was whether you could use a TT1/TT5 on your camera and II+s on remote strobes and still take advantage of a higher sync speed. According to Rob Galbraith: yes.

I’ve been reading through the user manual for the PocketWizard TT5 and MiniTT1 units, and I wanted to highlight a few things that stand out at me.

  1. According to PocketWizard, the TT5 will cost $219, and the MiniTT1 will cost $199. This is a small jump over the II+'s $189 pricetag, but not astronomical in either case. Besides, both units are cheaper than RadioPopper's PX system.
  2. The MiniTT1 is a transmitter only. If you need the transceiver capabilities, like the II+ offers, you need to pick up the TT5.
  3. Both the TT1 and the TT5 are compatible with the II+ and MultiMax units. If you already have an investment in existing PW hardware, you're not going to lose anything by buying in to the new system.
  4. The TT1 does not appear to have a remote camera port on it. To get this functionality, it looks like you'll need to get a TT5.
  5. As a corollary, The TT5 is not compatible with the CM-N3-P remote trigger cable (which, of course, I own. damn.). It requires the CM-N3-ACC cable instead. On the plus side of things, the TT5 should be entirely capable of triggering a II+ attached to your camera, and firing the camera with the CM-N3-P, so it's not the end of the world.
  6. Ostensibly, the MiniTT1 has a poorer range than the TT5, given its built-in antenna. I haven't seen anything discussing the range differences between the two units, though.