Strobe Nation

The Canon 35L f1.4 prime lens is a small and excellent lens from the experts at Canon. The lens features excellent build and shot quality and is particularly adept at full body portrait shots, low-lighting uses and wide-angle uses. Its small size makes it easy to handle and to work with on the fly. Read on to learn more about the features and specifications of the Canon 35L f1.4 lens.

This lens retails for about $1,400 and is packed with appealing features that make it a very highly regarded lens. The lens is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, 3.11” x 3.39”, and weighs just 1.8 pounds. The lens fits well on the camera body and is not bulky, even with the lens hood on. The lens produces very sharp images and takes a 72mm filter size.

The lens is internal focus and supports both manual and auto-focus with a switch to control the focus function. The AF drive system uses a rear focus system and a ring ultrasonic motor for smooth adjustments supporting full time manual focus. Distance information is provided to the camera and the minimum focus distance on this 35 mm lens is 11.8 while the maximum magnification is .18x.

The Canon 35L f1.4 works best in its niche of full body portraits and low-light conditions. The lens is able to focus quickly even in low light, making it a good choice for weddings and events at churches or schools. The combination of a wide focal length and fast aperture works well in indoor situations with no flash. Photographers should be aware of the depth of field in these situations and take care when shooting in tight space situations to avoid subject motion. Buyers should also be aware that at f1.4, the lens produces images that are a bit soft and have a little bit of vignetting on the corners.

The lens also works well for wide-angle application such as landscape photography, and some people say that this application is the lenses strongest point. The depth of field, aperture speed, color and contrast, as well as its focus ability in low light conditions make this lens a top choice for many landscape and outdoor photographers.

L-series professional f/1.4 wide-angle lens with an aspherical lens element to correct aberrations. The floating system enables high picture quality to be obtained over the entire focusing range. Autofocusing is quick and quiet with rear focusing and ring USM. Full-time manual focusing is also possible.

Focal Length & Maximum Aperture: 35mm 1:1.4
Lens Construction: 11 elements in 9 groups
Diagonal Angle of View: 63°
Focus Adjustment: Rear focusing system with USM
Closest Focusing Distance: 0.3m / 1 ft.
Filter Size: 72mm
Max. Diameter x Length, Weight: 3.1″ x 3.4″, 20.5 oz. / 79.0 x 86.0mm, 580g

PocketWizard has release two new controller for wireless flash system. The FlexTT5 and MiniTT1 support the full function of Canon’s ETTLII flash system. Nikon TTL flash system will be supported later during Q2, 2009. The price for the MiniTT1 will be $199 and the FlexTT5 will be $219.

Features from the new Pocketwizard Flex TT5 and MiniTT1 are TTL compatible with Canon E-TTL II. The maximum range will be 800 feet (240 meters). You can mount both Flex TT5 and MiniTT1 directly onto any camera hot shoe. You will be able to shoot at a maximum of 8 fps for E-TTL II & normal triggering. You can configure and upgrade firmware through a USB interface.

The MiniTT1 and Flex TT5 are compatible using E-TTLII Canon flash system for the following cameras. Canon 1Ds MKIII, MKII, 1D MKIII, MKII, 1DMKII N, 5D, 5D MKII, 20D, 30D, 40D, 50D, Rebel XT/350D, XTI/400D, XS/1000D, XSi/450D. The following Canon flash the MiniTT1 and Flex TT5 are compatible is 580EX, 580EXII, 430EX and 430EX II.

No with the new PocketWizard’s you can use the 430EX and 430EX II to act as a master flash. Back when you can only do this with the 580EX flash now you can set as master and trigger other Canon flash using the PocketWizard and 430EX unit.

The new design offers a low profile. The design is wider and does not spread upwards like the older design. This is the most compact design for PocketWizard to date. In addition the new Pocketwizard has 52 wireless channels and 20 ControlTL channels for the new protocol. The MiniTT1 measures at 2.8in,length x 1.9in,width and 1.3in, height and weights 2.3oz with a battery installed.

With the new PocketWizard, MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 you can still use your old PocketWizard but just not in TTL mode. Wireless remote TTL, for example, is possible only with the MiniTT1 and FlexTT5. That said, HyperSync works with a MiniTT1 or FlexTT5 at the camera and any PocketWizard connected to a studio strobe or similar flash. While the list of reasons to purchase an older PocketWizard just got a lot shorter with the introduction of the MiniTT1 and FlexTT5, the overall interoperability of the new units with existing ones means your Plus IIs, MultiMAXes and even Pluses, MAXes and Classics are still useful. In fact, we’re betting the MiniTT1 transmitter will be bought up in large numbers by photographers solely because of its compactness, even if they intend to operate it exclusively with existing PocketWizard receivers.

One of the new features from the new PocketWizard’s is the HyperSync. It can increase the shutter sync speed while simultaneously not sacrificing strobe brightness or have the black band at the lower part of the frame. The HyperSync mode is used best when you want to minimize ambient light and increase strobe efficiency.

The PocketWizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 are available in stores now. Release date for this new product was March 1, 2009.