Pentax HSS with Cactus V6ii and Godox Witstro AD360 Flash Light Speedlite

howieb101 · 02-22-2017, 12:25 PM

Originally posted by jamartinez

OK, so I looked at the AD360 version I, not version II, at Amazon and the description says sync speed = 1/250, and it says nothing about HSS. And one of the questions was specifically about 1/8000 speed and they said that unit was not capable of that. Now I'm confused. I'm wondering which version of the AD360 the original poster has that he is getting HSS with. As far as I know the version two only comes as Nikon specific or Canon specific and I'm concerned about compatibility issues with the trigger for those and the Cactus v6 II. Anybody have thoughts on this?

In the Mk I version you press mode and set buttons simultaneously to enable HSS mode.

However, you need one Cactus V6 II trigger to be able to use this HSS mode

jake14mw · 02-22-2017, 02:44 PM

Originally posted by jamartinez

OK, so I looked at the AD360 version I, not version II, at Amazon and the description says sync speed = 1/250, and it says nothing about HSS. And one of the questions was specifically about 1/8000 speed and they said that unit was not capable of that. Now I'm confused. I'm wondering which version of the AD360 the original poster has that he is getting HSS with. As far as I know the version two only comes as Nikon specific or Canon specific and I'm concerned about compatibility issues with the trigger for those and the Cactus v6 II. Anybody have thoughts on this?

All versions of the AD360 can do HSS. I don't think the version ii will cause you any problems with HSS and the Cactus v6ii, but I'm not sure about that.

jamartinez · 03-17-2017, 10:56 AM

Update: So, I tried the AD360 II-N with a Cactus V6 II and Godox X1T-N. The problem with that setup is that, as far as I could figure out, there is no way to manually put the AD360 II into HSS mode. HSS mode is an automatic function on the Mark II that turns on when it detects that the camera is set to a shutter speed faster than the natural sync speed. And being that we are mixing a Pentax camera with a Nikon-specific flash, the signal is not getting to the flash from the camera, even with the Cactus V6 II.

Soooo, at least as far as I can figure out, we must use the Mark I original version of the AD360. I did get that one along with XT-16 2.4G trigger on top of the Cactus V6 II, and it all works like a charm, including HSS. It's just a strong and beautiful setup for HSS with manual control.

Ruebyi · 03-17-2017, 12:35 PM

I just tested an AD360 (the "old" one) with the XT-32C and Cactus V6II

HSS was possible when I set the Cactus on Pentax Camera - Manual Flash - Power Sync
The AD360 and the TT600 were set to HSS manually. XT-32C on Top of the Cactus V6II

GREAT!

Pablo Villegas · 03-17-2017, 01:10 PM

Originally posted by jamartinez

Update: So, I tried the AD360 II-N with a Cactus V6 II and Godox X1T-N. The problem with that setup is that, as far as I could figure out, there is no way to manually put the AD360 II into HSS mode. HSS mode is an automatic function on the Mark II that turns on when it detects that the camera is set to a shutter speed faster than the natural sync speed. And being that we are mixing a Pentax camera with a Nikon-specific flash, the signal is not getting to the flash from the camera, even with the Cactus V6 II.

Soooo, at least as far as I can figure out, we must use the Mark I original version of the AD360. I did get that one along with XT-16 2.4G trigger on top of the Cactus V6 II, and it all works like a charm, including HSS. It's just a strong and beautiful setup for HSS with manual control.

It works fine for me, on that Canon setup. I just use the Cactus V6II on top of the Camera and the X1TC on top of the Cactus. And whenever I select a speed higher than sync speed the flash fires. That's the whole purpose of the Cactus V6II, to let know the flash when and how to trigger HSS.

jamartinez · 03-17-2017, 02:49 PM

Very interesting, Pablo, and good information for other people on the forum here. I had the same setup, except it was the Nikon version of the AD360 II. The V6II on top of my Pentax K3II and the X1T-N on top of that, and the flash would never go to HSS. Doesn't really matter now because I got the Mark I instead with HSS working fine, and it's going to be manual power settings either way. But I'm sure other folks on the forum would like to know that the Mark II does actually work in HSS on a Pentax camera with V6 II. I am interested to know what settings you used that might be different than what I did, though. But since I no longer have the X1T-N or the AD360 II-N I cannot refer to the settings I used.

Pablo Villegas · 03-17-2017, 11:05 PM

Originally posted by jamartinez

Very interesting, Pablo, and good information for other people on the forum here. I had the same setup, except it was the Nikon version of the AD360 II. The V6II on top of my Pentax K3II and the X1T-N on top of that, and the flash would never go to HSS. Doesn't really matter now because I got the Mark I instead with HSS working fine, and it's going to be manual power settings either way. But I'm sure other folks on the forum would like to know that the Mark II does actually work in HSS on a Pentax camera with V6 II. I am interested to know what settings you used that might be different than what I did, though. But since I no longer have the X1T-N or the AD360 II-N I cannot refer to the settings I used.

It's been a while since I last used it. But if I remember correctly, the settings are on the Cactus V6II, camera Pentax, flash Canon. And on the X1T just use manual mode. I don't think I did anything else.

It's a Pentax 645D BTW.

morenjavi · 03-30-2017, 12:52 PM

Originally posted by jamartinez

Update: So, I tried the AD360 II-N with a Cactus V6 II and Godox X1T-N. The problem with that setup is that, as far as I could figure out, there is no way to manually put the AD360 II into HSS mode. HSS mode is an automatic function on the Mark II that turns on when it detects that the camera is set to a shutter speed faster than the natural sync speed. And being that we are mixing a Pentax camera with a Nikon-specific flash, the signal is not getting to the flash from the camera, even with the Cactus V6 II.

Soooo, at least as far as I can figure out, we must use the Mark I original version of the AD360. I did get that one along with XT-16 2.4G trigger on top of the Cactus V6 II, and it all works like a charm, including HSS. It's just a strong and beautiful setup for HSS with manual control.

So, If I understood correctly, you have (or tested) a XT-16 + AD360 MkI, right ? Once you enable HSS on the AD360, can you control the power remotely ? It is not possible with the old FT-16. I plan to buy the Cactus V6II and a 2.4MHz transmiter, but I'm not sure if get the XT-16 or the XT-32. The cheaper that could control power on HSS mode.

Thanks in advance,
Javier.

jamartinez · 04-01-2017, 04:06 PM - **1 Like**

That is correct, Javier. The XT-16 on top of a Cactus V6II on my K3II or K5II and the AD360 mkI is what I am using. Yes, the XT-16 allows you to remotely control the power output of the AD360. The problem I see with the XT-32 is that, at least to my knowledge, they are either Canon or Nikon specific, and it seems to me that that could present a problem. The XT-16 is not brand- or make-specific. I can tell you that it is all extremely simple to use, and I love that flash. In my HSS testing I have found that it is stronger than four Pentax af540fgz combined.

morenjavi · 04-04-2017, 03:22 PM

Thanks jamartinez, this is really valuable info for me. If the XT-16 can change power in HSS mode, then it's perfect. I liked XT-16 too because it can disable groups (pressing + and - at the same time, I think). I really don't need more.

morenjavi · 04-05-2017, 07:10 AM

Hi again, just abusing a bit

... did you test enabling/disabling groups with the XT-16 ? I know that by pressing + & - keys you can disable/enable a group but, once you have disabled and enabled a group again, does the XT-16 remember the last power settings ? Let's say I have a group at 1/4 power, then I disable and enable again, do I see 1/4 again for this group ? or this info is lost.

Thanks.

jake14mw · 04-05-2017, 07:53 AM

So, people are choosing the XT-16 over the newer XT32 or X1-T because they are more reliable? It seems like the newer ones have a better design and form factor.

jamartinez · 04-06-2017, 08:20 AM

morenjavi,
I have not tried disable/enable groups. My guess is that the power settings for each group, whether enabled or disabled, is set until you change it. I can check this out when I get a chance.

jake14mw,
I have not seen an XT32 or X1-T that is not specific to Canon, Nikon or Sony. The XT16 is not brand-specific. My experience with the X1-T for Nikon controlling an AD360 for Nikon was that I could not get HSS. When I went to the mark I AD360 with XT16 it all worked like a charm.

mcgregni · 04-06-2017, 09:53 AM

As I understand it, the general principles are that the studio light must allow manual, direct engagement of HSS mode, (ie it is not dependent on a remote system dedicated TTL message (via a dedicated systems wireless protocol, namely Canon or Nikon). This is because the V6II is not itself replacing this missing communication when used on a Pentax camera, but rather is simply allowing the camera to generate a trigger signal beyond max sync time.

Then the studio systems radio system must relay that trigger signal to start the flash exposure, which for lights in HSS mode would provide a continues light burst for at least 1/200th sec. The radio system for the studio lights we would want, ideally, to he able to remotely control the lights power outputs, plus group control.

Pablo Villegas · 04-06-2017, 01:01 PM

Originally posted by mcgregni

As I understand it, the general principles are that the studio light must allow manual, direct engagement of HSS mode, (ie it is not dependent on a remote system dedicated TTL message (via a dedicated systems wireless protocol, namely Canon or Nikon). This is because the V6II is not itself replacing this missing communication when used on a Pentax camera, but rather is simply allowing the camera to generate a trigger signal beyond max sync time.

Then the studio systems radio system must relay that trigger signal to start the flash exposure, which for lights in HSS mode would provide a continues light burst for at least 1/200th sec. The radio system for the studio lights we would want, ideally, to he able to remotely control the lights power outputs, plus group control.

That's not accurate, there's no way to manually turn on HSS on the Godox AD360II flash, and the Cactus V6ii triggers it when ever you set a speed higher than normal sync on your camera. That works at least in the Canon version with a Pentax camera.

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02-22-2017, 12:25 PM	#46
howieb101 Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Melbourne, Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 594	Originally posted by jamartinez OK, so I looked at the AD360 version I, not version II, at Amazon and the description says sync speed = 1/250, and it says nothing about HSS. And one of the questions was specifically about 1/8000 speed and they said that unit was not capable of that. Now I'm confused. I'm wondering which version of the AD360 the original poster has that he is getting HSS with. As far as I know the version two only comes as Nikon specific or Canon specific and I'm concerned about compatibility issues with the trigger for those and the Cactus v6 II. Anybody have thoughts on this? In the Mk I version you press mode and set buttons simultaneously to enable HSS mode. However, you need one Cactus V6 II trigger to be able to use this HSS mode

02-22-2017, 02:44 PM	#47
jake14mw Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Connecticut, USA Posts: 977	Originally posted by jamartinez OK, so I looked at the AD360 version I, not version II, at Amazon and the description says sync speed = 1/250, and it says nothing about HSS. And one of the questions was specifically about 1/8000 speed and they said that unit was not capable of that. Now I'm confused. I'm wondering which version of the AD360 the original poster has that he is getting HSS with. As far as I know the version two only comes as Nikon specific or Canon specific and I'm concerned about compatibility issues with the trigger for those and the Cactus v6 II. Anybody have thoughts on this? All versions of the AD360 can do HSS. I don't think the version ii will cause you any problems with HSS and the Cactus v6ii, but I'm not sure about that.

03-17-2017, 10:56 AM	#48
jamartinez New Member Join Date: Feb 2017 Posts: 10	Update: So, I tried the AD360 II-N with a Cactus V6 II and Godox X1T-N. The problem with that setup is that, as far as I could figure out, there is no way to manually put the AD360 II into HSS mode. HSS mode is an automatic function on the Mark II that turns on when it detects that the camera is set to a shutter speed faster than the natural sync speed. And being that we are mixing a Pentax camera with a Nikon-specific flash, the signal is not getting to the flash from the camera, even with the Cactus V6 II. Soooo, at least as far as I can figure out, we must use the Mark I original version of the AD360. I did get that one along with XT-16 2.4G trigger on top of the Cactus V6 II, and it all works like a charm, including HSS. It's just a strong and beautiful setup for HSS with manual control.

03-17-2017, 12:35 PM	#49
Ruebyi New Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Posts: 10	I just tested an AD360 (the "old" one) with the XT-32C and Cactus V6II HSS was possible when I set the Cactus on Pentax Camera - Manual Flash - Power Sync The AD360 and the TT600 were set to HSS manually. XT-32C on Top of the Cactus V6II GREAT!

03-17-2017, 01:10 PM	#50
Pablo Villegas Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Posts: 158	Originally posted by jamartinez Update: So, I tried the AD360 II-N with a Cactus V6 II and Godox X1T-N. The problem with that setup is that, as far as I could figure out, there is no way to manually put the AD360 II into HSS mode. HSS mode is an automatic function on the Mark II that turns on when it detects that the camera is set to a shutter speed faster than the natural sync speed. And being that we are mixing a Pentax camera with a Nikon-specific flash, the signal is not getting to the flash from the camera, even with the Cactus V6 II. Soooo, at least as far as I can figure out, we must use the Mark I original version of the AD360. I did get that one along with XT-16 2.4G trigger on top of the Cactus V6 II, and it all works like a charm, including HSS. It's just a strong and beautiful setup for HSS with manual control. It works fine for me, on that Canon setup. I just use the Cactus V6II on top of the Camera and the X1TC on top of the Cactus. And whenever I select a speed higher than sync speed the flash fires. That's the whole purpose of the Cactus V6II, to let know the flash when and how to trigger HSS.

03-17-2017, 02:49 PM	#51
jamartinez New Member Join Date: Feb 2017 Posts: 10	Very interesting, Pablo, and good information for other people on the forum here. I had the same setup, except it was the Nikon version of the AD360 II. The V6II on top of my Pentax K3II and the X1T-N on top of that, and the flash would never go to HSS. Doesn't really matter now because I got the Mark I instead with HSS working fine, and it's going to be manual power settings either way. But I'm sure other folks on the forum would like to know that the Mark II does actually work in HSS on a Pentax camera with V6 II. I am interested to know what settings you used that might be different than what I did, though. But since I no longer have the X1T-N or the AD360 II-N I cannot refer to the settings I used.

03-17-2017, 11:05 PM	#52
Pablo Villegas Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Posts: 158	Originally posted by jamartinez Very interesting, Pablo, and good information for other people on the forum here. I had the same setup, except it was the Nikon version of the AD360 II. The V6II on top of my Pentax K3II and the X1T-N on top of that, and the flash would never go to HSS. Doesn't really matter now because I got the Mark I instead with HSS working fine, and it's going to be manual power settings either way. But I'm sure other folks on the forum would like to know that the Mark II does actually work in HSS on a Pentax camera with V6 II. I am interested to know what settings you used that might be different than what I did, though. But since I no longer have the X1T-N or the AD360 II-N I cannot refer to the settings I used. It's been a while since I last used it. But if I remember correctly, the settings are on the Cactus V6II, camera Pentax, flash Canon. And on the X1T just use manual mode. I don't think I did anything else. It's a Pentax 645D BTW.

03-30-2017, 12:52 PM	#53
morenjavi Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2016 Posts: 589	Originally posted by jamartinez Update: So, I tried the AD360 II-N with a Cactus V6 II and Godox X1T-N. The problem with that setup is that, as far as I could figure out, there is no way to manually put the AD360 II into HSS mode. HSS mode is an automatic function on the Mark II that turns on when it detects that the camera is set to a shutter speed faster than the natural sync speed. And being that we are mixing a Pentax camera with a Nikon-specific flash, the signal is not getting to the flash from the camera, even with the Cactus V6 II. Soooo, at least as far as I can figure out, we must use the Mark I original version of the AD360. I did get that one along with XT-16 2.4G trigger on top of the Cactus V6 II, and it all works like a charm, including HSS. It's just a strong and beautiful setup for HSS with manual control. So, If I understood correctly, you have (or tested) a XT-16 + AD360 MkI, right ? Once you enable HSS on the AD360, can you control the power remotely ? It is not possible with the old FT-16. I plan to buy the Cactus V6II and a 2.4MHz transmiter, but I'm not sure if get the XT-16 or the XT-32. The cheaper that could control power on HSS mode. Thanks in advance, Javier.

04-01-2017, 04:06 PM - 1 Like	#54
jamartinez New Member Join Date: Feb 2017 Posts: 10	That is correct, Javier. The XT-16 on top of a Cactus V6II on my K3II or K5II and the AD360 mkI is what I am using. Yes, the XT-16 allows you to remotely control the power output of the AD360. The problem I see with the XT-32 is that, at least to my knowledge, they are either Canon or Nikon specific, and it seems to me that that could present a problem. The XT-16 is not brand- or make-specific. I can tell you that it is all extremely simple to use, and I love that flash. In my HSS testing I have found that it is stronger than four Pentax af540fgz combined.

04-04-2017, 03:22 PM	#55
morenjavi Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2016 Posts: 589	Thanks jamartinez, this is really valuable info for me. If the XT-16 can change power in HSS mode, then it's perfect. I liked XT-16 too because it can disable groups (pressing + and - at the same time, I think). I really don't need more.

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04-05-2017, 07:10 AM	#56
morenjavi Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2016 Posts: 589	Hi again, just abusing a bit ... did you test enabling/disabling groups with the XT-16 ? I know that by pressing + & - keys you can disable/enable a group but, once you have disabled and enabled a group again, does the XT-16 remember the last power settings ? Let's say I have a group at 1/4 power, then I disable and enable again, do I see 1/4 again for this group ? or this info is lost. Thanks.

04-05-2017, 07:53 AM	#57
jake14mw Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Connecticut, USA Posts: 977	So, people are choosing the XT-16 over the newer XT32 or X1-T because they are more reliable? It seems like the newer ones have a better design and form factor.

04-06-2017, 08:20 AM	#58
jamartinez New Member Join Date: Feb 2017 Posts: 10	morenjavi, I have not tried disable/enable groups. My guess is that the power settings for each group, whether enabled or disabled, is set until you change it. I can check this out when I get a chance. jake14mw, I have not seen an XT32 or X1-T that is not specific to Canon, Nikon or Sony. The XT16 is not brand-specific. My experience with the X1-T for Nikon controlling an AD360 for Nikon was that I could not get HSS. When I went to the mark I AD360 with XT16 it all worked like a charm.

04-06-2017, 09:53 AM	#59
mcgregni Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Surrey, England Posts: 2,603	As I understand it, the general principles are that the studio light must allow manual, direct engagement of HSS mode, (ie it is not dependent on a remote system dedicated TTL message (via a dedicated systems wireless protocol, namely Canon or Nikon). This is because the V6II is not itself replacing this missing communication when used on a Pentax camera, but rather is simply allowing the camera to generate a trigger signal beyond max sync time. Then the studio systems radio system must relay that trigger signal to start the flash exposure, which for lights in HSS mode would provide a continues light burst for at least 1/200th sec. The radio system for the studio lights we would want, ideally, to he able to remotely control the lights power outputs, plus group control.

04-06-2017, 01:01 PM	#60
Pablo Villegas Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Posts: 158	Originally posted by mcgregni As I understand it, the general principles are that the studio light must allow manual, direct engagement of HSS mode, (ie it is not dependent on a remote system dedicated TTL message (via a dedicated systems wireless protocol, namely Canon or Nikon). This is because the V6II is not itself replacing this missing communication when used on a Pentax camera, but rather is simply allowing the camera to generate a trigger signal beyond max sync time. Then the studio systems radio system must relay that trigger signal to start the flash exposure, which for lights in HSS mode would provide a continues light burst for at least 1/200th sec. The radio system for the studio lights we would want, ideally, to he able to remotely control the lights power outputs, plus group control. That's not accurate, there's no way to manually turn on HSS on the Godox AD360II flash, and the Cactus V6ii triggers it when ever you set a speed higher than normal sync on your camera. That works at least in the Canon version with a Pentax camera.