[MDR Foto]

Hello,

I'm new to the 645Z having recently purchased a kit from a guy. But I'm running into a snag, HSS. I use the Indra500 Strobe a lot and I'm having trouble getting the HSS to work with the Cactus V6ii trigger and receiver. I've got the Cactus connected to the Zed nd then a receiver connected to the Indra by cable. The cactus is basically working as a dummy tigger (which is fine since I do mostly manual stuff anyway. and I'm trying to get the HSS to work. I can take my shutter speed over 1/125 (had to figure that out) but now, when I hit 1/160 it's completely black...unless I take my ISO up to at least 3200.

No matter what I put my strobe power to, I still have to ups my ISO. Is there something I missing here?

I thank you in advance

[MDR Foto]

Quick note, when I mess with Power sync, and I turn it all the way up to 32, I get half a picture with the bottom half being black...sync is messed up and I don't know why

[mcgregni]

I'm wondering, just floating ideas, this Indra500 seems to be advertised as a TTL solution for Canon, Nikon and Sony .... does its HSS capability depend on the TTL integration with one of those systems? Possibly the simple triggering approach you are using is not able to activate its HSS syncing ?

The product specifications have a qualification listed for HSS and 2nd Curtain syncs .... ' *On compatible cameras, when used with the Phottix Odin or Mitros+ systems'..... Neither your Pentax camera nor the Cactus trigger meet this criteria.

[Kevwaly]

Hello,

I'm new to the 645Z having recently purchased a kit from a guy. But I'm running into a snag, HSS. I use the Indra500 Strobe a lot and I'm having trouble getting the HSS to work with the Cactus V6ii trigger and receiver. I've got the Cactus connected to the Zed nd then a receiver connected to the Indra by cable. The cactus is basically working as a dummy tigger (which is fine since I do mostly manual stuff anyway. and I'm trying to get the HSS to work. I can take my shutter speed over 1/125 (had to figure that out) but now, when I hit 1/160 it's completely black...unless I take my ISO up to at least 3200.

No matter what I put my strobe power to, I still have to ups my ISO. Is there something I missing here?

I thank you in advance

You need to look up member "Class A". He is the Cactus guru for Pentax Forums. If you send him a PM he will help you.... and welcome to the Pentax world!

[mcgregni]

I would prefer to see any responses and discussions right here on the thread, so that everyone can benefit!

[fwbigd]

While I had no experience with the Phottix Indra 500 system I have been able to obtain HSS with the Cactus V6ii trigger and receiver using on Godox AD360 and Elinchrom studio flashes to 1/8000 of a second with the flash system set to "Nikon" on my K-1. I don't know why it works when the flash system is set to "Nikon" but it does. I tried other flash system and they do not work. Therefore, I would suggest trying the following:

1. Set the on camera trigger Cactus V6ii to Camera System "Pentax" and the Flash System to "Nikon" and "Normal HSS. Do not set the Flash System to "Auto Nikon"
2. Set the Cactus receiver to "Nikon" for the flash system.

Here are my previous post on HSS https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/190-pentax-k-1/330535-hss-pentax-k-1-cact...ml#post3783865 and https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/125-flashes-lighting-studio/327358-pentax...ml#post3734063

Let us know if this works.

[Kevwaly]

I would prefer to see any responses and discussions right here on the thread, so that everyone can benefit!

I missed the point of the forums! Apologies! I will alert Class A of this thread to ask for his help. I will be needing this in the near future as well. Thank you for alerting me to my short-sightedness.

[MDR Foto]

Thanks folks, I'll play around with it and see what I can get

[mcgregni]

My reading of the Indra500 with its related triggers is that its a 'radio TTL' solution, dedicated to Canon, Nikon or Sony camera systems. As such, it may depend on the TTL systems of those cameras in order to 'unlock' the HSS synchronisation feature, and require dedicated TTL communications through the radio system. Whilst the Cactus V6IIs will enable a trigger signal from a Pentax camera beyond the Max Sync speed, I think the simple cable connection is the failure, unable to communicate the needed TTL information. At least this is a theoretical response here ....

[Class A]

I've got the Cactus connected to the Zed nd then a receiver connected to the Indra by cable.

I guess with "Zed nd" you mean "645Z and", right?
Am I also correctly assuming that you have two V6II units?

In general, one can use the V6II as an "HSS enabler", even when the flashes/strobes aren't supported the V6II. For instance, if you have two V6II units, one should go on the camera and the other should be connected to your Indra500 with a sync-cable.

You may also be able to fire another (native) trigger system through the on-camera V6II, e.g., by putting the transmitter on top of the on-camera V6II.

However, such setups (involving a sync cable connection) only work if there is a way to manually engage HSS on the flashes/strobes. The Godox AD360, for instance, supports such a manual activation of its HSS mode, which is why fwbigd can use HSS even though the standard AD360 is not supported by the V6II (which still manifests itself by the lack of remote power level control).

Alternatively, if HSS cannot be engaged manually on the flash/strobe, you may still be able to use PowerSync (aka HyperSync). This requires the flash/strobe to issue a long pulse. For (IGBT-controlled) flashes that means full power, otherwise the pulse will be too short.

For strobes it depends on the strobe technology. Classic strobes produce longer pulses, the lower their output power is set. Some modern strobes, however, are also IGBT-controlled and then typically require full power output as well in order to produce a pulse that is long enough.

If the longest flash duration is shorter than ~1/180s then you'll notice it as a black bar in your images.

Quick note, when I mess with Power sync, and I turn it all the way up to 32, I get half a picture with the bottom half being black...sync is messed up and I don't know why

What do you mean by "turn it all the way up to 32"?

Are you talking about V6II power levels?
Note that in the standard relative power level mode (there is also an absolute power level mode), the V6II shows power fractions, e.g. "1/32" which is a rather low output compared to "1/1" (full power).

Note that you can adjust the PowerSync timing by going to the sync mode setting when it shows "POWER SYNC" and turning the dial while pressing it (or the "OK" button). This brings up the PowerSync timing adjustment feature. You can take test shots while adjusting the value. This makes it easy to see when dark bars enter/leave the frame.

EDIT: Just realised that you may be talking about the timing adjust feature, as its maximum value is "32". If you get a black bottom-half then reducing the "32" to a lower value should reduce the black part (provided that the 645Z's shutter blades travel in the standard direction; the K-1's shutter blades do not).

You'll only find a timing adjustment setting that does not cause any black bars if the light output from your Indra500 is long enough (by either engaging HSS somehow or using a respective power level).

2. Set the Cactus receiver to "Nikon" for the flash system.

With the latest firmware versions, setting the receiver to "manual flash" should also work.
The "Nikon" setting was required before a respective bug fix was made.

[fwbigd]

The "Nikon" setting was required before a respective bug fix was made.

I have upgrade to the latest Cactus V6ii Firmware V1.1.004 and only when you set the flash system to "Nikon" will achive HSS sync with the Godox 360 and Elinchrom studio strobes. No other setting including "Manual" work. I have tried them all.

[Class A]

I have upgrade to the latest Cactus V6ii Firmware V1.1.004 and only when you set the flash system to "Nikon" will achive HSS sync with the Godox 360 and Elinchrom studio strobes. No other setting including "Manual" work. I have tried them all.

Thanks, fwbigd. I consider that to be a bug and will let Cactus know.

[MDR Foto]

I tried everything here, the closest I can get to HSS with this is in Nikon but still have the screen is dark.

[Class A]

I tried everything here, the closest I can get to HSS with this is in Nikon but still have the screen is dark.

Have you tried it with any other light source, e.g., like a flash?
If the flash is supported by the V6II then you should be able to get HSS working.
If it is not supported, you should still be able to get PowerSync working (using 1/1 power on the flash).

I take it your strobes do not have a way to manually engage HSS, do they?
If their maximum flash duration is short (smaller than 1/160 or so) then you are bound to get dark or only partially illuminated frames, once you set the shutter speed faster than the sync-speed.

Have you tried varying the PowerSync adjustment timing and did it change anything?
I'd recommend using a shutter speed like 1/250 first, i.e., not go crazy with 1/4000s or so. The closer the shutter speed is to the sync-speed, the less dark your frames should be and you'll have a fighting chance of seeing which PowerSync adjustment timing to use best.

I'll be getting my strobes out in the not too distant future and then will try to achieve PowerSync with them. I have no trouble using HSS or PowerSync with my flashes, but haven't tried my strobes yet. I doubt they will cooperate much -- they are not modern enough to support HSS, for instance -- but it is certainly worth a try.

[paulster]

I think the key question that needs to be answered is does the Indra500 support HSS when triggered by a PC sync cable, and does it have a means of manually-enabling HSS on the flash unit to support this?

If it doesn't then you're going to have to rely on PowerSync if the flash duration at full power is long enough, or you have to get a Phottix trigger if that's going to be the only means of getting the flash into HSS mode. Then you have an option of putting the Phottix trigger on the Cactus receiver, or stacking the triggers on the camera so that you use the Cactus as an HSS-enabler and the Phottix trigger to actually transmit the signal to the flash (this will require only one Cactus trigger).