Originally posted by Photodana I did not upgrade to CO 11. I be getting back on this subject some day soon :-)
Any time. Interesting subject. Perhaps we should use a different thread for that.
Originally posted by Photodana I have got the V6ii now. It'ss quite complicated. (Today I doubt this will ever work for professional use - hopefully I may come to a different conclusion in a few days. So many buttons and choises!
My view is that the many choices make it suitable for professional work as more than the most basic needs are addressed.
Many buttons is better than a few buttons because there is a lot to control and you don't want to go menu diving or pressing complicated button sequences.
I trust it is just a matter of getting used to the possibilities and realising that once everything is configured for your gear, the standard operation really is as simple as it gets.
Originally posted by Photodana After updating the firmware twice (must it be the same firmware for Receivers and TRANceivers?).
Sure, both need to run the same variant (either both "PEN.A.001" or a multi-brand version) and it is a good idea to have the version numbers matching (only relevant for the multi-brand variant at the moment, as there is only one X-TTL version -> "PEN.A.001").
Originally posted by Photodana I can't get the zoom working right - not while zooming on the camera/lens.
So you are changing the zoom setting on the lens and expect the flashes to change their zoom setting accordingly?
FWIW, I don't think that's not a good idea for off-camera flashes. It can be a useful feature for an on-camera flash (the one you mount on top of the on-camera V6II). Have you tried activating the "TTL pass-through" mode?
In that case the on-camera flash should be zooming along. However, there may be a bug in the current firmware. Mcgregni reported it to Cactus, so he knows more about it than I do (I don't use on-camera flash).
Originally posted by Photodana When photographing people, there are so many things to consider. I just can't spend time worrying if the flashes work.
Well, I use the V6II and I never spent a second worrying about the flashes. It just works. Most of the time, I just adjust the overall setting with the dial (all flashes brighter or less bright) and selectively choose which flashes to use (with the group buttons). Any simpler and one would be missing functionality.
Originally posted by Photodana So, I really hope I can get this working. I think found out, that I can't change the setting on the fill flash unit (AF360FGZ) manually (zoom angle and power) - if I do, the key light won't fire ...
How are you trying to change the settings on the fill flash unit (the on-camera unit, right)?
Via the V6II? Are you doing that by changing the "fifth group" (the one that normally shown)?
Are you using TTL pass-through?
Note that you could just make all required changes (zoom setting, flash exposure compensation, etc.) on the flash itself, if nothing else is going to work (which would seem unlikely).
I'm assuming with "key light" you mean the "off-camera" flash?
This one should always fire (unless you deactivate its group via the respective group button on the on-camera V6II).
If it doesn't fire, let us know which of the LEDs light up in green: The one on the on-camera V6II? The one on the off-camera V6II receiver?
Take some time to read the manual and come back to ask any questions you may have. I'm confident that you'll get it working. The only catch I could see is the potential bug in the PEN.A.001 firmware regarding the on-camera flash.
McGregni, does the bug exist in the multi-brand variant as well?
If V1.1.013 doesn't work either, there might be an earlier one that works.