[Gianclaudio]

What other manufacturers?

Everyone, not only lighting manufactures. Is a wishful thinking....the more brands are offering Pentax compatible products, the more brand awareness.

[bladerunner6]

I'll admit, the two big things that caused me to leave Pentax was lack of premium (yet affordable) lenses and the abysmal flash ecosystem. If this was available a year ago it would have been extremely difficult to leave, as the lenses were out of convenience and want, not need. The flash was the need, and this is huge for K-mount, and makes it a professionally viable system again.

Cactus failed (which I used loyally and for a long while), and is now DOA.

Huge.

The Godox system has so much going for it and buying from Adorama gives you good US support so I agree, it is huge.

[rawr]

Just pre ordered the flashpoint version of xpro

Is there any difference at all between the Flashpoint versions of Godox gear, and the native Godox units - eg hardware specifications, firmware?

Or is it only a brand labelling difference. ?

[bladerunner6]

Is there any difference at all between the Flashpoint versions of Godox gear, and the native Godox units - eg hardware specifications, firmware?

Or is it only a brand labelling difference. ?

Warranty, customer service and technical support from Adorama are great in the US, far better than Godox.

[sureshgvv]

If you buy from Amazon, it says the delivery date of October 14-16.

[mee]

I'll admit, the two big things that caused me to leave Pentax was lack of premium (yet affordable) lenses and the abysmal flash ecosystem. If this was available a year ago it would have been extremely difficult to leave, as the lenses were out of convenience and want, not need. The flash was the need, and this is huge for K-mount, and makes it a professionally viable system again.

Cactus failed (which I used loyally and for a long while), and is now DOA.

Huge.

Oh yes those were my two reasons for leaving K mount FF too but mostly the lenses. I use the Nikon version of this Xpro transmitter with the Nikon TTL version R2s and it is really a fine system. I'd say arguably THE system under a grand... the Xpro transmitter allows one to alter values for flashes without having to go over to any off camera flash linked to the system and the R2 flashes themselves have a receiver... no middleman adapters. Plus it supports HSS which is pretty handy... and so far rather reliable... that said I don't stress it heavily. But no goofy misfires or the like.

I don't see pttl R2s out.. are they in the works does one need to use the manual only R2 flash with this? Of course I'd generally be in manual mode anyways, but it is nice to have TTL when you wan to just plug a flash on the camera and bounce..

[Mbaez]

Finally... This is a game changer at least for myself. Now I can dive in into Godox system!

Xpro-P TTL Wireless Flash Trigger

Yes, yes, yes!!!
Finally I'll be able to use my eVOLV with TTL!

[Navmaxlp]

Cactus failed (which I used loyally and for a long while), and is now DOA.

Huge.

Not disagreeing at all. I'm just trying to understand. I've got the Cactus RF60 and a V6 and they seem fine to me. I was thinking of upgrading to a V6 II now so I could take advantage of their new features (same as Godox provides). Is there a reason I should consider Godox over the Cactus system? Essentially, it will only cost the price of a Godox flash since, either way, I'd have to purchase a new trigger. That said, I have a K3 so, this may not work for me anyhow. I'd certainly like to know my options though and would like to hear why people feel Cactus failed. It seems to me, a casual user, that Cactus is alive and well and was one of the first to market with HSS and PTTL features for Pentax users. Definitely willing to admit I'm wrong though as I don't keep too current of flashes etc.

[mcgregni]

Heie is apparently referring only to his own perspective, or those with similar perspectives. Cactus, for me, has been a great success .... Thanks to their free firmware upgrades, I've now got a two-flash radio P-TTL system, plus a three -flash radio Manual system, and I can instantly switch between the two with a click on the group buttons.

The TTL automated metering and independence of fine control over each flash is superb, and the ease of control over both TTL and Manual operations is excellent.

As a user content for now with hotshoe flash types it's really a great success, and very good value.

Cactus has yet to build up the larger ecosystem such as Godox offers, so there is a limitation for those needing more power and flexibility with light types. The RQ250 would go a good way towards improving this situation.

So for now we have choices depending on our immediate needs. Cactus has only failed if your expectations were beyond what they have built so far. It will be interesting to see how the Godox system stacks up in terms of controllability and utility in use, with both TTL and Manual, against the strong Cactus competition in those respects.

[RAART]

Cactus has yet to build up the larger ecosystem such as Godox offers, so there is a limitation for those needing more power and flexibility with light types. The RQ250 would go a good way towards improving this situation.

This is why I was excited about Godox... AD200 + AD600B and maybe later another AD200 is all what I need. Those models are powerful (AD200 3x more power than regular flash) and also to mix them later with some of the Godox regular flashes and to be controlled with one trigger without a need to have another receiver is a big plus for myself. To have HSS was only what I need but P-TTL is just a bonus.

I almost pulled the trigger on Cactus but still was hesitant when I read about Godox... I have pre-ordered already the trigger and will buy AD200 very soon or as long as trigger arrives as it is in stock at local retailer.
I think that Cactus did not failed however also it did as they too slow to get into market with larger strobes and to integrate receivers into those... Just my 2c.

[mcgregni]

They're a small outfit, but one benefit of that has been really strong user support and direct communication with those in charge. Also Cactus have provided impressive backwards compatibility and integration ......I have just benefited massively from the firmware update released for the older V6 unit, which allows it to act as a receiver to signals from the V6II using the XTTL firmware versions ...... This has allowed me to avoid any further expense while bringing my AF-540FGZ flash back into a 3-flash manual system with no need to swap firmware.

Because I tend to use 2 flashes with TTL and 3 flashes with Manual mode, this now provides excellent ease of use and speed in practice.

Let's see how the Godox trigger compares in practice with the various strobe units that will be compatible....i imagine we will see plenty of new threads pop up with all sorts of questions and feedback once people get up and running with it!

[Class A]

I think that Cactus did not failed however also it did as they too slow to get into market with larger strobes and to integrate receivers into those... Just my 2c.

Yes, I agree.

Cactus obviously were/are not "DOA" and the only way they could be regarded as having failed is to provide a higher-powered alternative to the RF60X earlier with a price that the market considers to be competitive.

If they had been able to launch the RQ250 two years (or so) earlier, I think the reception would have been quite different.

Let's see how the Godox trigger compares in practice with the various strobe units that will be compatible...

Yes, my thoughts as well.

We can consider ourselves lucky that they made the XPro available in a Pentax-dedicated version as it is by far their best trigger. I already see some aspects where the usability won't be as elegant as it is with a V6II (when it comes to changing group modes and/or changing the power of all groups) but overall, it seems to be quite a good trigger. Obviously, access to Godox' lighting portfolio is a huge change to Pentaxians. I'm particularly keen on their "Pro" series.

[morenjavi]

We can consider ourselves lucky that they made the XPro available in a Pentax-dedicated version as it is by far their best trigger. I already see some aspects where the usability won't be as elegant as it is with a V6II

I agree that Cactus triggers are way better than Godox one's. I think the strong point for Godox was developing decent quality-affordable flashes. It seems that, about the triggers... well, they needed to have something to trigger with, but it took years to develop the XPro Series, notice all the triggers they developed: FT16 (with and without sync port), Cells (for HSS), XT16, XT32 (first one with real group control, I like it BTW), X1T (seems it was not so successful) and then the XPro, a really nice trigger with remote triggering, remote power control and decent group control.
I think Cactus invest a lot of time thinking about the interface, usability, less work for the user to get the most used functions, etc. Just compare how can you select groups with the V6 II: just four big-easy to see-easy to push-retro illuminated buttons; one click and you set a group ON or OFF. On the XPro you need to push three different buttons just to set a group to OFF, and deselect it. Other basic functions are quicker too on the Cactus.
But on the positive side, I can live with it, I don't need to switch groups every 5 seconds. If you needed one, two affordable compact powerfull strobes, then Godox was the only option until now, the only one for me some years ago. I was just waiting for the XPro to manage groups decently.

Obviously, access to Godox' lighting portfolio is a huge change to Pentaxians

IMHO, we had access to the Godox strobes from the beggining, just in a limited way, only manual and under-sync speed.
I remember how excited I was when I read several years ago about the AD360, so nice and powerfull flash, so compact, so affordable. It was a huge change for me, even if I just was using it manually without HSS. I saw the pics of Jesús Padilla on other forums taken with this flash and I was thrilled. Later I added the lovely AD200 and a small V850 and then all my lights become remote controlled.

At present, with the XProC, I have 95% of my needs covered, I still didn't make/sell any pic with HSS, maybe too complicated to get the Cactus, stack the Godox, etc, when I'm in a hurry. This situation can change with the XPro-P, sure I find situations to get HSS pics or even quick P-TTL pics on the outside, with sun, etc. If you have it, you just find where and when to use it.

Regards.

[inkista]

Hi. I'm not a Pentax shooter, but I'm a Godox enthusiast who shoots Canon, MFT, and Fuji, and I had a ton of fun helping outline some stuff about the Godox system to Fuji users before the system came out, so thought I'd take a look and see if I could lend a helping hand for Pentax shooters curious about the system. I may get some stuff wrong for you guys (everybody's picture of Godox is slightly different) based on the other "flavors", but I do have cross-brand experience with Godox.

... Do I understand correctly? For example, if someone had the Godox Pentax trigger, 1 Godox Olympus flash, 1 Godox Canon flash, and 1 Godox Nikon flash, they would effectively have 3 off-camera flashes for Pentax, and 1 on-camera plus 2 off-camera for the other 3 brands? All with HSS and TTL support?

Yes. If the hotshoe flashes you're using are the TT685 or V860II, and they've all had firmware upgrades to grok the Pentax signalling.

The TT600/V850II is single-pin manual only and doesn't do TTL at all (but can do HSS as radio slaves). The TT350/V350 mini-speedlight is not built to do cross-brand TTL (or so Flashpoint support told me). But all do have built-in radio transceivers in the Godox X system and can be either radio master or slave. But the single-pin flashes, of course, can't receive TTL/HSS signals from the camera hotshoe, so cannot be TTL or HSS RF masters.

I have a TT685C that I can use in TTL/HSS/with M power control from an XPro-C on my Canon 5DMkII, an XPro-F on my Fuji X100T, and an XPro-O from my Panasonic GX7.

You are going to be waiting on firmware update announcements for all the TTL-capable lights in the system, including the AD200, AD360II, AD600, and AD600 Pro if you want to do cross-brand TTL with Godox triggers. Hopefully these will be released about the time the XPro-P is, but it may also be a wait (it was about a year for the Sony users until all the updates were out; for MFT/Fuji it was about two or three months from the releases of the TT350-O/TT350-F). Until that "-P" firmware update arrives and can be applied, you will still have manual triggering with remote power control, and (probably) HSS, but TTL will not be accessible until then. The HSS is more iffy than power control because some systems have had it off the bat, others haven't, and some have only partially had it with some of the lights, not all. Godox users know about firmware updates the way Yongnuo users know about production date codes.

You will want to get familiar with Godox's downloads page, which holds links for the firmware updating software, the updates themselves, and all the user manuals in PDF format. Firmware updating will require a USB cable (micro for all devices except the A1 and the XPro, which require a USB-C cable) that can transfer data (not just charge); and Windows. If you're an OSX or Linux user, a virtual machine or OSX's Boot Camp will also work. If you want to do this for free, some hardy souls have used the open source Virtual Box and Microsoft's 90-day developer VMs.

Once all the firmware updates and flash releases (if they're happening) come through, you should hopefully be able to have TTL/HSS/remote power control over:

• TT350-P / V350-P
• TT685 / V860II (all flavors)
• AD200
• AD400 Pro
• AD600
• AD600 Pro

And HSS/remote power control over:

• TT600 / V850II
• AD600M
• QT600 II

You'll only have remote power control over the MkII-series A/C strobes in the QSII, GSII, DPII, and SKII series.

---------- Post added 08-28-18 at 01:33 PM ----------

...
About the V860, it's listed as 'supported at low speed' but I suppose no TTL for Pentax, as this flash is for Canon-Nikon-Sony...

Yup. I think you'd need a V860 II for that. The cross-brand TTL support comes via the built-in radio transceiver of the Mk II. Since the only X receiver you can use with a Mark I V850/V860 is the XTR16s which isn't TTL-capable, you won't get TTL. The only way to get TTL out of a V860 Mark I is via the foot, and they only built it in Nikon and Canon flavors. A firmware update can't add missing hardware, so I don't think a fix is going to be on the way for this. It's a good way to make you rebuy a Godox flash.

The XTR16 and XTR16s have been problematic for anything other than triggering and power control. Fuji users couldn't get HSS out of them until the v03 firmware update on the X1T. But Canon/Nikon users were supposedly getting HSS out of them off the bat (although you do have to set HSS directly on the AD180 and AD360 [mark I]). My guess is the Pentax picture might look closer to the Nikon one.

Here's my reasoning. Feel free to dismiss it. Godox's X system looks a lot like it was initially reverse-engineered off Canon's RT system (the UI on the TT685/V860II is very close to that of the 600EX-RT, and so far only Canon users can put a speedlight into groups D & E). Nikon and Pentax, like Canon, for backwards compatibility, use a standard hotshoe/pin layout and analog signalling, so reverse-engineering Nikon and Pentax should be more similar to reverse-engineering the Canon system. Sony has its weird MI hotshoe and probably, like MFT, is using some digital signalling on the foot so those systems have some issues (Sony isn't getting TTL accuracy with wider apertures; Panasonic MFT is getting banding with HSS). And Fuji is playing some very hasty catchup flash-tech wise, as they only introduced HSS as a feature in their system in 2016 [facepalm].

[morenjavi]

Once all the firmware updates and flash releases (if they're happening) come through, you should hopefully be able to have TTL/HSS/remote power control over: V860II (all flavors)

Hello and thanks for the info. About TTL with the V860II, can you confirm that it will be possible to get PTTL with a V860IIC from a XProP, cross-brand style? Are the V860II series similar to the AD200, that can be used with different triggers (Canon, Nikon, etc) ?

Regards.