[leonine]

Thank you @inkista for a detailed reply.

[leonine]

Hello everyone,

In India, I am unable to sell off my Canon speedlite as well as Cactus V5 units.

I was wondering about another possibility.

I need the main on camera flash to be P-TTL compliant because I guess I will be mostly using a single flash for almost all outdoor and majority of indoor portraits. When I need the second flash too, I am ok with manually adjusting the second slave flash power output with a bit of trial and error.

Therefore, if I buy a single V6 Cactus Tranceiver and mount a Pentax 540GZ II on it, will I have complete P-TTL features available when I mount this combination on the hot shoe of the K1 and K3?

Then, can I mount the Canon Speedlite on a V5 receiver and trigger it off camera as a slave unit?

Well, I also have a 30 year old small Yashica flash which works. Will I be able to mount it on another V5 receiver and trigger it too as the third flash (second slave)?

If this works, it will be a cost effective solution for me while ensuring that I continue to use my existing Canon speedlite and V5 transceivers.

[kaseki]

One or two diffusion frames with white cloth strategically placed to reflect light might provide desired amounts of fill from a single ceiling-aimed flash (assuming a white ceiling). For budget purposes, aluminized bubble-pack insulation might do. Just gaffer tape a couple of sticks to the back to keep it flat.

[leonine]

Yes, with the proviso that the V860II is firmware updated for Pentax compatibility.



If money isn't any constraint, then two V1s, or an AD200 for off-camera is another possibility, but it will be a bit bulkier to haul either one around vs. a V860II. The thing about the AD200 is that it's basically the power output equivalent of three ganged speedlights and has a bare bulb head, so its character is more like using a small studio strobe, spread-wise. It can fill a large modifier better and more evenly than a speedlight, as well as pump out more light. But whether it's worth it or not is going to depend a bit on how much stuff you're willing to lug about, particularly in terms of modifiers, and how much power/coverage you need. But without any modifiers, the AD200's light, even bare bulb, is still going to be hard.

Thank you very much

[C_Jones]

Hi everyone,

I am looking to get into some strobist photography i.e. off-camera flash. I have been using backdrop stand and the flash is not working.

I shoot exclusively with a Canon 5D Mark II and 24-70mm F2.8L and I typically shoot automotive and portrait subjects.

Do we have any other budding strobist photographers on here? If yes, what type of gear would you recommend? Thinking of investing in some Yongnuo flashes and receivers/transmitters but for some reason most of the listings I've seen for the receivers/transmitters do not have the 5D Mark II as a compatible body. Can anyone comment on this?

Cheers

I know you mentioned Yongnuo, but just in case, I would recommend the Godox lineup of transmitter and flash units. There are the Godox V1-C (light) and Godox XPro-C (transmitter) products that would most likely be compatible with your current Canon camera. You could check with the dealer prior to purchasing to make sure. I have the XPro-P transmitter and two V-1 P lights along with other Godox products. They are excellent. Below are some links to two Godox products for Canon (the transmitter and light types). The C on the title of the products iterates that they are for use with Canon products.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1369139-REG/godox_xproc_wireless_flas...SABEgIZofD_BwE

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1465916-REG/godox_v1_c_v1_flash_for_c...981&

[inkista]

I am looking to get into some strobist photography i.e. off-camera flash. I have been using backdrop stand and the flash is not working.

I shoot exclusively with a Canon 5D Mark II and 24-70mm F2.8L and I typically shoot automotive and portrait subjects.

Um. You do know this is a Pentax board, right? The Canon Strobists congregate more over on POTN.

Do we have any other budding strobist photographers on here? If yes, what type of gear would you recommend?

Godox. Particularly for Canon shooters, since I suspect the Godox X system was reverse engineered off Canon RT gear. I moved from Yongnuo YN-622 gear to Godox gear when I added Panasonic mirrorless cameras to my Canon dSLR gear.

Thinking of investing in some Yongnuo flashes and receivers/transmitters but for some reason most of the listings I've seen for the receivers/transmitters do not have the 5D Mark II as a compatible body. Can anyone comment on this?

It's because the 5Dii is a pre-2012 body [before the 600EX-RT came out]. The Canon wireless flash communication protocol added a lot of features for the RT system (Groups D&E, Gr mode etc.) and the 5Dii can't actually communicate any of that by itself. Until the XPro-C came out as a transmitter, you did not have access to those features with a 5Dii. If you're looking at XT16, XT32, or X1T listings that's why the 5Dii isn't on the compatibility list.

I use a 5Dii with an Xpro-C transmitter, and it works fine.

There were similar issues with the Yongnuo YN-622C transceivers and the 5Dii wasn't compatible with group/M power control until the YN-622C-TX came out.

Personally, I say go for Godox gear, not Yongnuo for the following reasons:

Godox's 2.4 GHz X system is unified. All the 2.4 GHz radio gear Godox makes for strobes (aside from the FC16 triggers) are in this system. It integrates manual and TTL speedlights, AC-powered manual monolight, and the li-ion battery-powered TTL/HSS AD Witstro strobes. The system supports TTL/HSS for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fuji, Olympus/Panasonic, and Pentax. And that support works (mostly) cross-brand.

Yongnuo is failing at integrating their three? four? different mostly-incompatible triggerings systems. If you add in the manual YN-560 speedlights, you lose TTL/HSS compatibility with the TTL ones. Only the latest newest models are integrated, and the only systems supported are Canon, Nikon, and Sony, and cross-brand signalling doesn't necessarily work for all of it. Yongnuo also makes only one model light in their YN-560-TX Pro system that's bigger than a speedlight: the YN200, which is a cheaper copy of the Godox AD200, only with a fixed barebulb head, not an interchangeable head.

Finding what's compatible with what with Yongnuo gear can be insanely difficult. They have a YN-560/60x manual triggering system, a 622 TTL/HSS system, a Canon RT clone system, and now a Sony TTL/HSS system. And it's not necessarily self-evident which speedlight models are in which systems (aside from the RT ones that always have RT in their name).

In addition, Godox gear is often rebranded by more reputable retailers so they can tell who bought it from them, and offer customer/warranty support (e.g., Adorama's Flashpoint R2 gear is Godox's X system).

So, just me? If you're not a pro, consider getting the TT685 II-C ($130). It's a TTL/HSS full-sized speedlight for Canon. It also has a built-in radio transceiver. If you've never used a flash before, put aside plans for going Strobist, and master on-camera bounce flash first. It's a lot easier to grasp the basics of flash metering, flash exposure, and flash/ambient balance, as well as basic control over the intensity, direction, quality and (with gels) the color of the light if all you have to buy and master at first is a speedlight, a black sheet of black craft foam and a rubber band, and some gels. David Hobby assumed everybody had already hit the limits of on-camera bounce flash before finding the Strobist. He's also not going to teach you on-camera flash. TTL, or bounce technique. Neil van Niekerk will.

THEN you get a lighstand, a bracket or umbrella swivel, an XPro-C or Flashpoint R2 Pro II-C or transmitter, and a softbox or umbrella, and you start with a one-light Strobist setup. Hold off on proliferating lights/stands/modifiers until you can previsualize what this combination is going to do before you do it. Get enough sense of how this all works so that by the time you do want a second light, you'll know if you need bigger guns than speedlights or not, because that can have a knock on effect on the size/weight/cost of your stands and modifiers, too.

Good luck. Welcome to a brighter world!

[tromboads]

How'd your trip go? Keen to see what you ended up with?