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07-13-2022, 08:53 AM   #16
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I own a catus v6 set including their flash. I find the all manual approach pretty easy to tune with multiple flashes. I never got into the v6 II and similar systems with ttl. I also own a few flashpoint systems. It is annoying that the trigger is dedicated as is the flash. Some cross platform use is functional but I’m not expert at using it.

07-13-2022, 02:35 PM   #17
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You could resort to a Godox XPro-F transmitter (F for Fuji) and a Godox flash to start out with. There is a TT600 model that uses AA batteries that will communicate with the XPro-F. It is not as costly as some more advanced models. The more advanced models may come with the rechargeable battery, which is very reliable for power storage. You could learn using the transmitter and one off camera flash at first, and if you wanted to advance you could proceed with approaching another flash and so on as you see fit. I used to have a system of flashes that used AA batteries and some Cactus V1 transmitter/receiver units, and learned quite a lot using them, but I have resorted to a Godox system of transmitter and Godox lights which is far more effective. The amount of full power flashes I can get with my Godox lights far exceeds the AA battery performance, which is one of the features that I wanted in my lights.

Of course, your decision is up to you, but I would highly recommend the Godox wireless lighting system.
07-14-2022, 01:10 AM   #18
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QuoteOriginally posted by pres589 Quote
I figured I would get one flash and play with both on-camera-mount as well as remote-mount. Eventually, assuming I can grok all this, I'd probably want three total/max at one time. Having the system control power would be nice, or at least be able to run all of the flashes in one group / one the same channel up or down without having to go to each one physically. But that really just seems to say that I need to have the same transcievers for all positions and then have flashes that support all functions of those transcievers.


I believe Fuji and Pentax control pins at the hot shoe are different between brands. Correct? Meaning anything advanced beyond simple triggering from the camera is going to be out the window.


Rounding up a trio of good condition V6 II's seems doable but maybe not the smartest move when I don't have any sunk costs to think about. Any reason I shouldn't start saving pennies and dimes for Godox X2T-F's for this Fuji path I seem hellbent on going down? I see flashes like the Godox V350 which sounds nice but they're almost $150 each which isn't much savings vs. new X2T's + good used flashes which I would probably do instead. This would give me more flexibility to just buy flashes or transcievers as needed.

EDIT: Angel, that's interesting. What flash in the $65 range are you suggesting?
Here is a link to the Flashpoint Zoom R2: Flashpoint Zoom R2 Manual Flash with Integrated R2 Radio Transceiver FP-LF-SM-Z

Right now they are $59. I've used them for all sorts of events and studio shoots. I like to shoot manual everything. I tried a TTL flash a while back and went back to manual flash in a heartbeat.

Anyways, if you still are interested in going the cactus route, send me a message and I'm sure we could work something out.
07-15-2022, 05:24 PM   #19
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QuoteOriginally posted by pres589 Quote
I'm trying to work out a flash "kit", for lack of a better term, to support portrait and club/show photography. I am completely new to the world of flashes and such. Here's the hardware that is, at least in theory, fixed;

Fuji X-H1. Within a couple of weeks I should have one in-hand. This is the body I believe I'll be using for this sort of thing most of the time.

Pentax K-5 II. I don't see leaving Pentax digital bodies any time soon.
Just me, but consider Godox (then again I drank the Godox/Strobist kool-aid long ago and I'm this board's resident Godox wonk, so keep that in mind. Godox's system can support TTL and HSS for both Fuji and Pentax with the same lights. The only thing that has to match the camera brand is going to be whichever unit(s) go on-camera to act as a radio transmitter (transmitter or speedlight).

Other systems have similar cross-brand TTL support (Westcott FJ/Jinbei RT, Profoto Air, Nissin Air, Broncolor TRS.2, etc.) But AFAIK, while they all support Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Fuji, none of them support Pentax P-TTL. I think the only three cross-brand TTL radio triggers that support Pentax P-TTL are Godox X, Phottix Odin II, and the Elinchrom Pro. And of these three, Godox is the lowest-cost.

Godox supports cross-brand TTL for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fuji, micro four-thirds (Olympus/Panasonic) and Pentax. And soon Leica. But. Pentax's support is probably the most spotty in terms of products (i.e., there's no V350, TT685, TT685 II, or V860 II for Pentax in the speedlight lineup and no X1T transmitter). But this and the larger-than-speedlight strobe options, both manual AC-powered monolights and battery-powered TTL/HSS strobes (both monolights and pack and heads) are why the Godox system gets so widely recommended.

A modular mini battery-powered TTL/HSS strobe like an AD200 that's designed solely for off-camera use has been something of a game changer. It has 3x the light output of a speedlight and can use a fresnel, bare bulb, round, or extension head. Also a dual bracket to combine two bulbs and two bodies to form one 400 Ws studio strobe with LED modeling lights.

QuoteQuote:
Nissin i40 flash *for Canon*.
For Godox this would not be usable from Fuji or Pentax as a TTL/HSS radio slave, even with an X1R-C receiver attached to its foot. Could only be used as a manual slave (i.e., you could fire it, but all settings would have to be made directly on the camera). BTW, Nissin actually has its own radio system, now built into the i60A and Di700. Maybe also their potato masher flash.

QuoteQuote:
A pile of old flashes from the 80's....
Ditto. Godox isn't friendly to legacy gear the way the Cactus X-TTL system is. OTOH, Godox is still making flash gear, and has a very wide user base.

But also:

QuoteQuote:
Sunpak Auto Zoom 333 ... Vivitar 283 around here somewhere. ...
These were/are great workhorse flashes but they're manual with an autothyristor, and maaay (unlikely) be old enough to have scary-high sync voltages that might (or might not) fry digital-era gear. And used remotely with radio triggers, whether TTL capable or not, most likely the only function you can get is sync (firing them) and not any kind of settings changes, other than maybe using the autothyristor for power control.

In contrast, a $65 Godox TT600 single-pin manual speedlight , (while it's manual-only on a hothose) as a radio slave in Godox's system would give you remote group on/off, M power control (by group), and HSS (high-speed sync, also called FP/focal plane flash) capability when used with, say a Godox XPro-F (Fuji) or an Xpro-P (Pentax).

QuoteQuote:
For what I'm doing I don't think I care about sync speeds over 1/1000. 1/500 seems sufficient since I'm not trying to capture birds with the flash running.
The X-H1's sync speed is 1/250s. The K-5ii's is 1/180s. So, you'd still need to care about HSS to get 1/500s with flash.

QuoteQuote:
My biggest concern is finding a transceiver that can work with both Pentax and Fuji and then is pretty flash unit agnostic as well.
Actually, here's the fun part with Godox. While the transmitter needs to match the camera brand, the flash may not. It only needs to match if you want TTL/HSS with the flash on-camera directly attached to the camera hotshoe.

But I shoot Canon (5Dii), Panasonic (GX7), and Fuji (X100T). I have an Xpro-C, an XPro-O, and an XPro-F. I also have a TT685-C speedlight that's TTL/HSS on the 5Dii. All three of these gear combos can remotely control my firmware upgraded TT685-C to fire it, turn groups on/off, adjust an M power level by group, use TTL and HSS, and adjust the zoom by group. I also have Groups A-C support for the -O and -F transmitters, Groups A-E for the -C transmitter. However. There are some caveats that are flavor-specific.

The TT350/V350 mini speedlights are not designed with cross-brand TTL in mind. Some combos work (Nikon/Sony), others don't (Canon/Olympus). I have no idea about Fuji/Pentax. You are likely to get sync, possibly group and power control, but HSS is more iffy, and TTL may be completely out.

Secondly, only the V860 II (all flavors) and the AD Witstro lights got P-TTL compatibility upgrades. Of all the versions of the TT685, only the Canon one got the P-TTL firmware upgrade. So you can't grab a TT685-F and use it in TTL with an XPro-P. You can use the V860 II-F with the XPro-P in TTL. And the three newer models: the V1, V860 III, and TT685 II should all work cross-brand for Fuji and Pentax.

QuoteQuote:
Bonus for ability to integrate a film body into this, like my MX or XR7, but that's lower priority
Godox gear can work as manual-only triggering with film gear. Even medium format bodies.

They are cheap Chinese gear, however, where you are relying on the retailer you purchased from fro customer support and warranty coverage with replacement units, so most of us in the US recommend finding a reputable dealer, like B&H or Adorama (who rebrands the Godox X system gear as Flashpoint R2 gear) that will offer that.


Last edited by inkista; 07-15-2022 at 05:34 PM.
07-16-2022, 09:20 AM   #20
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QuoteOriginally posted by inkista Quote
Godox supports cross-brand TTL for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fuji, micro four-thirds (Olympus/Panasonic) and Pentax. And soon Leica. But. Pentax's support is probably the most spotty in terms of products (i.e., there's no V350, TT685, TT685 II, or V860 II for Pentax in the speedlight lineup and no X1T transmitter)...

Secondly, only the V860 II (all flavors) and the AD Witstro lights got P-TTL compatibility upgrades. Of all the versions of the TT685, only the Canon one got the P-TTL firmware upgrade. So you can't grab a TT685-F and use it in TTL with an XPro-P. You can use the V860 II-F with the XPro-P in TTL. And the three newer models: the V1, V860 III, and TT685 II should all work cross-brand for Fuji and Pentax.
Great write-up!

I recently picked up the V860III-P (Adorama branded) which does support P-TTL. It will probably be one of the two lights I carry along to general events.

In truth I have more Godox gear than I need. Three V1's, three AD200's, a Fuji V860II, one TT685II, this new V860III, a TT-350, a pair of X-Pro triggers, along with numerous modifiers. I'll ignore the constant lighting, tho a Nanlite FS150, FS300 and Mixpanel 150 are all extra-useful and getting a LOT of work. The FS300 can be useful even outdoor on certain shoots, particularly so paired with Nanlite's fresnel. LED's are coming along nicely.

Some of my lights were picked up assuming my photo business partner would eventually warm up to artificial lighting so we would need extra speedlights/strobes/reflectors/modifiers to share, but I've now resigned myself to the fact she simply isn't going to unless forced by circumstances (yet she wants my old unloved Cactus stuff??). Great photographer and PR frontperson, but the queen of natural light. I'm fine with it. Not fine with paid shoots slowing down. I see some culling in my future.
07-16-2022, 10:11 AM   #21
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QuoteOriginally posted by pres589 Quote
SO, well, let's change this up; can someone recommend me a transceiver for the case I laid out above?
If you want a future-proof investment, I'd recommend going with Godox.

If you want to minimise expenditure and want to reuse your existing equipment, there is nothing better than Cactus V6 (II) transceivers.
Have you checked at all, whether your legacy flashes would be compatible for remote power control?
Many cheaper triggers could take care of remote triggering, and while the V6 (II) units have very good usability (better than most Godox units), their main attraction is that they support remote power control of speedlights of all sorts.

I have three surplus V6 II units which I'd be happy to sell for little money. I'm not using them anymore since I moved on to Godox which support bigger studio lights as well.
I'd have to ship from New Zealand, though.

PM me, if you are interested, I can also list them in the marketplace, if that is needed to comply with forum rules.

P.S.: I'll always keep some V6II units and some Cactus flashes since they are lightweight, pretty small, and take standard batteries, so no hassle when flying, for instance.
07-17-2022, 04:00 PM - 1 Like   #22
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Class A: It seems like none of the flashes I've got access to, either here in my possession or the Nissin i40, work with the Cactus transcievers for remote control of flash power.


I'll send a PM. Thanks.

07-17-2022, 11:57 PM   #23
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QuoteOriginally posted by pres589 Quote
Class A: It seems like none of the flashes I've got access to, either here in my possession or the Nissin i40, work with the Cactus transcievers for remote control of flash power.
The Nissin i40 for Canon is supported by the V6II. It has a dedicated profile for it. I don't own that flash so cannot test it personally, but I don't doubt that it would work.
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