Will the Cactus V6 II work with The Elinchrom ELB 400 with a HS head with a Pentax K-1?

dfp771 · August 2016

I have a Pentax K-1 camera. I also have the ELB 400 with one "Action" head and the Skyport "Speed" remote. The Action head is optimized for a short flash duration. I wonder if I purchase the HS (Hi-Sync) head (head with the longest flash duration) will I be able to trigger it via the Cactus V6 II and the Skyport Speed remote? It should work if I purchase the EL-Skyport Transmitter Plus HS for Nikon and set the Cactus V6 II to Pentax camera and Nikon Flash, correct?

Antonio · August 2016

I have a Pentax K-1 camera. I also have the ELB 400 with one "Action" head and the Skyport "Speed" remote. The Action head is optimized for a short flash duration. I wonder if I purchase the HS (Hi-Sync) head (head with the longest flash duration) will I be able to trigger it via the Cactus V6 II and the Skyport Speed remote? It should work if I purchase the EL-Skyport Transmitter Plus HS for Nikon and set the Cactus V6 II to Pentax camera and Nikon Flash, correct?

Well we haven't tested it but technically yes, it should work.

It may even work without their HS remote if you are able to switch the flash to high-speed mode directly on the ELB-400. Just plug the V6 II (RX) to the flash via sync cable, and V6 II (TX) will fire it with the its HSS long pulse (as you put it - the longest flash duration).

Hope this helps!

dfp771 · August 2016

Thank you Antonio. I ordered a second V6 II and when I get it I'll try this.

Antonio · August 2016

Thank you Antonio. I ordered a second V6 II and when I get it I'll try this.

Great! Let me know if you have any questions during this time.

Thank you.

dfp771 · August 2016

OK. I tested the Elinchrom ELB400 with the HS head. With a V6 II TX on the K-1 set to Pentax camera, manual flash, Normal/HSS SYNC and another V6 II RX connected to the external Sync socket of the ELB400 set as manual flash and using the A socket on the ELB400 (424J TO 22J) everything works fine up to 1/8000 second! The lower output B socket I tried and it is not usable- heavy banding/gradient lighting because this socket has a shorter flash duration. So I have 4 stops of light output range with HSS. I tried PowerSync mode- it works but the output is about a stop lower, not sure why. With the bare HS head with the standard reflector I can shoot at 1/8000 sec, ISO 100, F5.6. Using my Metz 52-AF1 speed light at full power it is 1/8000 sec., ISO 100, F2.0- about 3 stops lower. So now I can use the ELB 400 with the HS head for work in the direct sun and I can use the Action head for work in studio or dark locations...

Antonio · August 2016

@dfp771 ; Fantastic news!

Power Sync on studio strobes via 3.5mm jack won't make any difference as the ouput is via a sync cord. When the connection is via hot shoe on a TTL system flash it would trigger a normal flash pulse, unlike Normal HSS's lower powered longer flash pulse. Perhaps Power Sync trigger signal pops at a "more precise" timing so flash is fired slightly later, and image ends up capturing less light - just a guess.

The important thing is, it works with both your Elinchrom ELB400 and Metz 52 AF-1 on your Pentax K-1.

Thank you for sharing the news with us!

dfp771 · September 2016

I adjusted the Powersync timing to 8 (THANKS TO Class A on Pentax forum) and now the output is about 2/3 stop higher. Seems to work well across 4 stops of range (27 J to 424J). So I will be using it in this mode instead of Normal/HSS. I tried the Cactus triggers with my Dynalite Baja B4 using the external sync socket but the timing seemed to vary from shot to shot- Don't know why. I plan on using the Cactus triggers with the Elinchrom unit- seems to work reliably. Thank you.

Will the Cactus V6 II work with The Elinchrom ELB 400 with a HS head with a Pentax K-1?

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