Cactus V6 II with Panasonic GX7

AntonioCorreia

Guys,

From the Cactus V6 II manual

"For high-speed sync and AF-assist
capabilities, the V6 II will work with Canon,
Fujif ilm, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, and
Pentax cameras that

(1) come with their
specif ic system hot shoes, and

(2) support
these features when working with their
system flashes.
To use the V6 II as a wireless shutter
release, specif ic shutter cables are
required. For the list of optional
accessories, see Section 20."

Does (2) means that I can't operate my 2 others V6 II with the transmitter inserted in the hot shoe of the camera ?

This may look a silly question but I want to be positive about what I understand.

Thank you.

Antonio

Depend what flashes you have. Do they run on Canon, Fuji, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic?

What is it exactly you have in mind?

Are you looking at HSS?

Or AF assist?

Thanks!

AntonioCorreia

Antonio Lao, thank you for your reply.
I admit I may have some difficulty with these matters...
I have 2 Canon flashes using Nikon and Panasonic cameras.

I have been studying the subject and will be back to you later if I need.
Thank you !

Antonio

I have 2 Canon flashes using Nikon and Panasonic cameras.

Antonio

Sounds like your gear is compatible. To be sure, please name the models you have. For example, you can... 

Mount a V6 II on your Nikon camera (in case it is a D750, read this - https://www.cactus-image.com/community/discussion/comment/2896/#Comment_2896), and remotely control and trigger your Canon flashes, and get high-speed sync (HSS / FP mode) 

Or you can also... 

Mount a V6 II on your Panasonic camera and do the same as above. You can manually select the camera system in the V6 II. But if you do not want to label one transceiver always as a TX unit for Nikon, for example, then you can use the default Auto-detect. 

Everytime you switch on the V6 II it will auto-detect the camera system. Auto-detect also see what flash is mounted on the V6 II in RX mode. Always switch on the flash first, set it to TTL mode, and lastly switch on the V6 II to RX mode. 

Besides using just one camera system, you can also have you and your friend each using a different camera, say you holding a Nikon camera, and your friend with a Panasonic, together you guys can shoot and control the same group of Canon flashes. You can do this by turning on the Multi-Master function. Just do not shoot at the exact same time otherwise RF signal will jam and the V6 II Receivers (Canon flashes mounted) do not know which Transmitter to listen to. 

Let us know if you have any other questions. Thanks!

AntonioCorreia

Antonio Lao, 

I must thank you very much for your kind and great reply. Very precise and helpful !

The point you made of shooting with a Nikon and a Panasonic is fantastic !
My equipment is:

Canon 20D (old girl) | Canon 5D (also old girl) | Canon 580 EX II | Canon 430 EX | 4 (!) Cactus V6 II

The Nikon camera is from a friend and I really do not know the specifications...

I will study this combo carefully as I have a project in which I will be using both flashes. He will work with me with the Nikon camera.

Now, back to study !

Antonio

From memory the Canon 20D is not compatible. (sorry, it's really too old I guess)

5D should be OK. 

580EXII - OK

430EX - OK

Cheers!

AntonioCorreia

Antonio Lao, I am in trouble again.
When I started this thread - July 2017 - I thought I would use my camera and flashes for a project involving this type of equipment.
In deed, I had not and it is now time to restart the idea.
Now I have an Olympus 5 Mark II (and the Pana GX7) + 4 Transceivers + 1 Canon flash 480 EXII + 1 Canon flash 430 EX.
I plug transceiver 1 in the Oly and it recognises it.
I plug 580 flash on transceiver 2 and switch on the flash and then the transceiver.
I shoot and the flash doesn't work.
On the other hand I have tried (and Googled) to reset the flash but could not find a decent reply.
I am in a mess regarding this !

Antonio

AntonioCorreia said:

Antonio Lao, I am in trouble again.
When I started this thread - July 2017 - I thought I would use my camera and flashes for a project involving this type of equipment.
In deed, I had not and it is now time to restart the idea.

No problem! We are here to help.

AntonioCorreia said:

Now I have an Olympus 5 Mark II (and the Pana GX7) + 4 Transceivers + 1 Canon flash 480 EXII + 1 Canon flash 430 EX.

What firmware versions are you running on the V6 II?

Since you are using multiple camera systems at the same time, you should be using Multi-brand HSS firmware, version 1.1.013 or newer.

AntonioCorreia said:

I plug transceiver 1 in the Oly and it recognises it.

So the V6 II auto-detected the camera as "C", Canon, and "O", Olympus?

AntonioCorreia said:

I plug 580 flash on transceiver 2 and switch on the flash and then the transceiver.
I shoot and the flash doesn't work.

1. Is the flash (Canon 580EXII) operating in E-TTL mode?
   
2. What radio channel is the V6 II (RX) running on?
   
3. What flash group?
   
4. Is the flash group activated on TX unit?
   
5. Try doing a factory reset on all your V6 II transceivers and let it auto-detect all your camera and flash gear.
   

AntonioCorreia said:

On the other hand I have tried (and Googled) to reset the flash but could not find a decent reply.
I am in a mess regarding this !

No problem. Just pop a question here.

Thanks!