V7 ideas
I'm sure I'm way late in even talking about a v7 since there's probably something in the works.
Here are some Ideas I have anyways:
1) More groups, both sides of the trigger could have group buttons, or they could simply be smaller slit shaped buttons like on the godox xpro.
2) Scroll wheel that is more clicky and has more resistance so that it is not easily bumped. Or mounted on the top and slightly recessed so it cannot be hit accidentally.
3)Trigger shape: I've thought about this for a while, and it would be great if the trigger overall had a lower profile. But more specifically, if the hotshoe portion was lower than the rest- as low as physically possible so that an on camera flash stayed as close to the height of the camera's hotshoe as possible to keep the setup more compact. The rest of the trigger around the hotshoe could be taller to fit necessary electronics. Think similar to the current shape but with the top hotshoe in a dipped region. This would require either separating the two AA batteries so that one goes on one side and the other goes on the other, or using some type of smaller lipo battery.
****4) This one is very important as I think it would keep Cactus competitive and appealing in a market saturated with other popular brands. Maintaining a true passthrough hotshoe like the original V6. As much as I love Cactus products, many of us will still be partially using other systems and products. In order to stay competitive I feel that it's necessary to keep the triggers compatible with system mixing which the V6 ii's do not.
For example I run four off camera RF60X's at weddings as backlights for receptions, but use a godox v860 ii mounted on top. With this setup, I can put the godox flash into radio master and fire three more godox lights with it, while also firing my RF60X's simultaneously. This allows enough lights to run multiple setups that I can quickly switch between as well as using my Cactus gear along with a godox 600ws strobe in large ballrooms if needed. With the original V6 and an on camera godox flash, you can still fire off camera godox lights in TTL and HSS perfectly when needed. With the V6 ii this is not possible. For this reason I still use my V6 version 1's and sacrifice off camera HSS with my RF60X's.
5) A 'mode' button near the scroll wheel used for changing a selected group from TTL to Manual power, so that the actual dedicated group buttons only need a single press to turn on or off. (Hold down the group you want + press the mode button to change mode).
:]
6) Maybe transmitters with dedicated brand hotshoes for better fitment for those that don't need cross brand compatibility. With godox making their system cross brand compatible, I think it would be better to focus on amazing ergonomics. The ergonomics are why I still use the cactus system, it's just so fast to change flash power and turn on and off groups. Godox has failed in that repeatedly in that regard. Even with the xpro transmitter, which is a step in the right direction, but sacrifices a pass through hotshoe which makes it useless for a lot of event photography where you need an on camera bounce flash. The other options are the awful ergonomics of their master flashes to control off camera lights in which navigation is very slow, or the x1 trigger which is a nightmare on its own.
7) Custom setup banks, even two would be enough, with dedicated buttons. Each bank would save which flashes are turn on or off and at what power and mode they were selected the last time you were in that bank. This would be a killer feature, I believe you guys may have done this in the v6 ii but dedicated bank buttons would really bring it to life. Combine with your camera's own custom settings banks, you could easily switch between a completely different aesthetic in a very short amount of time which would be extremely helpful for wedding photographers.
Here are some Ideas I have anyways:
1) More groups, both sides of the trigger could have group buttons, or they could simply be smaller slit shaped buttons like on the godox xpro.
2) Scroll wheel that is more clicky and has more resistance so that it is not easily bumped. Or mounted on the top and slightly recessed so it cannot be hit accidentally.
3)Trigger shape: I've thought about this for a while, and it would be great if the trigger overall had a lower profile. But more specifically, if the hotshoe portion was lower than the rest- as low as physically possible so that an on camera flash stayed as close to the height of the camera's hotshoe as possible to keep the setup more compact. The rest of the trigger around the hotshoe could be taller to fit necessary electronics. Think similar to the current shape but with the top hotshoe in a dipped region. This would require either separating the two AA batteries so that one goes on one side and the other goes on the other, or using some type of smaller lipo battery.
****4) This one is very important as I think it would keep Cactus competitive and appealing in a market saturated with other popular brands. Maintaining a true passthrough hotshoe like the original V6. As much as I love Cactus products, many of us will still be partially using other systems and products. In order to stay competitive I feel that it's necessary to keep the triggers compatible with system mixing which the V6 ii's do not.
For example I run four off camera RF60X's at weddings as backlights for receptions, but use a godox v860 ii mounted on top. With this setup, I can put the godox flash into radio master and fire three more godox lights with it, while also firing my RF60X's simultaneously. This allows enough lights to run multiple setups that I can quickly switch between as well as using my Cactus gear along with a godox 600ws strobe in large ballrooms if needed. With the original V6 and an on camera godox flash, you can still fire off camera godox lights in TTL and HSS perfectly when needed. With the V6 ii this is not possible. For this reason I still use my V6 version 1's and sacrifice off camera HSS with my RF60X's.
5) A 'mode' button near the scroll wheel used for changing a selected group from TTL to Manual power, so that the actual dedicated group buttons only need a single press to turn on or off. (Hold down the group you want + press the mode button to change mode).
:]
6) Maybe transmitters with dedicated brand hotshoes for better fitment for those that don't need cross brand compatibility. With godox making their system cross brand compatible, I think it would be better to focus on amazing ergonomics. The ergonomics are why I still use the cactus system, it's just so fast to change flash power and turn on and off groups. Godox has failed in that repeatedly in that regard. Even with the xpro transmitter, which is a step in the right direction, but sacrifices a pass through hotshoe which makes it useless for a lot of event photography where you need an on camera bounce flash. The other options are the awful ergonomics of their master flashes to control off camera lights in which navigation is very slow, or the x1 trigger which is a nightmare on its own.
7) Custom setup banks, even two would be enough, with dedicated buttons. Each bank would save which flashes are turn on or off and at what power and mode they were selected the last time you were in that bank. This would be a killer feature, I believe you guys may have done this in the v6 ii but dedicated bank buttons would really bring it to life. Combine with your camera's own custom settings banks, you could easily switch between a completely different aesthetic in a very short amount of time which would be extremely helpful for wedding photographers.
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