Can hotshoe mounted RF60 not flash but RF still trigger another remote RF60
Hello, I have a night picture setup that I would like to shoot a tree in the distance in the dark using a remote RF60 flash and I don't want any light coming from my camera hot shoe mounted flash appearing in the foreground.
If I have 2 RF60s where one is on my Panasonic FZ1000 hot shoe acting as the transmitter, and the other is in the distance is set to receive, can the hot shoe 60 have the flash not fire, but still send an RF signal to the remote 60 in the distance?
Or do I just need a V6 transmitter on my hot shoe and an RF60 flash in the distance? Ideally 2 RF60s should work this way if one flash can be set to transmit an RF signal only.
Great looking - Thank you.
Comments
FYI the RF60 has a built-in V6, so all the basic functions of remote power and zoom control can also be done a on RF60 set to MASTER mode.
So you may of course also do this by using one (1) V6 on camera and two (2) RF60 off-camera beside the tree.
Thanks and I hope the above helps!
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The V6 allows TTL Pass Through so you can mount a TTL flash (such as Panasonic Lumix FL360) on your FZ1000 camera and it will work as if the V6 is not there. On the other hand, the V6 cannot transform a manual flash to one with TTL signals.
A bundle for 2 RF60 and 1 V6? Yes we do have one!
http://store.cactus-image.com/cactus-v6-rf60-wireless-flash-transceiver-studio-lighting-kit-b/
Brand Manager
You may alternatively use a V6 to introduce the same delay for all receivers (V6 + RF60). If the delay in configured on the receivers, you can make them fire at different times.
Yes, the RF60 does have a delay timer but it goes up to 999ms (1 second) only as it's for tweaking with HSS Sympathy Mode before. Since Firmware 200 now supports HSS when triggered by the V6 II, we might consider updating the Delay timer in the RF60 from milliseconds to seconds.
So here's a summary of the current Delay timer settings available:
- RF60: 999ms (under 1s)
- V6: 9999ms (under 10s)
- V6 II: 99s and 999ms (under 100s)
Thank you.Brand Manager
Would be nice to have more adjustment range for the RF60 in the future.
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I would definitely keep the ability to specify delays in ms (useful for HSS workarounds when you don't have a V6II, second-curtain sync emulation, and creative applications).
I'm not a fan of the "either or" approach of the V6II to specify delays. Instead of being forced to express the delay in terms of seconds or milliseconds, one should always specify in milliseconds and there should just be a handy way of leaving the least significant digits of the overall number zero.
So instead of having either
<SSS>
or
<MMM>
(each "S" stands for a digit for the "delay in seconds"-figure and each "M" stands for a digit for the "delay in milliseconds"-figure)
We should have
<SSS MMM>
If you just step through the "S" digits and leave all the "M" digits zero then you are setting seconds only.
If you just want a very short delay, you simply leave all "S" digits zero.
One second (1s) is 1000 milliseconds, so a second delay would show as
<001 000>
(or <001,000>)
In other words, you would always see a delay in milliseconds, but with a handy way of specifying seconds only, if you don't need millisecond precision.
The advantage of my proposal is that it allows the combination of long delays and precise delays, whereas currently with the V6II (and perhaps with your RF60 proposal) one has to choose between those two needs.
Of course, for my combined approach to be practical, the RF60 would have to adopt the "step through the digits" approach of the V6(II). It would not be feasible to set long delays, if one had to scroll at millisecond precision. I don't like adjustment methods with an auto-acceleration a lot, so I would not consider that alternative either.
BTW, yes, I agree, 999s should be a large enough maximum delay.
Currently, a RF60 does not support such long delays. Even though the RF60 has the V6 RF module inside, it has different hardware controls and uses a different user interface. The RF60 hardware is certainly capable of supporting 99s delays, but the current interface only supports delays up to 999ms.
I agree that the RF60 should support longer delays on its own (without the help of a V6 or V6II) and suggest my combined "long number" approach with a convenient way of setting individual digits, or at least the ability to adjust the "SSS" and "MMM" parts separately, e.g., step through them with both of them supporting the current RF60 adjustment style. They should always accumulate, though.
BTW, one V6II + 2 x RF60 gives you a lot more options then 3 x RF60, for instance HSS, group cycling, etc. I personally also prefer to use a small trigger on camera, rather than a fully-grown flash. However, if you want an on-camera flash anyhow, the 3 x RF60 solution could work nicely as well.
Hello again. Begging your indulgence, as a remote flash neophyte I have two things:
1. Aren't HSS (in milliseconds) and delayed flash firing (in seconds) two separate and distinct functions whose timing settings are not used the same way? If I have a remote RF60 setup with a delay of 15 seconds into a long exposure of 30 seconds, what does HSS (with much more precise mm demands) have to do with that? I would think that they should be two separate menu functions.
2. The V6 line was made to control non-Cactus brand flashes, correct? So if I buy all-Cactus RF60 flashes and become a "Cactus Man" (think Apple strategy) I shouldn't need the V6 / V6 ll. I understand from your previous comment that currently the RF60s don't support long delayed firing, but in my scenario here couldn't that be fixed with a firmware update through their USB ports? That way I could deploy my two RF60s in Rx with a 15 ss delay set, and control them with my RF60 on my hotshoe. Plus I can then actually use that one to also "flash" when I need/want it to. Perfect package.
Have you thought about these being used mounted to drones? I've been looking high and low for a light/strobe of this caliber and can only find a decent candidate in the Fiilex 2,000 lumen always on strobe. You should look at some of the drone discussion boards as a possible niche market and create "Cactus-Men".
Regarding the delay issue, a delay for optical HSS triggering is not really any different in concept to a much longer delay for some creative purpose ... It's a technical delay that is very short ,eg 100 ms. The concept is the same, so we just need a way to program the bigger numbers.
Yes, the smaller delays are for small adjustments for sync with shutter in HSS as well as creating second curtain effects, within that 1 second time frame. For your application with long exposure, that would be a different delay timer, similar to what the V6 / V6 II has. We look forward to updating the RF60 to support such functions in the next update - together with the V6 to support backward compatibility with the V6 II.
That's right, the RF60 works both as a Master and Slave flash. It just won't do high-speed sync though, because it still a manual flash with only a center hot shoe contact pin. It's indeed perfect for those who always need an on-camera flash. A portable flash would be quite heavy by comparison? I think just the capacitor weights just as much as the LED light? FYI we have seen a similar attempt but used inside a studio and the drone is quite noisy. However thanks for your suggestion!
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Brand Manager