Godox X1Tn/Flashpoint R2 Transmitter stacked on top

luchoh

I've been trying unsuccessfully to make v6II trigger my Godox v850ii/Flashpoint R2N flashes via a

stacked X1Tn on top of v6ii. All units are are with latest firmwares.

The v6ii recognizes my camera (Pentax K-1) and when the v850ii is on top of the v6ii both camera and flash system are recognized fine.

When the X1Tn is on top however, the flash system is recognized, but not always. Moreover, if I manually trigger the X1Tn device, v6ii "forgets" the flash system.

If I manually trigger the v6ii (while it still recognizes the X1Tn unit), I get a short LED indication on the X1Tn, but (it almost feels) not long enough to trigger the wireless system and my flashes.

I initially bought the Flashpoint rebrand, but because the screen is defective, I will be returning it. In the meantime (suspecting that the defect could be deeper), I purchased a Godox X1Tn. Functionally, both units were identical and both units do not play ball with Cactus v6ii.

Can anybody help?

P.S. I was able to achieve HSS by stacking a Flashpoint R2 Zoom for Nikon which was serving a wireless master to Godox v850ii flashes. I would rather use the X1Tn trigger as lugging the flash on top of the Cactus on top of the camera for a real shoot is very inconvenient.

P.P.S. I suspect I can also use a second v6ii unit to trigger the V850n flash, which in turn will trigger the rest of the flashes. I suspect this is the only workable solution at this moment.

Antonio

Hi there @luchoh,

I've been trying unsuccessfully to make v6II trigger my Godox v850ii/Flashpoint R2N flashes via a stacked X1Tn on top of v6ii.

Well, I want to first mention that the V6 II was not designed for such an application / setup.

That said, I wonder if it has to do with the X1Tn trigger not being active so that V6 II does not always see it? Technically it only needs to recognize at the start, after that it only triggers the X1Tn on the centre hot shoe contact pin.

We have heard others using the same kind of setup but with a Profoto air remote, and so far they didn't hit back with any problems.

An alternative for more consistent firing would be connecting another V6 II (RX) directly to the strobe via sync cable. But this means you need to hold / strap up the X1Tn transmitter when you need remote power control.

Hope this helps.

luchoh

Hi @Antonio,

thanks for your time responding to my message.

Well, I want to first mention that the V6 II was not designed for such an application / setup.

Why would that be? Is there an inherent difference between the flash and the X1T trigger? Bear in mind, I'm not a flash
expert or electronics engineer - only a software engineer and to me these are logical black boxes. It feels the software inside the v6ii should not distinguish between a flash and a transmitter, especially since the v6ii does not "know" in advance
what flash I will attach to it.

To be honest with you, I feel it's more likely that the X1Tn is getting confused by the v6ii unit as in it doesn't respond exactly as a Nikon camera... which theoretically it should.

That said, I wonder if it has to do with the X1Tn trigger not being active so that V6 II does not always see it? Technically it only needs to recognize at the start, after that it only triggers the X1Tn on the centre hot shoe contact pin.

I always do this:

1. 
   Start the camera
   
2. 
   Start the X1Tn
   
3. 
   Half-press the shutter on the camera and switch on the v6ii. The v6ii recognizes the Pentax/Nikon combination just fine. However, 
   If I previously select the combination Pentax/Nikon, nothing seems to work or be recognized. It has to be on AUTO for anything to work. Don't know why to be honest with you.
   

So as you see, the trigger is always active.

As an aside, I'm quite good with the quality assurance process and believe me, I tried every combination possible that I could think of before posting a support question.

Once again, thank you for your time.

luchoh

Why isn't my message showing in full? Perhaps I used quotes twice? I'll edit it and post 2 messages instead.

luchoh

Part 1:

Hi @Antonio,

thanks for your time responding to my message.

Well, I want to first mention that the V6 II was not designed for such an application / setup.

Why would that be? Is there an inherent difference between the flash and the X1T trigger? Bear in mind, I'm not a flash expert or electronics engineer - only a software engineer and to me these are logical black boxes. It feels the software inside the v6ii should not distinguish between a flash and a transmitter, especially since the v6ii does not "know" in advance what flash I will attach to it.

To be honest with you, I feel it's more likely that the X1Tn is getting confused by the v6ii unit as in it doesn't respond exactly as a Nikon camera... which theoretically it should.

luchoh

Part 2:

That said, I wonder if it has to do with the X1Tn trigger not being active so that V6 II does not always see it? Technically it only needs to recognize at the start, after that it only triggers the X1Tn on the centre hot shoe contact pin.

I always do this:

1. Start the camera
2. Start the X1Tn
3. Half-press the shutter on the camera and switch on the v6ii. The v6ii recognizes the Pentax/Nikon combination just fine. However,  If I previously select the combination Pentax/Nikon, nothing seems to work or be recognized. It has to be on AUTO for anything to work. Don't know why to be honest with you.

So as you see, the trigger is always active.

As an aside, I'm quite good with the quality assurance process and believe me, I tried every combination possible that I could think of before posting a support question.

Once again, thank you for your time.

Antonio

Well, we just never tested such a setup - stacking another flash trigger on the V6 II. It's intended for use with portable flash / speedlights  So I cannot comment on this as we never tested it:

... the v6ii should not distinguish between a flash and a transmitter, especially since the v6ii does not "know" in advance what flash I will attach to it.

Let us know if need further assistance.

Thanks!

luchoh

@Antonio, thank again for your reply.

The only remaining question is whether Cactus is planning to test this setup and provide a remedy in the future?

I don't think it's an uncommon situation and with the release of the groundbreaking v6ii a lot of "alternative" (Fuji, Pentax, Olympus) users can get remote HSS with their existing setup, including multiple flashes and triggers.

paulster

I think this is going to be a reasonably common use case for the V6 II where you have a flash system that has integrated receivers in its monolights or packs, but doesn't support the camera brand natively.  It allows the V6 II to be used as an HSS enabler and to support the brand-specific transmitters that are usually offered in Canon and Nikon-only versions.

If, for example, you have a Profoto B1 system with a number of heads, you're not likely to want to use V6 II receivers on each head when you could put a Canon or Nikon version of the Air transmitter on top of a single V6 II to get HSS and still control power, etc. from the Air transmitter.  That is, unless you really don't like the stacked transmitter approach.

The same applies here with the Godox/Flashpoint monolights.  They have integrated receivers, so you'd like to think you could use the Nikon (or even Canon) version of their trigger on top of the V6 II and it would be recognised as a Nikon flash.

Pablovi

I use a Pentax 645D and a Godox AD360ii C flash, and can sync in HSS with only one Cactus V6ii and a X1C on top of the Cactus V6ii...

My setting are Camera auto detect as Pentax, flash Canon, and HSS normal. Then on the X1C just put it on manual. Camera needs to be in manual mode as well, other modes might not work.

Antonio

The only remaining question is whether Cactus is planning to test this setup and provide a remedy in the future?

Yes, but this won't be on our priority list.

Because such a use was not taken into account on the design of the hardware nor software, so if there are any improvements to be made, it would not be as perfect as we wanted it to be.

I think this is going to be a reasonably common use ...

Sure, but it's not what the V6 II is designed for. It's meant for use with portable flash / speedlights and for direct sycn cord connection with flash / strobes to the RX units.

That said, we will look into this.

Thanks!

luchoh

Thank you Antonio!

Let's hope you can resolve it. There is a large crowd at pentaxforum.com trying to get HSS with Cactus v6ii.

Godox/Flashpoint will eventually release the Pentax version of their X1T transmitter and this market will go away for Cactus.

Thanks Again!