Canon 5d mark II and 600ex flashes

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Canon 5d mark II and 600ex flashes

shades
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p.1 #1 · Canon 5d mark II and 600ex flashes

I have the 5d mark II and a couple of 600ex flashes. I am currently experimenting with radio control in manual mode and am enjoying the experience.

As per the included instructions with the 600ex , the Mark II does not have the capability of ETTL control or group settings via radio transmission. There is also no HSS and max flash sync speed is reduced by 1 stop to 1/100th

Can someone confirm this, as I have seen posted elsewhere that they do get full ETTL control with their 600ex , but am thinking this is optical control only.
my tests confirm as per the instruction booklet.

I was considering the possibility of radio poppers but am still in the infancy of research into these transmitters.

Dec 28, 2012 at 01:09 PM

jrscls
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p.1 #2 · Canon 5d mark II and 600ex flashes

I have 2 600EX -RT and a ST-E3-RT and they DO work with HSS via radio transmission with the 5D II.

Dec 28, 2012 at 01:15 PM

shades
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p.1 #3 · Canon 5d mark II and 600ex flashes

Thanks jrscls,

Are you able to use E-TTL?
My ideal setup would be to purchase the ST-E3-RT , use E-TTL and have 1 or 2 stops neg FEC on one of the flashes.

Dec 28, 2012 at 01:28 PM

Ian.Dobinson
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p.1 #4 · Canon 5d mark II and 600ex flashes

Also about the max sync speed. It's been said on here and many other places that faster sync is possible.
The 1 stop drop is probably canon being over cautious .they are probably thinking worst case where the command flash could be doing extra communications and older bodies can't deal with it .

Dec 28, 2012 at 01:40 PM

jrscls
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p.1 #5 · Canon 5d mark II and 600ex flashes

Yes, E-TTL works just fine.

Dec 28, 2012 at 02:05 PM

Cphoto1954
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p.1 #6 · Canon 5d mark II and 600ex flashes

Shades - Yes it will work. I have two 600EX-RT plus a 5D2 and have been doing extensive testing with them. ETTL works plus you can sync up to 1/8000 sec.

To set HSS up you will need to go into the NON-RADIO mode by pressing the lightning bolt button on the back of the flash until the radio option (Top right on screen goes away). Then set the "SYNC" button (Bottom right on screen) until you see the "H" show up (That stands for HSS). Then press the lightning bolt button again (on the back of the unit) until you get back into the radio mode. I have yet to try the Group settings though. Do make sure you do commit all these setting to the “Memory” of the unit so everything will be set up and you can recall it if needed.

I have also had great success with using Pocket Wizards TT5 units with this set up. They actually will give you an FULL STOP of power, going all the way up to 1/3200 before you see a noticeable drop in exposure (Maybe 2/3 F-Stop or more). I actually keep the TT5’s on the 600EX units so that if I need more range or a boost in HSS I can turn them on, but I have to set the 600EX into Non-Radio mode.

Best of luck - and let me know how it works for you.

Dec 28, 2012 at 03:07 PM

shades
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p.1 #7 · Canon 5d mark II and 600ex flashes

Thanks for the replies,

Cphoto1954

I assume that goes for ETTL aswell? Set 600 flashes in NON-RADIO MODE ie E-TTL and HSS, then revert both units back to Radio Control?

I have noticed in radio mode you can set the slave unit to E-TTL , but as soon as you take a shot, the master unit reverts the slave to M.
Will have time to test the units in the next few days and will let you know!

Cheers for the advice!

Dec 29, 2012 at 04:08 AM

Cphoto1954
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p.1 #8 · Canon 5d mark II and 600ex flashes

Yes you can do ETTL on camera (no remote unit) or in radio mode with two units (On-camera MASTER and one off-camera SLAVE). They just have to be set to HSS on the flash units. I have posted a photo here of what the units should look like when set up properly.

A bonus - press your DOF button and get the modeling flash feature.

600EX-RT Set up on Canon 5D2

Dec 29, 2012 at 04:56 AM

shades
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p.1 #9 · Canon 5d mark II and 600ex flashes

Thanks again, I will be looking at this tommorow.
My slave is set to channel C, but obviously with the master set to "ALL" , it won't affect the outcome.

Dec 29, 2012 at 11:11 AM

shades
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p.1 #10 · Canon 5d mark II and 600ex flashes

Success,

Upon further testing , I was able to set both ETTL and HSS.
I do recall setting ETTL on prior occasions but my omission was not to save the settings before taking the first shot. If you do not save, then the slave will revert back to Manual. I haven't downloaded the images to confirm darkening on one edge when in HSS, but it does fire in that mode ok. Setting the 600 EX FEC to 0 allowed FEC control from the camera , and tests with observation of the histogram and image highlight indicator (for overexposure) confirmed correct operation.

One thing with HSS; if the Master and Slave are set in HSS , and a change in camera settings results in a shutter speed which is within normal sync speed, the HSS will drop out accordingly, and will need to be manually activated again via the saved settings if required. Nothing major , but something to keep in mind.

Cphoto1954,
thanks again

Dec 30, 2012 at 10:31 AM

Cphoto1954
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p.1 #11 · Canon 5d mark II and 600ex flashes

For those reading this I have had some direct emails with "shades".
I have noted to him that although the HSS (icon) drops away on the slave when you drop down in speed (like he says) I found out that it also kicks back in when you go up in speed. So it does work quite well. He and I are both still trying a work-around on the "Group" settings for these units.

Good for all those pushing the boundaries!

Jan 03, 2013 at 06:35 PM

jrscls
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p.1 #12 · Canon 5d mark II and 600ex flashes

I don't think you need to set the slave to HSS, only the master.

Jan 03, 2013 at 11:35 PM

shades
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p.1 #13 · Canon 5d mark II and 600ex flashes

I carried out a bit more Radio testing last weekend.
The HSS can only be activated done in Master mode, it will stay active if then switched back to slave. I haven't done conclusive tests to prove it, but what you are saying jrcls sounds correct to me!

I also tested the Ratio A:B mode and it works (slave set as B). Initially I had a bit of trouble with different light levels , and found at 1600 ISO the camera's accuracy in adjusting ratios was a struggle. I changed to ISO 400 and found my testing thus far to be reasonably consistent (viewing on camera's rear screen only at this stage).

I rechecked the HSS indicator on the slave flash , and it reappears when the shutter speed is higher than the sync speed, but only after the shot is taken. Or to say it another way , it indicates whether HSS was used in the last shot taken!
I think that is what threw me off initially in thinking the HSS was disabled once the shutter speed was back in sync range, as I was expecting the HSS indicator on the slave flash to reappear when the shutter button on the camera was half pressed for focusing. It doesn't appear until after the shot has been taken.
With this in mind , it allowed me to confirm that HSS is not activated until the shutter speed is above the camera's rated sync speed of 1/200 sec.
The SYNC shutter speed indicator " !TV " which shows above 1/100sec ,does not appear to have any affect on when HSS activation. Good to know for certain that we can go up to the rated 1/200sec shutter speed and maintain the full use of the flashes output at normal synce speed before HSS kicks in.
I hope this info ties in with everyone's experiences

Jan 08, 2013 at 11:47 AM

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