p.3 #1 · 5D2 3rd party flash incompatibility discussion
Mike Hatam wrote: I received the following response from ToCAD today:
Dear Mike,
The factory is testing the 50D and the 5d MarkII cameras to compatiblity with our flashes. The electronics are different from the other EOS cameras. I hope to hear from them soon with nes of a firmware upgrade.
Thank you,
Sally Wall
Customer Service Supervisor
Tocad America, Inc.
53 Greenpond Road
Rockaway,NJ 07866
973-627-9600 x115
Fax 973-664-2438
I also got a response from ToCAD America Inc also stating they are looking into it.
p.3 #2 · 5D2 3rd party flash incompatibility discussion
Hope they can fix the RD2000 compatibility issue with the 50D and 5D II. I have not been able to test it yet, as my 5D II is only scheduled to arrive on Monday - but I am pretty sure I will be faced with the same problem. Darn.
p.3 #3 · 5D2 3rd party flash incompatibility discussion
brainiac wrote:
The killer application of the Sunpak RD2000 is that you can tilt the head downwards to get the bulb even closer to your lens axis, and thereby minimise shadows cast around people's noses, and onto walls behind them. It's not a ring flash, but it's better for shadows than typical DSLR built-ins.
yeah, it's almost as compact as a built-in, but better as a flash
Quite small and only takes 2-AAA batteries, so it is a gem for the "light' bag.
This thread got me a bit nervous that it would not work with my 5D2, which arrives tomorrow. Happily, I see that Nissin states it is compatible with the 5D2. http://www.nissin-japan.com/en/
p.3 #7 · 5D2 3rd party flash incompatibility discussion
John - please post a reply here tomorrow when you receive your 5D2 and have a chance to test your flash. If it's compatible, that may be a good choice.
One drawback of the power-source (two AAA batteries) is the fact that it takes 8 seconds to charge (recycle time). The RD2000, which is actually a smaller unit, recycles faster, and has bounce ability. But if it doesn't work with the 5D2, then it's not an option for me.
p.3 #8 · 5D2 3rd party flash incompatibility discussion
Mike Hatam wrote:
John - please post a reply here tomorrow when you receive your 5D2 and have a chance to test your flash. If it's compatible, that may be a good choice.
One drawback of the power-source (two AAA batteries) is the fact that it takes 8 seconds to charge (recycle time). The RD2000, which is actually a smaller unit, recycles faster, and has bounce ability. But if it doesn't work with the 5D2, then it's not an option for me.
This is pretty much what I have experienced. I use Eneloop AAAs, which are great. The recycle is more than a 580EX, but...
As for bouncing...if I want to "fill a room with light" I am going to use one of my 580EXs. A 20-22 guidenumber flash is not going to do a real good job at that.
I am not sure what you are looking for in this flash, but I want it to replace the convenience of a popup flash...GN =~ 13, no HS flash, and no AF assist (I refuse to use the popup's white light flash). It is when I am "out and about" and all of a sudden need some fill flash or whatever. If I expect to use a flash, I take a FLASH
p.3 #10 · 5D2 3rd party flash incompatibility discussion
John - one of the uses I like these little flashes for is to trigger some larger monolights that are set for slave. Bounce is nice for that, as you can aim the flash away from the subject, using it only as a remote trigger for the larger slaves.
p.3 #13 · 5D2 3rd party flash incompatibility discussion
Interesting thread. I use Sigma EF-500 DG flash units myself (I have two). Both units work just fine with my 5D and 40D- never had a problem with either. One of the units (which appears to be slightly older than the other, I bought it used so I'm not 100% sure) did not fire with my 5D Mark II. Of course I had to find this out while tinkering with the camera at a wedding on Saturday. Not cool- and this thread confirmed that the incompatability is a possibility. I ended up swapping the two EF-500 flash units between bodies and was able to continue working both.
I did try reconnecting, wiggling the connector etc. I had an 85mm lens on the 5D2 and the (probably) older EF-500 unit would zoom in and out between 85 and 105mm with the flash head pointed straight. It was weird, it would react if I held the shutter button down halfway (that is zoom from one setting to the other. When I swapped flash units, the problem disappeared.
My cheap ebay hotshoe triggers worked just fine with the 5DII so no incompatibility there
p.3 #15 · 5D2 3rd party flash incompatibility discussion
Just came to a relization... the Sigma EF-500 DG Super flash unit that DID work with the 5D Mark II was fresh from the Sigma repair center. The flash bulb had expired on that guy, and I got it back last Friday (4 days ago). The invoice did mention a firmware update, which I guess they did as a courtesy... might explain why that flash unit was working and the other one was not.
p.3 #18 · 5D2 3rd party flash incompatibility discussion
Mike Hatam wrote:
My 5DII will not trigger my Elinchrom Skyport Transmitter, so I can't use the skyports to trigger my Elinchrom lights. This sucks.
UPDATE: I was able to get the Elinchrom Skyports to work with the 5DII. I had to fiddle with it a bit to get the skyport "in" far enough on the hot shoe to make contact, but now it works consistently.
Good to know that the studio transmitters, like Skyport and PocketWizard are working OK with the 5DII.
The issues seem to be with the 3rd part dedicated hot-shoe flashes, such as Sigma and Sunpak.
p.3 #19 · 5D2 3rd party flash incompatibility discussion
For those who have or may be thinking about getting the Sunpak PZ40X II flash .... which is very small/compact/light (but not as small and compact as the RD2000 unfortunately) .... it works with the 5D Mk II.
I emailed Tocad about this too.