I used the auto channel feature because of the issue that Keith cited earlier in the thread... I don't think this was the issue though, because if they weren't on the right channel the link light would have been red... and I never saw a red link light.
I will try assigning a channel this week though.. and see if that helps us this weekend.
As per Keith Lee's suggestion I tried channel auto last night with two masters and two slaves. The triggering was flawless. Green and orange link light masters triggered with no problems including turning off a group on the fly.
I'm not sure what would be the problem though. Was it a huge reception venue?
Yeah, I had a bunch of issues with assigning the channel manually. I leave it on Auto now and rarely have issues. Occasionally, I might have a misfire loose connection to my slaves if I walk away far enough (the light still stays green). Usually most issues are resolved from turn the master on and off. I shoot in manual mode (master + flashes) and us 2-3 groups (A, B and C).
one of my 600ex flashes broke and now only fires when it feels like it, so I'll be sending it to Canon for repair. Just a reminder that it's good to have backups.
FCUK!!!! So I thought I had the issue figured out. I thought that it was the manual/auto channel thing... and that perhaps each time I was turning flashes on or off that maybe the auto-assign thing was selecting a new channel. I set them up on a manual channel.... channel 3 had the strongest strength when I scanned, set them up as I usually would and then went to test.
. and none of them would fire. lowered them on the stands and they were all off. I turned them on, tested, they fired, raised them back up... didn't fire. At this point, I said fuck this and ran to the car to get the 580's and poppers, swapped the batteries in and the 580's rocked me all night long.
This is why I have trust issues with anything other than full manual flash with manual triggers
I've never run into a problem with manual flash with dumb triggers, and I like it that way I think you made the right move by just switching to the 580's, hopefully you can get the issue figured out though!
KibblesNbitz wrote:
This is why I have trust issues with anything other than full manual flash with manual triggers
I've never run into a problem with manual flash with dumb triggers, and I like it that way I think you made the right move by just switching to the 580's, hopefully you can get the issue figured out though!
I don't think it has anything to do with smart vs. dumb triggers... the 600's can be used in either configuration. Our previous setup was 580's with RP PX system... which I guess is a smart system and we've never had any issues with them. The primary purpose for switching them was to eliminate the extra batteries to charge and less things to worry about during set up and execution... in this instance, less created more problems though.
Any luck sorting this issue out, Richard? I just had the exact same experience tonight, and I'm pretty annoyed. I wish I knew exactly what an orange link light meant. On-site I was theorizing that it meant that one of the slaves was overheating, but now I'm trying to verify this and my Google-fu is failing me.
GavinF wrote:
Any luck sorting this issue out, Richard? I just had the exact same experience tonight, and I'm pretty annoyed. I wish I knew exactly what an orange link light meant. On-site I was theorizing that it meant that one of the slaves was overheating, but now I'm trying to verify this and my Google-fu is failing me.
I get an orange link light on my second master flash unit. The first master flash unit is always a green link light.
Sometimes I have range issues when outdoors but then again I don't scan for the 'best' channel to use since I leave it on auto (and I don't know if that scans it for me automatically). It works perfectly indoors, though.
GavinF wrote:
Any luck sorting this issue out, Richard? I just had the exact same experience tonight, and I'm pretty annoyed. I wish I knew exactly what an orange link light meant. On-site I was theorizing that it meant that one of the slaves was overheating, but now I'm trying to verify this and my Google-fu is failing me.
An orange link light is normal.. the first Master link light is green... all subsequent master flashes will get an orange link light.
I think I've solved my issues. For some reason, it seems that one of my flashes preferred to be a master instead of a slave... I switched them and they seem to work fine. I also set both channel and id, manually.
Hi guys need help! I have 2x 600ex and an st-e3 I want to fire the two 600s with the st-e3 mounted on one body and fire the same 600s with a remote trigger setup on my 2nd body, whilst still being able to utilize the st-e3 on the other body. Can anyone tell me if it's possible?
anthonyket wrote:
Hi guys need help! I have 2x 600ex and an st-e3 I want to fire the two 600s with the st-e3 mounted on one body and fire the same 600s with a remote trigger setup on my 2nd body, whilst still being able to utilize the st-e3 on the other body. Can anyone tell me if it's possible?
Richard,
I saw the post on your issue. My guess... imagine camera A and B both have a "master" trigger. 600ex flash C and D are set on Slave and on Auto mode. Camera A master mode might be Manual and camera B might Grp
C and D hear from camera A's trigger and the setting on Manaul are so and so and it fires... but when camera B's trigger starts talking to C and D, somehow, the settings are different from A... then it confuse the slaves. this confusion might have disable them. just some ideas. perhaps cam A and B mode used needs to be consistent.??
I think you made the right move by just switching to the 580's, hopefully you can get the issue figured out though!