cactus v2 sync speeds?

[e r y k]

heyya potn light gurus,

this may be a dumb question, but ive searched and found a topic pertaining to the elinchrom triggers but not the cactus v2s'.

it seems like i cannot use my flashes off camera at anything faster than 1/100th. anything faster and i catch the shutter closing which gives me a large dark area in my images.

is there anything to fix this? i know HSS wont work.

right now i have 1 reciever on my 580, and my 580 is mastering my 430ex.

thanks for any advice

eric

[FlashZebra]

Make sure you have vital batteries in:

the transmitter
the receiver
the flash

Report back.

Enjoy! Lon

[e r y k]

everythings fresh if i can recall correctly :( it triggers everytime when i press the test button.

[Curtis N]

With my Cactus trigger set (not the V2) I found tremendous variability in their performance, depending on conditions. They also varied from one shot to the next. When I first tested them indoors, they synced at 1/250 just fine. When I took them outdoors, they triggered extremely late. I got completely black images even at 1/60. The last time I used them indoors (with the camera only a few feet from the receiver), they synced at 1/250 most of the time but a few shots had the tell-tale black bottoms from late flash.

From the tremendous variability in user reviews of Cactus triggers (various versions), we can conclude little more than that they are an inconsistent product with substandard quality control. They are a budget-priced way to experiment and practice with off-camera flash, provided there are no paying customers or paid models in attendance.

[e r y k]

interesting... why is that? is the circuitry not holding the same amount of current or is there some other reason?

how do i get to the batteries in the transmitter?

[turbodude]

1/200 is what i get reliable....

here is a set...
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2414/2134756086_ea43b9d0eb_o.jpg

[e r y k]

interesting turbodude, thanks for the post.

right now the only thing i can do right now is play with the aperture :( or just shoot raw and turn down the exposure :(

[e r y k]

could it be because, im only using the cactus on the 580, and still using canons wireless to trigger the 430? is this causing maybe a slight delay?

after some more experimentation, if i go to shutter speeds at 1/200, only one umbrella is lit, and the one with the 430 is dark.

[Lotto]

could it be because, im only using the cactus on the 580, and still using canons wireless to trigger the 430? is this causing maybe a slight delay?

after some more experimentation, if i go to shutter speeds at 1/200, only one umbrella is lit, and the one with the 430 is dark.


I got the same results. When the set the master 580 on manual, the max sync speed is limited to 1/125, add the eBay trigger to mix, sync speed drop to 1/100. When the batteries getting weaker, 1/80.

I shoot mostly indoors, which is not a problem.

[ofdphoto]

You're onto something ;)

When I fire a pair of off-camera 580EX's with a PocketWizard on the master, firing the second with IR, I can't get it to sync faster than 1/125.

The IR system adds extra delay in firing the slave flash.

[e r y k]

i guess its time to order some more triggers lol... oh boy. maybe some vivitar 285HV's while im at it.

ah, photography. it should be a drug.

[ofdphoto]

It *is* a drug. It just needs to be diagnosed as such. Now, where's my stash of "Don't Treat Me Under Any Circumstances" forms ...

[Vermin87]

I can't get reliable results with my V2's either...even with each of my flashes having their own receiver. A few times, I've even had a flash go off SECONDS after the picture was taken. Maybe I just got a bad batch, but I'm definitely not gonna spend anymore money on these guys ($20 of batteries isn't very pocket-friendly either) and I'm saving up for either Skyports or Pocketwizards.

[turbodude]

its the 430ex. for some reason its IR system doesnt like to play with radio systems... this occurs with my buddys skyports as well. But the farther away you get it from each other the better they work oddly. if my 550ex (radio triggered) is 10ft away from my 430ex(without radio trigger) they fire great. But 2 ft apart and the 430ex doesnt fire as reliably.

[MrGibbage]

I used the poverty wizards for a couple of months, and found no way of guaranteeing "perfect" reliability. I finally saw the light and went to see the wizard. My pocket wizards have never failed me. I hate to say it, but you get what you pay for here. Some people report excellent results with them. Unfortunately, I wasn't one of them.

[GerBee]

Yes, this slows things down ~ I can get 1/250 with my RF-04/PT-04 [Read Cactus] but for consistency I need to bring it down to 1/200 sec.

When I did the experiment you describe I had to go down to 1/60 sec. :rolleyes:

could it be because, im only using the cactus on the 580, and still using canons wireless to trigger the 430? is this causing maybe a slight delay?

after some more experimentation, if i go to shutter speeds at 1/200, only one umbrella is lit, and the one with the 430 is dark.

[e r y k]

ok, thanks for the info guys :)

looks like i need to order a few more triggers!

im going to have to stick with poverty wizards for a while... i simply cannot justify nor have the funds to spend on pocketwizards.

[Vermin87]

looks like i need to order a few more triggers!

im going to have to stick with poverty wizards for a while... i simply cannot justify nor have the funds to spend on pocketwizards.

A set of skyports (2 receivers and a transmitter) run you just under $300. That is an alternative to pocketwizards and doesnt break the bank too much, since the V2's run you about $30 for a transmitter and receiver, plus $25 in batteries...and it seems everyone needs to buy more than one set of them since there's so many bad ones. Given you'll probably end up buying around $60-75 worth of V2's (don't forget shipping!) and then the $25 of batteries, you already paid more than a third of the cost of reliable skyports. One day you'll probably get fed up with the V2's (like me) and bite the bullet and purchase something better (i.e. pocket wizards or skyports) and you'll have wished you didn't waste money on the V2's anymore since no one wants to buy unreliable triggers, let alone used.

I for one am not spending any more money on V2's or any of those cheap ebay triggers.

Please excuse my dear aunt Sally...and my run-on sentences.

[e r y k]

thanks vermin, i will keep that in mind, however at this point and time, i havent had too much of a problem with the cactus'.

i have a shoot this weekend, and i will have to use the cactus'... if im limited to a sync speed of 1/100, will i have problems shooting outdoors?

[turbodude]

like i said its not an issue of the v2s, its canons weird IR system. I use mine reliably without the 430 ex. 100%. but i do have the antenna mod.

[e r y k]

eventually i plan on picking up two vivitar 285's and 3 more receivers so i can have a full flash setup :P

but at least one more receiver for now for the 430 so i can have them trigger at the same time.

i will try the distance thing you mentioned, since i will be shooting outdoors this weekend.

thanks again turbodude :0

[Vermin87]

like i said its not an issue of the v2s, its canons weird IR system. I use mine reliably without the 430 ex. 100%. but i do have the antenna mod.

You think its canon's IR system interfering with the V2's? The IR shouldnt be a concern if the 430ex is in manual mode, correct? No IR signal is being generated...or shouldn't be when in Manual.

[Vermin87]

i have a shoot this weekend, and i will have to use the cactus'... if im limited to a sync speed of 1/100, will i have problems shooting outdoors?

keep you ISO low and your aperture high and you should be fine. If it's sunny and you wanna use a large aperture, you might have trouble.

[e r y k]

You think its canon's IR system interfering with the V2's? The IR shouldnt be a concern if the 430ex is in manual mode, correct? No IR signal is being generated...or shouldn't be when in Manual.

Vermin, I currently have 1 transmitter and 1 reciever.

My 430ex does not have a transmitter on it as I am relying on the 580ex with the cactus receiver to trigger my 430ex using canons IR system.

So right now when I press the shutter, the cactus sends a signal to the reciever on my 580, which fires it, then the 580 sends out an IR signal which triggers the 430, which delays its firing. That is giving me the sync issues I believe.

Hopefully after the antenna mod / battery mod I can achieve a higher sync speed :(

[Vermin87]

Vermin, I currently have 1 transmitter and 1 reciever.

My 430ex does not have a transmitter on it as I am relying on the 580ex with the cactus receiver to trigger my 430ex using canons IR system.

So right now when I press the shutter, the cactus sends a signal to the reciever on my 580, which fires it, then the 580 sends out an IR signal which triggers the 430, which delays its firing. That is giving me the sync issues I believe.

Hopefully after the antenna mod / battery mod I can achieve a higher sync speed :(

Ahh, I see. I thought that turbodude was referring to my low sync speeds as well, which are sometimes seconds after I press the trigger, even when each flash has its own receiver.

[GerBee]

In the setup you are doing the sync speed is unlikely to improve, doing the mods will increase the sync speed potential of the Catcus triggers.

As mentioned the free standing 430EX must be in manual mode and it should sync at a slowish speed ~ when I had it in ETTL the flash fired more like a whole 1 or 2 seconds later.

Hopefully after the antenna mod / battery mod I can achieve a higher sync speed :(

[sando]

1/200th I get :)

[JDubya]

Did you do the antenna mod? did it increase sync speed? I just got a set of Cactus V2s and am considering it.

[Zoodles]

Better read these....

http://www.flickr.com/groups/strobist/discuss/72157603627712119/?search=cactus+430EX

http://www.flickr.com/groups/strobist/discuss/72157601445701542/?search=cactus+430EX

[Zoodles]

Some people swear the antenna mod improves performance...
juries out with me - (I did see a bit of an increase in distance/reliable falshes)

[turbodude]

mine improved it greatly

These were at 1/250

[lowcrust]

Where can I find this "antenna mod"?

[JDubya]

Where can I find this "antenna mod"?

http://jeremykuster.blogspot.com/2007/10/gi-cactus-v2s-modification-tutorial.html

http://www.flickr.com/groups/strobist/discuss/72157602622255547/?search=modified+cactus

[lowcrust]

Thanks man, might actually try this out.

[Vermin87]

I just tried it. It did no good for me.

[Psychobiker]

I report much higher trigger rate, so long as you DON'T TOUCH THE ANTENNA!!

1/250 and 1/200 are fine

[lowcrust]

Havn't had time to do this yet. I definitely wanna improve sync speed, can't go higher than 100 or maybe 125 as is. The reach is no problem (yet).