600EX-RT with 430EX II -- flash delays

Wondering if anyone can help me problem solve. Just picked up a 600EX-RT, which is supposed to fire both radio transmissions as well as optical. I've experimented with it on the camera in TTL as the master, firing a remote 430EX II.

However, the 430EX II has a significant delay before firing (approx. 1 second)

I've explored the forum a little and haven't found an answer that helps. I'm new to using a 2nd remote flash though, so it's likely user error (vs. something incompatible in the hardware).

Can anyone point me in the right direction to solve this delay issue? What settings should I be checking that might be causing this issue?

Thanks!

Are you experiencing the delay when you press the shutter to take a picture? Or is it happening when you press the Test button on the 600EX-RT? If it's the latter, it's supposed to do that.

It's when I take a picture. The 600 mounted on the camera fires immediately (as expected) and the 430 lags well beyond the shot.

Is your 430 on rear curtain synch? Maybe your 430 is closing at the very end of the shutter closing and not in the beginning of the opening as your 600.

You may not have been detailed enough, but the master should run in E-TTL, not TTL. That's not the same thing. Make sure the master does say E-TTL, not TTL, since otherwise all bets are off.

You use optical communication, of course, and just set the slave to slave mode. No other fancy things.
First thing is to simply use the ALL mode on the master, since that will fire all slaves disregarding which slave group you've assigned them to. The less features, the easier to troubleshoot.

Besides, there's no such thing as second curtain sync when using master/slave communication, so that's not it.

Thanks all, I figured it out. Total newbie user error. I was mistakenly thinking that the radio symbol on the 600 was the optical symbol. I think I also had a setting wrong when trying to use my 7D as the master.

All is well now and I can re-engage in my experiments in lighting. Cheers!

(and, yes, I had meant E-TTL earlier)

I just received my 600EX-RT also, to go with my 430EX II. I can't wait to try it out. This was helpful for me too.

jrhythm wrote in post #15942845
Thanks all, I figured it out. Total newbie user error. I was mistakenly thinking that the radio symbol on the 600 was the optical symbol. I think I also had a setting wrong when trying to use my 7D as the master.

All is well now and I can re-engage in my experiments in lighting. Cheers!

(and, yes, I had meant E-TTL earlier)

Hi
Do they both work well being fired by the 7D's onboard flash?
Obviously 600 Ex RT set as an optical slave, likewise the EX 430 II will also be a slave (optical).

Just interested as I intend to buy one tomorrow. Initially it will have to work with the 7D.

Was your incorrect setting on the 7D or 600EX RT ? - would be great to know what it was? as little issues are always nice to avoid.

Yes, I am able to use the 7D as the master to fire both the 600Ex-RT and the 430EX II. Originally, I was having issues with a delay on the 430EX II with both the 7D as the master as well as the 600EX-RT as the master.

Those problems have been resolved. If you set both flashes to slave (making sure the 600 is in optical mode), it will work. On the 7D, I have the wireless function set so only the external flashes fire (and not the built in flash). I also have the firing group set as (A:B).

Hope that helps ... still figuring it all out.

The 600 EX-RT will do everything the 580 EX II will do, including letting itself be controlled by the optical flashes from the internal flash in the 7D (and other cameras having this ability).
The 7D can control groups A, B and C. Some simpler cameras support A and B only.