Controlling OCF through TTL from a 6D

I have a new 6D, and I just bought a Vello TTL hotshoe cord to use with my 430EXII on a light stand/umbrella. No problem for the first couple of weeks.

Yesterday, while shooting kids portraits at a party, the flash stopped firing. I disconnected and reconnected, got a few more shots, then it stopped firing again.

I'm guessing that this is a loose connection problem, most likely in the cord, so that the camera and the flash are simply not communicating.

One thing occurred to me that could confirm that that is the problem, rather than user error (don't worry, I assumed user error first).

I went into the speedlite control menu, and it said that the menu can't be displayed because there is an incompatible flash or flash's power is turned off.

I had been changing the flash settings from the flash itself, so I'm simply not aware of whether this is normal, or I should be able to change the flash settings from the camera if its connected by the hotshot TTL cord. If the latter, then the current menu wording seems to confirm that it is a communication failure between the camera and the flash.

So my question is whether anyone can tell me if I should be able to control the flash settings from the camera when the camera is connected by a Vello TTL hotshoe cord.

dodgyexposure wrote in post #16512837
I have a new 6D, and I just bought a Vello TTL hotshoe cord to use with my 430EXII on a light stand/umbrella. No problem for the first couple of weeks.

Yesterday, while shooting kids portraits at a party, the flash stopped firing. I disconnected and reconnected, got a few more shots, then it stopped firing again.

I'm guessing that this is a loose connection problem, most likely in the cord, so that the camera and the flash are simply not communicating.

One thing occurred to me that could confirm that that is the problem, rather than user error (don't worry, I assumed user error first).

I went into the speedlite control menu, and it said that the menu can't be displayed because there is an incompatible flash or flash's power is turned off.

I had been changing the flash settings from the flash itself, so I'm simply not aware of whether this is normal, or I should be able to change the flash settings from the camera if its connected by the hotshot TTL cord. If the latter, then the current menu wording seems to confirm that it is a communication failure between the camera and the flash.

I have 2 Vello cords, one 6' long and one 33' long. The 6' works and has always worked marvelously. The 33' never worked but I was new and thought it was me. I finally bought an OCF gear cord and all my problems disappeared.

dodgyexposure wrote in post #16512837
So my question is whether anyone can tell me if I should be able to control the flash settings from the camera when the camera is connected by a Vello TTL hotshoe cord.

Absolutely. Everything that can be changed on the flash can be changed on the camera. You also get to keep 2nd curtain sync with the flash wired.

A pair of YN-622c triggers will make like much easier.
Not that much more than the longish cable and nothing to trip over.
Plus, if you decide to add speedlites, all you have to do is buy some additional receivers.

TerryMiller wrote in post #16512950
I have 2 Vello cords, one 6' long and one 33' long. The 6' works and has always worked marvelously. The 33' never worked but I was new and thought it was me. I finally bought an OCF gear cord and all my problems disappeared.

Absolutely. Everything that can be changed on the flash can be changed on the camera. You also get to keep 2nd curtain sync with the flash wired.

Well, I'm kind of glad that it wasn't me. I was tearing my hair out trying different things. And it is the 33' cord.

dmward wrote in post #16514335
A pair of YN-622c triggers will make like much easier.
Not that much more than the longish cable and nothing to trip over.
Plus, if you decide to add speedlites, all you have to do is buy some additional receivers.

Looks like a move to wireless triggers may be in order. Are there options, or are the YN-622cs the bees' knees of cheap triggers?

dodgyexposure wrote in post #16514667
Looks like a move to wireless triggers may be in order. Are there options, or are the YN-622cs the bees' knees of cheap triggers?

Yes! Just got for it and move on to having fun!

dodgyexposure wrote in post #16514667
Looks like a move to wireless triggers may be in order. Are there options, or are the YN-622cs the bees' knees of cheap triggers?

There are others but Yn-622 are hard to beat.

Check out Flashhovac.com lots of good info.

Also check out the thread here. Cleveyboy has a really good on-line manual available that will give you much useful info.

Speedlights running on AA's have nearly useless recycle times, especially when used with an umbrella. I wouldn't be surprised if it stopped firing simply because you were firing too fast or it was shutting down due to overheating or your batteries died. It's also possible to put the flash on the TTL cord backwards, so there's that too. I'd bet money all TTL cords come from the same factory in China, so I'm dubious as to the notion that different brands are more or less reliable.

LostArk wrote in post #16515372
I'd bet money all TTL cords come from the same factory in China, so I'm dubious as to the notion that different brands are more or less reliable.

That is definitely not true. The Phottix cord I have is built like a tank compared to a Pixel (Vello) cord for example. Pixel gear has always been built fairly light duty, but there are far worse available.
.

LostArk wrote in post #16515372
Speedlights running on AA's have nearly useless recycle times, especially when used with an umbrella. I wouldn't be surprised if it stopped firing simply because you were firing too fast or it was shutting down due to overheating or your batteries died.

Flash wasn't firing at all, and batteries were fully charged. I swapped back to my old camera (600D), which has optical wireless control, and it performed flawlessly.

That also occurred to me! I checked that as well - disconnected everything and reconnected.

dmward wrote in post #16515318
There are others but Yn-622 are hard to beat.

Check out Flashhovac.com lots of good info.

Also check out the thread here. Cleveyboy has a really good on-line manual available that will give you much useful info.

Thanks for the link. I've marked that page to read up when the triggers arrive.

dodgyexposure wrote in post #16514667
are the YN-622cs the bees' knees of cheap triggers?

Close to it. There are other options but I think right now the Yongnuo 622c is the cheapest of the ETTL radio triggers.