Yongnuo and Free Mask

As you may have seen from previous posts I'm on a path to use the freemask technique to replace my use of green screens.

Right now the ONLY trigger solution that functions for live shooting is from Hensel. $625 at Adorama
http://www.adorama.com …urce=productOpt​ions|HLTFM

Godox has finally announced the QT600II on their website. It is supposed to support alt triggering for free mask so I'm holding off buying the Hensel triggers until I can get my hands on them.
http://www.godox.com/E​N/NewProduct5.html
At 4:10 in the video they quickly show the mask setting.
https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=JPzP3zaJR7g

The AD600 supports it but the flash does not fit my needs. I have to have a continuous model light and A/C power.

Before I invest in the hardware I have to make sure I can get my software to automate the masking process. So I figured since the Yongnuo YN-E3-RT has support for it I would do some stills to run tests on.

Now for the frustration. It does not work. I've tried every thing I can think of and can't get things to function like they should.

P.Fn-22: Free Mask Group(Quickly set background flash groups)
0: D/E
1: C/D/E
2: B/C/D/E

When int GR mode, long press <Gr/* > button. Screen shows "FM".
That part happens.

Problem is that it does not actually enable any of those groups if they are turned off. If I turn on group D and set FM it will fire only D. When FM is off D still fires. If I turn off D and set FM it does not fire. So the Quickly enable does not seem to work the way it describes.

I understand the 622C is also supposed to have this feature. If anyone who has those would be kind enough to test I would be curious.

If someone has a couple of AD600's and wants to test out using free mask you can download software with a 15 day trial here:
http://www.picture-instruments.com/produc​ts/index.php?id=3

If the implementation in the AD600 works then the Qt600 should work as well.

Lots of ramblings here, but just frustrated that this has become such a task.

Ok, after playing with this a bit I've figured out the issue.

Operator misunderstanding.

It is no big deal that all the lights fire on the first shot. Turning off the a/b group by pressing the button creates the needed mask. The Hensel system alternates firing which is what my brain was focused on.

Would still like to hear from an AD600 user though.

If it provides any clues, here are my instructions for the 622C-TX:

Enable Free Mask cutout image

One of my to-do list projects is to validate the Masking feature on the AD600.
Maybe tomorrow or the weekend.

The Yongnuo feature seems to work fine for stills. It's live people that it fails.

According to the Godox documentation in custom function you set number of units and alt sets trigger times before firing. So in theory you set 2 units and 1 alt to trigger firing every other flash. How you get them to alternate is the real question. They have to alternate because you are not going to get the background lights to recycle in 1/10th of a second.

The video demo for the QTII flash shows things a bit differently. I'm confident that if it works properly with the AD600 the QT will work as well.

I have no problem spending money on new lights, I would prefer that over buying the Hensel controllers.

Vinnie,
Just fired off a couple of tests with AD600 setup in Mask mode.
Works like a charm. The lights apparently count the x-sync signals. i.e. I had the subject light in A and the background light in B. Set the subject light to mask/1 and background light in mask/2. I use a Sony A7RII so can not set it to only fire two frames. Setting it on slow burst, if I held the shutter release long enough to get 3 images, the first and third were foreground lit, the second was background lit.

If you PM me your email I'll put the raw files in a drop box for you.

You are awesome! I really appreciate you confirming it works.

I wish the AD600 would work for my needs. If nothing else for the vendor support from Cheetah and Adorama. But I absolutely have to have the full time modeling lamp that only a studio strobe will provide.

It is the start of my busy season so for now it looks like what free time I have will be used to get the software done. Just have to wait for the QTII to go in production.

Thanks again!

bigVinnie wrote in post #17989277
You are awesome! I really appreciate you confirming it works.

I wish the AD600 would work for my needs. If nothing else for the vendor support from Cheetah and Adorama. But I absolutely have to have the full time modeling lamp that only a studio strobe will provide.

It is the start of my busy season so for now it looks like what free time I have will be used to get the software done. Just have to wait for the QTII to go in production.

Thanks again!

HERE is the page I posted explaining the feature.

If I need a modeling light full time on a battery powered light, I tape or velcro an LED flashlight to it.

Drop Box link will be coming to you soon.

I looked at your website. Ironic. One of the reasons I like this feature and want it in all the Godox X-System battery powers lights is so I can use it for corporate headshots. Making it easy to drop out the background so the images can be placed onto any website without a problem.

Good blog post.

I agree about the Halo issue. The limited testing I've done the use of strip boxes on the background makes a huge difference. In a perfect "I get everything I want" world the V860c would have this feature. Using Saberstrips for the background lights would make setup and tear down a breeze.

I hate strip boxes.

bigVinnie wrote in post #17989369
Good blog post.

I agree about the Halo issue. The limited testing I've done the use of strip boxes on the background makes a huge difference. In a perfect "I get everything I want" world the V860c would have this feature. Using Saberstrips for the background lights would make setup and tear down a breeze.

I hate strip boxes.

I had forgotten about Saberstrips. I just went to the site. It looks to me like it would be easy to modify one to fit onto an AD600 or QT600II with an S mount adapter as the base rather than the fitting that holds the speedlite. Or build a DIY version that would accomplish the same thing.

It's on my todo list. Fabricating gear is pretty commonplace for me.

Was just chatting with a friend about maybe 3d printing a bowens mount base for some type of light weight tube.

Of course my son, who things money grows on trees suggested using these:
http://amzn.com/B00MPY​YA2I

bigVinnie wrote in post #17991936
It's on my todo list. Fabricating gear is pretty commonplace for me.

Was just chatting with a friend about maybe 3d printing a bowens mount base for some type of light weight tube.

Of course my son, who things money grows on trees suggested using these:
http://amzn.com/B00MPY​YA2I

Another option is a Lastolite HiLiter or similar. Not sure if that's big enough.

That thing is pretty cool!

CL-600x Units/ALT masking is build in

abbadon31 wrote in post #17992122
CL-600x Units/ALT masking is build in

Hosted photo: posted by abbadon31 in
./showthread.php?p=179​92122&i=i11769046
forum: Flash and Studio Lighting

Scott,
What Vince hopes is that the Mask feature in the QT600II will work the same way that it does in the AD600.

Also, have you been able to confirm if Godox is going to extend the UNITS/ALT feature to the AD360 and speedlites?