The New CACTUS V5's "Transceiver" Duo

I just received the new Cactus V5's Duo... as a beta tester.

i have been long time user of the Cactus Systems and feel very lucky to be a part of this.. they pick me along with a handful of other users in the world for this Privileged EARLY ROLL OUT..

a full write will soon be delivered by me.. but since i have not fully tested this system out.. (From the Technical, functional, and aesthetic) i just wanted to share some photos of the new system

i will state this:

i was able to fire a shot about 100 Yards away using a 580EXII in my garage.. i could probably have gone farther but it was too cold to mess around any longer.. i figured 100 yards is plenty for what i would ever need..

in the box you will get two transceivers, thus the name DUO..

the units come as a pair in the box, and they are very similar to the pocket wizards as both a transmitter and or receiver

i don't know the cost nor when www.gadgetinfinity.com will offer this product it to the public yet.

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if possible, do a test with 580EXII at full power and camera at 1/250, and see if is any darken band at the bottom. (not a black stripe, but a dark "fade")

Wow, you can even make a flash trigger sexy.

Bioshock wrote in post #11472610
Wow, you can even make a flash trigger sexy.

Thanks to the top of a beautiful piano.

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thanks for the info phamster!

Pham, can you tell if the hot shoe is held in by 4 of the smallest screws on the planet like the V4's were? That and whenever I tilted my flash down at a 45, the hot shoe would 'lift' and it would not fire. Can't believe they fired at 100 yards....the V4's wouldn't fire at 10 yards. Can't wait to see more!

2 more questions:

can it wake-up flashes? i see only one pin on the hotshoe.

any specs on how long battery last?

malow wrote in post #11474081
2 more questions:

can it wake-up flashes? i see only one pin on the hotshoe.

Wake-up depends more on the speedlite than the radio trigger, I have some flashes that wake up with the 1-pin Cactus V4, in one case - SB-600 - the simple V4 can wake up the flash where this doesn't even work with RF-602.

I like the locking wheel on the foot, but I don't like the off axis tripod thread - that is a really stupid design (once again). Does the hot shoe have a pin hole for the locking pin on the flash foot?

fransener wrote in post #11474575
Wake-up depends more on the speedlite than the radio trigger, I have some flashes that wake up with the 1-pin Cactus V4, in one case - SB-600 - the simple V4 can wake up the flash where this doesn't even work with RF-602

good to know, but RF-602 wake up the 580ex2 and "compatible" ones (like the new yongnuo) with half press shutter, by giving a few volts to a "secondary" pin on the hotshoe.

not having that pin means no-wake up for this flash i believe.

What do you guys use the wakeup for?

What I don't get is why they say 1/250 max sync speed with canon when canon's 1 series have higher max sync speed. I haet to loose any sync speed with radio triggers, cheap or expensive.

@ Malow... i don't think the V4 or V5's wake up flash guns.. i just set my speed lights to custom so they stay on all the time..

@ Bobbyz... i wish i had a 1D series to test the max speed.. 1/320 would be super nice to have !
my 5D is clearly behind you with just the 1/200 speeds... oh well some day a 1Ds will be in my hands..

i didn't do any shooting today so i can't complete my full review yet.. sorry.. give me some more time and i will get the full write up soon..

The stated x-sync speed for 1 series bodies is 1/250. The ability to use 1/300 is available only when an EX speedlite is either mounted on the hotshoe or connected via off-camera shoe cord; or probably some expensive radio solution. For non-EX speedlites, studio strobes, etc. the x-sync speed is 1/250. Personally I don't recall ever achieving higher than 1/300 without going into High Speed Sync.

The 1D Mark III manual (p. 108) does say that 1/300 can be achieved with "compact, non-Canon flash units" but that has never been my experience, 1/250 is the max. speed when using my Nikon SB-80Dx speedlights, my Sunpak 120J, or my Bowens strobes. I suppose I could get away with 1/300 or 1/320 if shooting with dark backgrounds where the dark strips on the edge of the frame wouldn't be really visible.

bobbyz wrote in post #11477261
What do you guys use the wakeup for?

What I don't get is why they say 1/250 max sync speed with canon when canon's 1 series have higher max sync speed. I haet to loose any sync speed with radio triggers, cheap or expensive.

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PixelMagic the manual also says with studio flash syc speed is 1/60 or slower. With all canon cameras (except rebel as I never owned one), I never had any issues using max sync or even a bit higher than max whether using hot shoe flashes or studio strobes, corded or not.

All I care is that the trigger should be able to give me the same max sync speed as I can get with corded connection. Generally (not always true) cheaper radio triggers fall short on this end. It doesn't matter inside studio but outside, it does, IMHO.

PixelMagic wrote in post #11478089
The stated x-sync speed for 1 series bodies is 1/250. The ability to use 1/300 is available only when an EX speedlite is either mounted on the hotshoe or connected via off-camera shoe cord; or probably some expensive radio solution. For non-EX speedlites, studio strobes, etc. the x-sync speed is 1/250. Personally I don't recall ever achieving higher than 1/300 without going into High Speed Sync.

The 1D Mark III manual (p. 108) does say that 1/300 can be achieved with "compact, non-Canon flash units" but that has never been my experience, 1/250 is the max. speed when using my Nikon SB-80Dx speedlights, my Sunpak 120J, or my Bowens strobes. I suppose I could get away with 1/300 or 1/320 if shooting with dark backgrounds where the dark strips on the edge of the frame wouldn't be really visible.

That's referring to the use of EOS dedicated flash units. The 1DmkIII cannot be set to 1/300 unless a dedicated flash is mounted in the hotshoe (or connected via an off-shoe cord), turned on and ready. I am able to even sync my old EZ compatible aftermarket flash at 1/300 on the 1DmkIII. However, flashes that are not Canon compatible, such as the Nikon flashes, will not sync at 1/300.

bobbyz wrote in post #11477261
What do you guys use the wakeup for?

i use to spare batteries.

580ex2, the last yongnuo, and many others, by default, "sleep" after a few minutes.

when you press half shutter, they "wake-up" and become ready to flash

to keep a flash "ready to flash", it keeps doing a "pulse" from time to time to keep the capacitor charged. this consumes battery. but if you use wake-up function (and your trigger can wake-up the flash), this is avoided.

this is very useful for me, as i shoot events. i don't have to keep turning off-on flashes. (and sometimes i don't take a picture for hours)

@phamster, if possible, do this test: