Wireless Flash Transceiver V6 - Bhphotovideo

23TTL Pass-through / Flash Lock (seeSections 8 and 10.1)FunctionModeEnter / leave TTLpass-through modeTXUnlock the slaveflashRXLCDKeyMain screenHoldMain screenHoldDial Lock (see Section 15.2)FunctionModeLock the dialTemporarilyunlock the dialLCDKeyMain screen, Holdwhen the dialis unlockedTXUnlock the dialMain screen,when the dialis lockedMain screen, Holdwhen the dialis lockedFirmware (see Section 18.2)FunctionModeCheck firmwareversionFirmware updatemodeOFFKeyHold and switchon to TX or RX modeHoldand switch onto TX or RX mode

he Cactus V6 is a wireless transceiver thatis capable of transmitting and receivingradio signals. Set the V6 transceivers tothe correct mode (transmitter to “TX”,receiver to “RX”) by sliding the mode switchto the correct position. This willautomatically power on the transceivers.The Cactus V6 transceivers communicate witheach other via radio frequency. There are 16channels available. Always make sure thatall of your V6 transceivers are set to thesame channel:1. To set both TX and RX to the samechannel, press. The LCD will show CHANNEL and the default channelnumber. Pressand turn the selectiondial to the preferred channel number.Pressto set other menu items or pressto exit.2. The selected channel number will bedisplayed on the LCD screen.

259.6SettingandSelectingthe GroupThe group function in the V6 can assign RXsinto Group A, B, C, or D, and allows you tochoose which group(s) to fire from the TXunit.1. All V6 transceivers must be set to thesame channel.2. Assign RX units to Groups A, B, C, or D bypressing one of the group buttons. EachRX can only be assigned to ONE group.The LED of the selected group will turnon.3. Command the TX to fire any combinationof groups by pressing the groupbutton(s). You can fire any combinationof A, B, C, and D groups. The LED of theactivated group(s) will turn on.4. To change the power level of a specificgroup, press and hold an activated groupbutton. Quickly pressing the groupbutton again will de-select the group.

265. Pressing the group button(s) of activatedgroups again on the V6 TX will turn offthe group(s). The V6 RX units that havebeen set to the off group(s) will notfire.6. The V6 will memorize the group selectionin both TX and RX when it is switchedoff. Next time you switch on the V6 itwill start up with the saved setting.9.7Navigatingthe MenuThere are a number of configurable menuoptions in the V6.To change a menu option:1. Pressto bring up the first menuitem.2. Dial right or left to scroll through eachmenu item.3. Pressor push-in button once toaccess a menu item.4. Dial right or left to scroll through eachoption of a menu item.5. Pressor push-in button once toselect the option. The configuration ofthe menu item will change immediately.6. Pressto leave and go back to the mainscreen, or dial right or left to the nextitem in the sequence.

27Menu itemCHANNELOPTICAL SLAVERELAYDELAYLo POWERPOWER MODEEV STEPFLASH SETUPCOPY FLASHSETUPCHOOSE PROFILEGROUP SEQUENCESUB-MENUOption1-16OFFS1 FIRST FLASHS2 MAIN PCOPY PROFILESTART A-B-C-DAB-CDPRESS OK TO SET*when availableApplicable modesTXRX

28The following configuration items aregrouped under the “sub-menu”.Sub-menu itemLCD BACKLIGHTSLEEPDIAL DIRECTIONSWAP CONTROLWORKING RANGEFACTORY RESETOptionOFF5 SECS15 SECSSTAY ONOFF15 MINS60 MINSCLOCKWISEANTI-CLOCKWISEQUICK POWER ADJZOOM (CACTUS)LONGSHORTNOYES

2910. Flash Profile: Choosing,Learning, and CopyingThe V6 transceiver commands flashes to fireat a particular output via flash profiles.There are three ways to obtain the correctflash profiles:1. Choose from the pre-installed flashprofiles in the V6.2. Learn a custom flash profile using the V6.3. Copy the learned profiles from anotherV6.10.1Choosingthe FlashProfilefrom theV6Choose the appropriate flash profile from thepre-installed profile list for each V6 RXyou will use with your flash.1. Switch on the V6 in RX mode.2. Press, and then turn the selectiondial to CHOOSE PROFILE . Press.3. Turn the selection dial until the LCDshows your flash system (e.g., CANON ).Press.4. Turn the selection dial until the LCDshows your flash model (e.g., 580EX* ).Press.

305. Connect the flash unit to the V6. Switchyour flash to TTL mode and your flash willbe ready for remote control. The chosenflash profile will be applied until youchoose another flash profile.In case you wish to fire and control anon-camera master flash via the V6 TX, followsteps 2-4 above in TX mode to choose theappropriate flash profile for the masterflash.Note:Once the flash profile has taken control ofthe flash, it may lock up the control panelof some Nikon flash models. If you wish toadjust the setting on your flash whileconnected to the V6, you may unlock theflash temporarily.forIn RX mode, press and hold2 seconds. The LCD screen will show FLASHUNLOCKED instantly. The flash will belocked again upon subsequent triggering.forIn TX mode, press and hold2 seconds, which activates the TTL passthrough mode. This will also unlock theflash.

3110.2Learninga CustomFlashProfileIf your flash models are not included inthe pre-installed profile list but supportAnalogue TTL, use the V6 to learn the flashprofiles. Make sure that your flashes areeligible for the V6 flash profile learningprogram (see Section 7.1.3).1. Switch on one of your V6s in RX mode.2. Set up your flash on the V6 multi-systemshoe (female). Position the V6 togetherwith your flash facing a white, mattesurface at a distance of 1 meter in adark environment.1MFLASHV6 RXWHITE SURFACE

323. Pressand then turn the selectiondial to FLASH SETUP . Press.4. Turn the selection dial to STARTLEARNING . Pressagain.5. Choose the correct flash system.Press.6. The LCD screen will show SET FLASH TOTTL MODE , with the option GO beingselected.7. Set your flash to the TTL mode and themaximum zoom level. Press.8. The V6 will test fire the flash twice anddetermine whether the flash is eligiblefor the flash learning program. If theflash is not eligible, the LCD screen willshow FLASH LEARNING NOT SUPPORTED .Tips: There is a chance that the distancebetween the flash and the reflective surfaceis too short or too long. Relocate theflash as specified in step 2. Also makesure that you have chosen the correct flashsystem in step 5.9. If the flash is eligible for the learningprogram, the LCD screen will show SETMAX GN and the default number 45. Turnthe selection dial until the LCD screen

33shows the maximum guide number (inmeters) of your flash. Press.10. The LCD screen will then show SETMANUAL 1/2 with a highlighted option GO . Switch your flash to Manual modeat 1/2 power and press. The V6 willtrigger your flash a few times as itlearns, while showing LEARNING 1/2 onthe LCD screen.11. Once the program has finished learning1/2 power, the LCD will then show SETMANUAL 1/4 . The procedure will repeatuntil the program has finished learningto 1/128 power.12. If your flash does not support aparticular power level, turn the dial to SKIP and then press. The programwill skip learning that power level andgo to the next level. The more powerlevels that have been learned, the moreaccurate the learned profile will be.13. Once the V6 has finished firing the flashin the step SET MANUAL 1/128 , the LCDscreen will show BACK TO TTL MODE .Change the flash mode to TTL and press. The V6 will then fine tune differentpower levels and fire the flash manytimes for approximately 2-3 minutes.

3414. When the learning is finished, the LCDscreen will show FLASH PROFILE NAME .Enter a profile name with 1-6 letters ornumbers. Please enter a unique profilename that has not been used in othercustom profiles. Turn the selection dialto choose from A-Z and 0-9 and pressfor every character selected.15. Then the LCD screen will show PROFILESAVED . The flash profile learning iscompleted.To choose the saved flash profile from theprofile list, see Section 10.1. All customprofiles will be stored under the flashsystem LEARNED in the CHOOSE PROFILE menu.Each V6 can save up to 15 custom flashprofiles from the learning program. Thedeviations of the light output from thetheoretical values should be less than0.2 EV.

35Notes:1. Not all flash profiles can be learned bythe V6 even though they might fulfillthe requirements provided inSection 7.1.3.2. Always install fresh batteries to theflash when starting the flash profilelearning.10.3CopyingCustomFlashProfilesOnce you have finished learning a number offlash profiles with one V6, you may copy allthe custom flash profiles to other V6 units.1. Set all the V6 units to the same channel.2. Pick out the V6 source unit containingall the learned flash profiles that youwish to copy to other V6 units. Switchit on in TX mode. Press, and turn theselection dial until the LCD shows COPYFLASH SETUP . Press, and turn theselection dial to START . Pressagain. The LCD screen will then show SET RX TO COPY PROFILE with an option GO .

363. Switch on the V6 destination unit(s) inRX mode. Press, and turn theselection dial to FLASH SETUP . Pressand turn the dial to COPY PROFILE .Press. The LCD screen will show WAITING FOR TX .4. On the V6 source unit, presstoconfirm GO .5. The V6 units will start copying the flashprofiles.6. When the flash profiles are all copiedto the V6 destination units, the sourceV6 unit will show FINISHED SENDING while the destination V6 units will show FINISHED COPYING on the LCD screen. Youmay then leave the menu.Note:If identical flash profiles are found inboth the source V6 and destination V6,they will not be copied. For non-identicalprofiles that come with the sameprofile name, they will still be copiedbut the last letter of the newly addedprofile names will be modified.

3711. Flash TriggeringTo command the flash units in differentgroups to fire:1. Set the V6 transceivers to the correctmode (transmitter to “TX”, receiver to“RX”). This will automatically power onthe transceivers (see Section 9.4).2. Set both TX and RX to the same channel(see Section 9.5).3. Assign RX unit(s) to A, B, C, or D groupand activate the group(s) on the TX (seeSection 9.6).4. Connect the V6 RX to portable flashes orstudio strobes.5. On the TX, presscompletely. Thestatus LED of both TX and RX should blinkin green simultaneously. The portableflashes or studio strobes will fire at thesame time.6. Test fire a particular group by pressingthe group button andcompletely andsimultaneously.7. Attach the TX to the camera’s hot shoe.If your camera does not have a hot shoe,connect the TX to the camera using anoptional PC sync cable (CA-200).

388. Press the camera’s shutter releasebutton. The flashes on the RXs will firewirelessly and in sync.Tips: The V6 transceiver can triggerportable flashes with or without remotepower control. If you wish to wirelesslytrigger the slave flashes withoutcontrolling their power levels, choosethe MANUAL flash system in the CHOOSEPROFILE menu.

3912. Remote Manual PowerControlApart from flash triggering, the V6 can alsocommand the manual power of your flash. Oneach RX, choose the appropriate flash profilefor each flash to be connected. The V6 TXwill then be able to command the flash tofire from 1/128 to 1/1 full power. V6 offerstwo power definitions for users to commandthe flashes’ power in the most convenientway.To remotely control the power of your flashunits:1. Connect the flash units to the V6.2. Switch on the flash units in TTL mode.Then switch on the V6 in RX mode.3. Choose the correct flash profile for eachV6.12.1RelativePowerSimilar to a common flash display, the V6 TXindicates the power level of the remoteflashes in proportion to full power inrelative power mode, i.e., 1/1 for fullpower, 1/2 for half power, etc. Uponswitching on the V6 in TX mode, the LCD will

40show the relative power levels of allactivated groups.Note that the small single digit indicatesthe increment between major power levels.12.1.1 Single Group Power AdjustmentThere are two ways to adjust the power levelof a particular slave group.1. Press and hold the group button until thepower level of the chosen group ishighlighted on the LCD. Turn theselection dial to the desired powerlevel. Press shortly the group button toleave the group selection.2. Short cut: Press and hold the groupbutton and turn the selection dialsimultaneously. Once the adjustment isfinished, release the group button.

41You may also adjust the power level of themaster flash that you have mounted on the V6TX multi-system shoe (female).1. Make sure that the TTL pass-through modehas not been activated (see Section 8).2. Pressand turn the selection dialsimultaneously to change the power levelof the master flash.12.1.2 Multi-Group Power AdjustmentTo adjust the power level of ALL activegroups, simply turn the selection dial leftor right to the desired power level.Note: The power level of the master flash isnot affected by the multi-group adjustment.12.1.3 Quick Power Adjustment ModeBy turning the dial left or right one“click,” the power level of the chosengroups will increase or decrease by onestep. The EV step in the V6 factory settingis 1/3 EV. The EV step can be configured to1/2, 1/3, or 1/10 in the EV STEP menu (see

42Section 12.3).If you wish to quickly change the powerlevel using a larger interval, use the quickpower adjustment mode.1. In the main screen of the V6 in TX mode,pressonce to enter the quick poweradjustment mode.2. In this mode, each click of the dial willincrease or decrease the power levelfor 1EV to and from the original valuerespectively. For example, if the powerlevel of a group was 1/16 3, one clickof the selection dial will increase thepower level to 1/8 3 or decrease it to1/32 3.3. Once you have finished the quick change,pressonce again to leave the quickpower adjustment mode. Each click ofthe dial thereafter will increase ordecrease the power level in accordancewith the setting you have made in the EVSTEP menu.12.2AbsolutePowerIf you want to coordinate the light outputof multiple flashes with different maximumpower outputs, the regular power ratios such

43as “1/4” or “1/8” may not be as helpful. Theoutput of one powerful flash model at “1/8”can be higher than that of another, weakerflash model at “1/4.” For this reason, the V6offers an “absolute power” mode in which EVnumbers can be used to specify an absolutelight intensity, independent of the maximumpower output of a flash model.The power levels in guide number have beenrescaled to the absolute power scheme in EVas below:ABSOLUTE LIGHTINTENSITY IN EVGUIDE NUMBERS (IN METERS) 0.0 0.3 0.5 .682.62.83.03.271.82.02.12.361.31.41.51.6

44When setting up the absolute power mode, theV6 TX will collect the flash profiles beingselected by the RX units in the same channeland rescale them to the unified lightintensity scale. The following example showshow the model-specific relative power scalesare translated into the absolute powerscale.ABSOLUTE LIGHTINTENSITYSCALE IN EVRELATIVE LIGHT INTENSITY SCALEOF 4 FLASHES WITH DIFFERENT FULLPOWER GUIDE 12881/1281/64761/21/128

45When you set all flashes to 11 EV (seeitalicized section in the above table) inabsolute power mode, all flashes will emitthe same intensity of light notwithstandingthe differences in their own relative powerscale. For instance, at 11 EV, Flash A isfiring the amount of light equal to its 1/16power, while Flash C is firing equal to its1/8 power.To change the V6 system to the absolutepower mode:1. Switch on the remote V6 in RX mode.Choose the correct flash profiles foreach of the V6 RXs.2. Switch on the V6 that you would like tobe the commander in TX mode. Make surethat it is on the same channel as the RXunits. Press. Turn the selection dialto POWER MODE and press. Turn theselection dial to ABSOLUTE (SETUP) andpressto confirm.3. The V6 TX will then collect the flashprofiles from the V6 RX units and set upthe absolute power level scheme. Once theset up is finished, the LCD display willreturn to the main screen again and show

46the absolute light intensity of the fourgroups.4. Adjust the power level as you do inrelative power mode (see Section 12.1).Each figure before decimal placerepresents 1 EV and the smaller figurethereafter 1/10 EV.5. Set all the activated groups to the samepower level. Test fire the slaves anddetermine whether they produce the sameflash output.6. If the initial set up is not accurateenough, you may offset the absolutepower scale of each group. Press anygroup button andsimultaneously toget into the offset mode for that group.For example, if the flash output ofgroup A is slightly stronger than theother groups at the same absolute powerlevels, pressandsimultaneously.The LCD screen will show GROUP AOFFSET . Turn the selection dial left orright to adjust the power scale from -1EV

47to 1EV. Pressscreen.to return to the mainNote: The absolute power set up will not besaved upon switching off the V6 TX. The V6 TXwill restart in relative power mode.12.3EV StepThe control panel of the V6 TX offers threeEV step options: 1/10 EV, 1/3 EV, and 1/2 EV.The configuration applies to both relativeand absolute power modes.To adjust the EV step, switch on the V6 in TXmode and press. Turn the selection dialto EV STEP . Pressand turn the dial tothe desired increment level (1/10, 1/3, or1/2). Pressto confirm.Notes:1. The selected EV step will be memorizedupon switching off and will be appliedwhen switching on again.2. In the quick power adjustment mode(see Section 12.1.3), the configured EVstep will be replaced by the 1EV stepchanges.

4812.4Lo PowerAt the Lo Power level, the relative poweroutput of a flash triggered by the V6 isroughly equal to 1/256. The differencebetween 1/128 and 1/256 power outputs may behardly detected by flash meter,

in the V6 can virtually command the flash to produce ANY power level within the maximum output, and even exceeds what the flash menu allows you to do: 1. Finer increment scales: The V6 can adjust the power level of flash to 1/10 EV step, a much f iner increment level than the flash menu itself allows (see Section 12.3 for setting up the EV step).