Cactus V6, Wireless Flash Transceiver V6 User Manual

User Ma nual

Wireless Flash Transceiver V6

Table of Contents

1. Getting to K now the Cactus V6 4

2. Cautions a nd Warni ngs 7

3. Major Specif icatio ns 8

4. Package Contents 9

5. Nomenclature 10

6. L CD Panel 12

7. Co mp atibi lity 13

8. TTL Pass-through 17

9. Getting Started 19

10. Flas h Prof ile: 27 Choosin g, Learni ng, and Copying

11. Flash Tr iggerin g 35

12. Re mote Manual Power Control 37

13. Camer a Shutter Release 47

14. Advanced Operations 52

15. Personalizing the V6 54

16. Working with Cactus Gear 57

17. LED Sign al Guide 62

18. USB Connection 63

19. Optional Accessories 65

20. Troubleshooting 66

21. Notices 72

22. Wa rra nty 75

1. Getting to Know the Cactus V6

Tha nk you for purch asing the Cactus Wireless Flash Tra nsceiver V6. The Cactus V6 i s a m u lt if u n c ti o n a l w ir e l ess  a s h transceiver that allows yo u to comm and

different bra nds’ ashes off ca mera with

remote p ower control. You can p osition your lights at an y angle, direction, and distance — the p ossibilities are endless!

1.1

Special Features

1. Wireless manual po wer control of a list of current a nd previous Ca non, Nikon,

a n d Pen t a x  a s hes .

2. Fla sh prof ile lea rni ng for a nalogue-TTL

a sh es.

3. Fu ll manipulation of power levels to

1/10, 1/3, 1/2 and 1EV steps.

4. Lo Power mo de f ires the ash for extrem ely short length s of time.

5. Abs olute Power Mode bench marks th e power

output of different  ash models to the

same light intensity.

6. TTL pass-through with Can on, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Pentax, and Fujif ilm via one single unit.

7. Built-i n optical trigger ena bles

pre-ash triggeri ng.

8. Gr oup control allows you to control up to four groups.

9. Relay mode triggers the ca mera shutter

a n d  a sh i n sy nc .

10. Delay tim er is conf igura ble from 1 millisecond to 10 seconds.

11. Mi ni- US B port for optional power supply and f irmware up dates.

1.2

Cactus V6 Core

Each ash model has its in dividual power

level characteristics. We have prof iled more

than 30 popular ash models across a wide

ran ge of brands so that the V6 can precisely control their output levels. With this unique featu re, photographer s can rem otely control the  ash power of various  ash models, even of different brands!

F or  a s h m o d el s t h at h a v e n ot b e e n i n cl u d e d

in the prof ile list, the V6 can still work

with it by learning its a sh prof ile. Check S e ct io n 7.1.3 for d e t ai l s of w h i c h  a s he s are eligible for the ash prof ile learning

pro gr am.

Whether built-in or obtained fr om the

learni ng prog ram, the ash prof ile stored i n the V 6 c a n v irt u a l l y c o m m a n d t he  a s h t o

produce A NY power level within the m aximu m

o ut p u t, a n d e v en e xc e e d s w h at t h e  a s h m enu

allows you to do:

1. Finer increment scales: The V6 can

adjust the power level of ash to 1/10 EV

step, a much f i ner increment level than t he  a s h m e n u it s el f a l lo w s (s e e Section 12.3 for setting up the EV step).

2. Extre mely short f irin g time: In Lo Power

mode, the V6 can f ire  ashes for ver y

short leng ths of time at extremely low

power levels (rou ghly e qual to 1/256), which is beyond the sta ndard ash power r a n g e (s e e S ect io n 1 2.4 f o r e n a bl i n g t he

Lo Power output).

3. Unif ied power level scale for different

 a s h m o d el s: T h e V 6 b enc h m a r k s t he lig ht intensity output of different ash

models in your set up and co mmands them to f ire at the same power scale (see Section 12.2 for ad justing absolute p o w er).

Ready to g o? Let’s get on boa rd and see what the V6 can do!

2. Cautions and Warnings

Before using your V6, read th e following safety precautions to en sure correct and sa fe u se:

1. T urn OFF all your equipment (e.g. Cactus units, ash u nits, ca meras, etc.) before

chan ging batteries or ma king conne ctions. Observe the correct polarity when cha ngin g batteries. There is a dan ger of explosion if the batteries are installed incorrectly.

2. Switch off the transceiver and r emove batteries durin g storage.

3. Do not per manently store the product in

a hig h temper ature environment (i.e.,

under strong direct sunlight, near cooking stoves/oven).

4. The Cactus V6 sh ould never be submer ged in liquid or exposed to heav y rain u nless it is properly protected.

5. Do not operate the device in the prese nce

of  a m m a bl e g a s es o r f u m e s.

6. Do not disse mble.

7. Do not cru sh and do not ex pose the V6 to any shock or force such as ha mmering, dropping, or stepping on it.

3. Major Speciﬁcations

• Working radio fr equency: 2.4 GHz

• Num ber of channels: 16

• Num ber of groups: 4

• Support sync speed up to 1/1,000 second (subject to camera’s sync spe ed

limitation)

• Maximum effective distance: 100 meters

• Operatin g temper ature: -20°C to +50°C

• Camera voltage ha ndling: up to 6V

• Flash voltage h andlin g: up to 300V

• Dimensions: 72m m (L ) x 72m m (W ) x 42 m m ( H)

• Weight: 68g

• Power input: 2 x A A battery, 3V, 50mA,

0.15W; mini USB 2.0, DC input 5V, 500mA~1A

• Estimated battery life:

Batter y life

(h ou rs)

LCD Backlight Off 40 21 67 34

LCD Backlight On 25 17 36 25

Alkaline AA Batterie s 1000mAh

TX RX TX RX

Rechargeable

Ni M H A A

Batterie s 2500m Ah

4. Package Contents

Flash Stand FS-2V6 Transceiver

Album &

User Ma nual

TEST BUTTON/

SHUTTER RELEASE

BUTTON

OPT ICAL

SENSOR

GROUP BUT TONS

5. Nomenclature

MU LT I-S YST EM

SHOE (FEMA LE)

M OD E S W I TC H

LCD DISPLAY

X-SYNC PORT

MINI USB PORT

LANYARD LOOP

TRIPOD MOUNT

BATTERY DOOR

MU LT I-S YST EM

SHOE (MAL E)

LED STAT US INDICATOR

HOT SHOE

LOCK LEV ER

OK BUTTON

MENU BU TTON

SEL ECTIO N DIAL

6.1

TX mode

6. LCD Panel

BATTERY

IN DICATOR

GROUP

6.2

RX mode

CHANNEL

BATTERY

IN DICATOR

CHANNEL

POWER LE VEL

GROUP

DELAY T IMER REL AY MODE

POWER LE VEL INCREM ENT

IN DICATOR

SELECTE D FLASH PROFILE

WIRELES S

SENSITIVITY

SL AVE M ODE IN DICATOR

7. Compatibility

The Cactus V6 is both a wir eless ash trigger a nd wireless re mote control. While

it triggers both portable  ashes a nd studio

strobe lig hts, it also supports r emote

c ont r ol f e a tu r e s w ith s e le c t e d  a s h m o d el s.

7.1

Flash & Studio Strobes

7.1.1 Cactus RF60

With the built-in Cactus V6 module, the Cactus RF60 can b e remotely com mand ed and

trigger ed by V6 T X (see Section 16.1.1).

7.1.2 Flash M odels w ith a Pre- insta lled Prof i le in the Cac tus V6

The Cactus V6 ca n remotely control the

fol low i n g p o r t abl e  a sh m o d e l s:

FLASH SYSTEM FLASH MO DEL

CANON CACTUS AF45C, AF50C;

NIKON CACTUS A F45N, A F50N;

PENTA X CACTUS AF45P, A F50P;

* prof iles workin g with different versions of the

m od e l (e.g ., 58 0E X I I a n d 580 E X)

7.1.3 Flash Models with Analogue TTL Mode

The Cactus V6 ca n learn the prof iles of

other ash models that come with a n analogue

TTL mode, i.e., the TTL o perated an alogue

q u en c h s ig n als . If y our  a s h e s c o m e w it h a

TTL mo de that does not have a n initial

b ef o r e TT L (e .g . E- T T L o r E -TT L I I f r o m

CANON 320EX, 430EX*, 540EZ, 580EX*, 600EX-RT; GO DO X V 860 C; ME TZ 36A F-5, 44A F-1, 50 AF-1, 52A F-1, 58AF-1, 58AF-2; NISSIN Di866 MAR K II, MG8000;

PHOTTIX STR ATO;

SIGMA EF-500 DG SUPER; YONGNU O YN568EX*;

METZ 36AF-5, 44AF-1, 58AF-2; NIKON SB-24, SB-28, SB-600, SB-700, SB-800, SB-900, SB-910; NISSIN Di700, Di866; SIGMA EF-530 DG SUPER;

METZ 36AF-5, 44AF-1, 50AF-1, 58AF-2; PENTAX A F 360FGZ, AF 540FGZ;

Canon, i-TTL or i-TTL BL from Nikon, or

P-TTL from Penta x), their  ash prof iles ma y

be learn ed and re motely controlled by the Cactus V6.

7.1.4 Other Flash Models and Studio Strobes

The Cactus V6 triggers all other ash models

via the hot shoe, and studio strobes with the PC sync m ale port, 3.5mm or 6.35mm por t

v ia o p tio n a l c a bl e s (s e e S ec t io n 19). T h i s includes high trigger voltage portable ash

models, and all stro be models with a trigger voltage of 300V or under. The Cactus V6 does not provide re mote power control of these

 a s he s a n d s tr o b e s.

Cau tion:

Flashes or strobes with reversed polarity conne ctors DO NOT WORK with the Cactus V6.

7.2

Cameras

The Cactus V6 works w ith practically all

camer as that come with either (1) a stan dard ISO h o t s h oe, o r (2) a f e m a le s y n c p o r t

connection.

To use the V6 as a wireless shutter release, specif ic shutter cables are req uired. For the list of optional accessories, see Sec tio n 19.

7.3

Flash Triggers

7.3.1 C actus V 5 and LV5

The Cactus V6 is com patible with the Wireless Flash Tra nsceiver V5 and Laser Trigger LV5. See Section 16.2 for deta ils.

7.3.2 Other Flash Triggers

The Cactus V6 is NOT co mpatible with any

other ash trigger model, includin g the

Cactus V2, Cactus V2s, and Cactus V4.

8. TTL Pass-through

The V6 tran sceiver comes with a multi-system shoe that supports TTL pass-through.

While the V6 does not transmit TTL sig nal wirelessly, it is designe d to pass TTL

signal from camera to ash via the transmitter (TX) and vice versa.

The multi-system shoe supports TTL pass-throu gh of Canon, Fu jif ilm, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, and Pentax syste ms.

Make sure that ca mera and ash unit belong

to the same TTL system.

Wit h T T L p a ss - throu g h, t h e T T L  a she s behave as th ey would when dir ectly conne cted to the camera hot shoe. The V6

will work a s a wireless ash commander while s upp o r tin g a ll t h e a uto m a tic f e at u r e s (e. g., automatic ash output via TTL m etering,

AF assist light, second cu rtain sync, hig h speed sy nc/FP shutter) provided by the TTL

ash system.

To enable TTL pass-throug h in the V6 TX,

press and hold for 2 seconds. The LCD will show the T TL pass-throu gh indicator at the left bottom corner where the chan nel indicator used to be.

In TTL pa ss-throug h mode, the V6 TX cannot control the p ower level of the  ash attached.

To disable the TTL p ass-throug h mode, press and hold for 2 seconds. The T TL passthrou gh indicator will be replaced by the chan nel indicator on the LCD.

9.1

Installing the Batteries

9.2

Attaching to and Detaching from th e Camera

9. Getting Started

Open the battery door by pushi ng it backwa rd. Flip open the latch and i nsert two AA batteries using the correct polarities. Then close the battery door by pushin g it to th e f ro nt.

UNLOCK

To mount the V6 on a camera’s hot shoe mount:

1. Turn the lock lever of the V6 to the left

t o u n l oc k t h e m u lt i- sys t e m s hoe ( m a le ).

2. Slide the V6 into the ca mera’s hot shoe.

LOCK

3. Turn the lock lever of the V6 to the right to lock the multi-syste m shoe

(m a l e).

4. Whe n detaching the V6 from the ca mera’s hot shoe, turn the lock lever to the left

t o u n l oc k t h e m u lt i- sys t e m s hoe ( m a le ). Otherwise, the multi-system shoe (male)

may be damaged.

Note: A t ta c h y o u r a s h t o the V 6 a s y ou

would to the ca mera’s hot sho e. If your ash

is not locked secur ely on the Multi-System

S hoe ( fe m a l e), t r y h a lf -l ock i n g t h e a s h a n d

retracting it slightly from the Multi-System Shoe until the locking pin hits the pinhole.

T h en loc k y o u r  ash f u l l y t o t he V6 .

9.3

Buttons and Dial

The V6 control pa nel is equipped w ith a Menu butto n , an OK button , and a selection dial for quick access to different functions and the co nf ig uration menu.

The Menu button accesses the conf ig uration menu. In the main screen, pressing will

display the conf ig uration menu. In an y part of the menu, press to exit the conf ig uration menu.

There a re also other uses for the Me nu butt on:

– In TX mode, press a nd hold to enter

or e xit t h e T T L p ass - th r o u g h m o d e (s e e

S e ct i o n 8).

– In TX mode, press a nd hold wh ile

simu ltaneo usly tur nin g the selection dial to cha nge the po wer level of the

master  ash on the V6 TX (see Section

12.1.1).

– In TX mode with absolute power mode,

press an y group button t ogether with simultane ously to conf igu re the EV

of f s et o f t he g r o u p (s e e S e cti o n 1 2.2).

The OK button ha s two features:

1. To enter a menu item and to conf ir m an option in the conf ig uration menu.

2. To enter the swap control (quick adjustment mode/zoom (Cactus) mode)

from, and exit to, the TX main screen

(s e e S e ct io n 15.2).

The selection dial is a two-wa y dial that scrolls easily thro ugh different options by turning left or right. Use the dial to:

1. Access menu item s and menu options in th e conf ig uration menu.

2. Adjust the po wer levels in the TX main scr een.

The dir ection of the selection dial is conf ig urable in the sub- menu (see Section 15.1). You may conf ig ure it to operate in either a clockwise or

a nti(c ou n te r)-c lo ck w is e d ire ction.

The selection dial has a built-in pu sh-in button that serves as a quick OK button.

When co nf ir ming a n option in the conf igu ration menu, or entering/leavin g the swap control, you may either press or the push-in selection dial.

9.4

Choosing the Operating Mode

The Cactus V6 is a wir eless transceiver that is capable of transmitti ng and r eceiving radio signals. Set the V6 transceivers to

the corr ect mode (transmitter to “TX”, receiver to “R X”) by sliding the mode switch

to the corre ct position. This will automatically pow er on the transceivers.

9.5

Setting the Channel

The Cactus V6 tra nsceivers commu nicate with each other via ra dio frequency. T here are 16 chan nels available. Always make sure that all of your V6 tran sceivers are set to the same channel:

1. To set both TX a nd RX to the sa me chan nel, press . The L CD will show <CH A N N E L > a n d t he d ef a u lt c h a n n e l number. P ress an d turn the selection dial to the preferr ed chan nel number. Press to set other menu item s or press

to exit.

2. The selected ch annel nu mber will be displayed on the LCD screen.

9.6

Setting and Selecting the Group

The gr oup function in the V6 ca n assign R Xs into Group A, B, C, or D, a nd allows you to

choose which group(s) to f ire from the TX

u nit.

1. All V6 transceivers must be set to the same channel.

2. Assign R X units to Groups A, B, C, or D by pressing one of the group buttons. Each RX can only be assigned to ONE gr oup. The LED of the selected g roup will tur n on.

3. Com mand the T X to f ir e any combination of groups by pr essing the gr oup

button(s). You ca n f ire a ny combination

of A, B, C, and D g roups. The LED of the

a ct iv a t e d g r o u p(s ) w i ll t u r n o n.

4. To cha nge the pow er level of a specif ic grou p, press and hold an activated group button. Quickly pressin g the group button agai n will de-select the group.

+ 56 hidden pages

Cactus V6, Wireless Flash Transceiver V6 User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual