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If your on-camera flash isn't overheating, why would the remote flashes have that problem. If you're always firing your on-camera flash, I would venture to guess that one is putting out more power than your remotes set at 1/32 or 1/64. Do you think it might be a range problem -- 100ft isn't all that far.
Since it's part of the discussion, what do most of you set your speed lights at when flying them as remotes on stands? It sounds like jaayres20 is using the eTTL function with ratios...how is that working out for you? Is that giving you better light than setting the remotes on low manual power?
Well even the 600ex flashes with battery packs stopped working at really bad times which is annoying because if you have them all linked and one stops working then they all stop firing.
Mine will fire if one of them has dead batteries. In the photo my set-up was 5D3 with ST-E3-RT and two 600RTs. One 600 set to group A, and the other to group B. In the photo one flash did not fire because its batteries were almost toast, but the other flash fired.
What I'd like to know is: if you have a two or more flashes in the SAME group and one unit has dead batteries, will that affect that group only? I doubt it will as the system is radio.
I have mine set up into three groups. A is on my camera set to ETTL. B & C are my other two flashes on stands. If A, B or C "overheats" then they all stop firing until I turn that group off or switch the power on and off. If I leave the power on the flash will never recover. Switching the power on and off seems to reset it and is is good to go usually for 1000+ more shots. I often take 2000-3000 shots at a reception so they get used quite a bit. I did the same thing with the 580exII flashes and pocket wizards without any problems. I can't do a side by side test because I sold my old 580ex II flashes.
How do you set the on-camera unit to group A? I can't seem to replicate your set up (I only have two 600RTs), and the manual leeds me to believe you can't do that. It's the same with the ratios on the flash that's a master, you need to also have two or more slaves to use the ratios. With a flash as a master it seems to be excluded from any group, and any tests I'm doing seem to prove ratios are useless with an on-camera 600rt and a single slave 600rt. With the st-e3-rt mounted on the 5D3 it all works as you'd expect, and works well imo.
Also, let it be known the manual is a lesson in ambiguity. The top of the manual's page 49 seems to back up my claim of ratios not working with a 600rt at a master. Quote: You can divide the slave units into two or three groups and perform E-TTLii/E-TT auto flash shooting while changing the flash ration (factor). In addition, you can set and shoot with a different flash mode for each firing group, for up to 5 groups.
Well even the 600ex flashes with battery packs stopped working at really bad times which is annoying because if you have them all linked and one stops working then they all stop firing.
Mine will fire if one of them has dead batteries. In the photo my set-up was 5D3 with ST-E3-RT and two 600RTs. One 600 set to group A, and the other to group B. In the photo one flash did not fire because its batteries were almost toast, but the other flash fired.
What I'd like to know is: if you have a two or more flashes in the SAME group and one unit has dead batteries, will that affect that group only? I doubt it will as the system is radio.
I have noticed there is a big difference between a few of my lenses.
Are you using lenses with a f4 or even f5.6 open aperture, and how do these perform? I'm asking because I've got the 70-300L/4-5.6 and wouldn't like to see that the af performance on the 5d3 isn't any better than on the 5d2 or 60d...
This may be a dumb question but are you sure they were firing at only 1/64?Yes they were on a lower power setting like 1/64 or 1/32. I know for a fact that they can shoot 10 in a row at 1/16. I love the flashes for the most part. They overheat at wired and random times. It is like they know when is the worst time to act up and do it just to make things hard. Kind of like my kids.
Try test firing one at 1/64 ten times in a row and see if it overheats and activates the red screen. Then wait and try 20. It shouldn't overheat at that power level.
No, if the back LED light is red then the flash has over heated. If it's orange it is slave (by default, this can be changed in cFn), and green is master (by default). I haven't overheated any of my 3 600-RT's so I can't comment if 'reddish orange' is the red backlight indicating overheating, but that makes sense to me. This is all documented in that thick manual they sent along with the flash.They are not in the sun they are in a dark reception. If they can't shoot off 10 or 20 consecutive pops at 1/64 power then I am very disappointed because like I said before my 580exII flashes never did anything like that. What is also frustrating is if one of them overheats it causes the rest to stop working until you turn it off. It also doesn't "recover" until you flip the switch off and turn it back on which isn't always convenient when you are in the middle of something important at a wedding reception and the flash is 10 feet in the air across the room through a crowd of people. This seems ridiculous and it doesn't look like there is a possible fix.
Don't know your exact circumstances, I do know that these flashes can't take too many pops. The manual states (by memory) that after 10 consecutive flashes it needs a rest. 1/64 or 1/32 should be a light load, but maybe they were also in the sun? Not like these little flashes have heat sinks, and they're dumping a goodly current off those caps.
What does the overheat indicator say? I think it would give you a hint. If the rear is turning orange, as in badly discolored, I'd sure return it to Canon.