Current state of 5Dmk3 compatibility with triggers and strobes

[jonathan7007]

I am going to add better triggers and strobes to my kit. This would support real estate, events, weddings, other interior and outdoor work. I have a Mk2 and a Mk3 so want to do HSS. I like the look of the Phottix Odin as ratio control from the camera sounds good. I still believe I will need to use on-camera-strobe often so may need a mix of Stratto and Odin.

I was thinking about the 550EX as a cost effective way to add three units BUT many of you like your Yongnuo flashes. These are more modern than the Canon 550EX, can use a battery pack (good idea) and save as much money over the Canon 600. (I do have one Canon 580EX not II) But I realize I have never seen anyone write in that they trigger their Yongnuo units with Phottix Stratto or Odin.

I would use these in softboxes at times. Nice to do ratio control without reaching into a box.

jonathan7007

[lucuias]

Highly recommended on phottix odin.Avoid pockwizard flex tt5 at all cost.

[AdamJ]

With Yongnuo flashes, you can either have a battery pack input (565EX) or HSS (568EX) but not both, which is a drawback. I don't know if Yongnuo wanted two distinct models in their range or if it is a way of avoiding legal conflict with Canon for producing a flash that would be practically identical in both form and function to the 580 EX II if it had both battery input and HSS.

For triggers, you may also want to consider Yongnuo's YN-622 triggers which support all functions including E-TTL, HSS and ratios. They utilise the camera's flash menu, whereas the Odins have their own LCD controls which are probably quicker than using the camera menu. However, the YN-622s are a third of the Odin's price.

Edit: The 622s also allow a flash on-camera, where it operates as a Group A flash.

[thebowtie]

Slightly off-topic, but maybe not so.

I have a Canon 580 EXII and an old 420EX as well as a Yongnuo 565EX, and a bunch of YN-622 wireless triggers.

I'm happy with the triggers, and want to extend my flash collection affordably to be all HSS-capable, controlled-from-the-camera.

The Canon 420-EX supports HSS but only by manual switch control, and the YN565EX has no HSS.

Has anyone got any experience with YN-568EX flashes coupled with a Canon 580EXII that they can share?

[pardus]

I just bought a bunch of new gear. 5Diii, interfit stellar XD strobes and Cactus V5 triggers. The 5Diii with cactus V5 doesnt trigger my strobes through hotshoe or sync cable but will fire my 430ex. With the Cactus V5 on my 7D, no problems. My 5Diii sorta works with the strobes direct with a sync cable. Starts working fine but then when both have been on for a while, the 5Diii stops being able to trigger the strobe. If I disconnect and reconnect cable, It will fire once but that's it. If I then switch to my 7D, fires every time. Not sure what the problem is, exhausted my searches without much of an answer. Called interfit and they are sending me new ones. Contacted my 5D retailer too, they will replace the camera if it turns out to be the problem and not just incompatibility. Need to find another way to test out the camera I guess.

[ck5dmkiii]

Highly recommended on phottix odin.Avoid pockwizard flex tt5 at all cost.

Whats wrong with Flex TT5 and Flex Mini? I have ben using mine with my 5DMK3 with no issues at all, all the way up to 1/8000th. They work seamlessly at every event. They do take a bit of time to learn how to properly use them but once you do they are amazing. We shoot with a 600ex on camera and 3 430EXII's off camera all shooting e-ttl.

[Lawliet]

Part of the story is the delay from camera release to actual compatibility. Still troubles with the 1Dx...
The other is features/unique POS vs. price: Odin/Strato/AtlasII do almost the same for less money; ST-E3 offers some additional functionality.

[ocabj]

I've been using the TT1/TT5 for a few years now, but the only reason I started off with them was because I was using a pair of 580 EX II's at the time (with a 7D). I used that only for a short time before I switched to Alien Bees / Einsteins. I retained the TT1/TT5 units and added the PowerMC2 for the Einsteins which give me remote power control via the AC3 Zone Controller.

So going back to just Speedlites, I would just go with dumb triggers (non-ETTL). I don't care for off-camera ETTL, but what I do like is being able to remotely set the power output of the flash without having to touch the flash itself. Not sure what else out there gives you this capability with a Speedlite (the TT1/TT5/AC3 combo will do this).

Note: I *did* take awhile for PW to add 5D Mark III compatibility, but they finally got there (and there were some workarounds if all you wanted was AC3 support).

http://www.ocabj.net/pocketwizard-beta-support-for-the-canon-5d-mark-iii/