Thanks, its kind of you to offer it. Its only fair for Roscoe to have the first option though, so I'll keep an eye on the thread for a few days to see if he responds.

Very nice close-ups! Some good looking out-of-focus areas as well. I don't think the colour adds anything to the padlock one, the mono version has a very clean look to it that I prefer.

I think all of the shots would benefit from a higher amount of sharpening ... there's just not quite enough 'bite' to the points of focus.

Sure, there's an initial saving. .... But you do feel the future TTL option is important, so I'd personally prefer to pay the extra up front and get the gear that is going to serve me in the longer term.

The Cactus only system is the neater option ....trigger stacking is always going to introduce more variables, more settings to manage, more potential communication failure issues etc. With the Cactus you'll be controlling both power and flash head zoom from the V6II on camera and just dealing with the one device.

The future TTL upgrade, for free, will easily he worth the extra expense, more like a bonus really, plus you have the advantage that you're already used to the interface and working with the system.

It's your decision, but I'm just laying out how my own thinking process would be.

Dave, we can thank the spammer for this resurrection ! I have been enjoying using my AF280T recently, in auto mode with my M75-150 F4.0, a great combination when bounced.... Very accurate exposures and I make small adjustments to ISO for fine tuning the flash exposure....

If Roscoe isn't around now I'd be grateful for the diffusers please..... Let's give him a few days and if no response I'll PM you.

The thing about the Cactus RF60x is that the transceiver is built in, so you don't need any receiving trigger.... You only need the transmitting V6II on the camera. You won't have the expense of the Godox triggers. If you need a flash or two anyway, then I'd go for the RF60x (or two). They'll work straight out of the box for manual HSS, and they're 'futureproof' with a free TTL upgrade coming!

So no, I can't see any sense in an intermediate step with the Godox equipment ..... It doesn't seem to give you anything other than extra expense.

You asked about 'off camera ttl' ..... but the Manual HSS should work, so long as the Godox Trigger / Flash supports it, which it seems that your equipment does. Then you are just using the V6II to enable a trigger signal from the camera beyond the max sync speed. So yes, that should work for Manual mode HSS. You would be controlling the power from the Godox trigger stacked on the Cactus of course.

But if you are planning a move to TTL in future and also need another flash or two, then the RF60x is a good option .....

Peter, these are clearly not as popular as most of your series so far, judging by the lack of posts. Don't despair, the lighting on your subject itself looks very nice, plenty of directional quality and contrast. Its that background which has messed it up! They look like the commercial factory run photos my daughters get taken at school .... the bright white background they use saps away at the faces there, so much so that I've stopped buying them now. More of what you were before please

I can actually feel the tranquillity in these photos Gareth, it has a real presence. Very nice low light photography, rich in colours. My favourite is actually the sunlit one, 'Waiting for the Light', with its powerful side lighting which also brings out the multi-layers of clouds in the sky.

You need 3 V6II units to do what you have described there. One on the camera hotshoe in Tx mode, and one on each flash in Rx mode.


Seb, I don't see any reason to expect that ..... you can't get TTL on a Pentax camera from a flash system that is not designed for that. If you wait for the Cactus V6II firmware upgrade, called 'TTL Without Boundaries', then automatic metering across brands will be possible .... but the system depends on communications between a V6II transmitter on the camera and a V6II receiver on the flash ....you would need to use a flash that allows the V6II to be fitted to the shoe, and also it needs to have a profile for the V6II.

A Godox TTL strobe that is designed for Nikon or Canon may well fit the bill, but probably best to wait until the firmware is released and a profile is confirmed as working before committing.

The TT600 is a Manual-Only flash .... no TTL, so it will not be compatible with any Cactus 'TTL Without Boundaries' in the future. The only Manual flash that will be magically transformed into a P-TTL unit by the V6II trigger is Cactus's own RF60x. That is TTL capable when combined with a V6II trigger with the new firmware.

Hi Seb, yes for now the V6II is a Manual flash system. A promised firmware update in future will bring automatic metering, when Cactus Tx and Rx units are used with TTL capable flashes..... There will be cross brand aspects to this as well.

A Godox system that depends on it's own radio triggers, or flashes that cannot have a V6Ii attached. can not provide TTL on a Pentax camera. The main use for a V6II on a Pentax DSLR combined with a Godox system is to enable the trigger signal for HSS. This is then passed through to a Godox transmitter stacked on top of the V6II ... The Godox system then carries on as it can, depending on it's particular capabilities.

For example, HSS in this manner requires a Godox strobe that can be set to HSS mode manually. Power control may be remote or not, again depending on the capabilities of the particular Godox equipment you're using.