Earlier this month I had 2 days at “Focus on Imaging” and saw some great presentations, met up with suppliers, and with a few friends. The big benefit though is being able to get help from experts on the smaller things that have caused one problems…
Top of this list for me was a visit to the Pixel stand. I’ve had good results with Pixel gear in general, particularly the low cost 3 way VM/VS 801 cat5 cable hotshoe extenders, and with Pixel’s excellent external battery packs to speed up recycling (and avoid melting) speedlites. I had however bought a set of Pixel King radio triggers and just could not get them to work in E-TTL mode with my Nissin DI866mkIi speedlites. They were fine in Manual mode, and I could adjust the power levels, use HSS etc but when it came to E-TTL the level setting preflash would trigger, but the shots would be dark.
I visited with Pixel and demonstrated my problem. No immediate solution, but careful notes… camera firmware release numbers, model numbers for the speed lights, and a promise to get back to me. I also was given a bonus – one of their very nice cable releases.
And of course Pixel have come back trumps with the solution. There are 2 current sets of firmware for the Pixel King Flash Triggers, and I had the highest numbered version (1031) loaded, which turns out to be for the Canon 1DX, whereas the other release (1030) is what is needed on the 5D3. I’ve re-flashed the firmware, and it’s all working. Thank You Pixel! While a radio trigger with manual control is very useful, the automation really helps at events.
The other thing I needed help with was printing on clear or highly reflective substrates, with my big Canon printer. Thanks due to RGB-UK on the Canon stand for helping me out here. One needs a narrow strip on the edge of the sheet to help the optical sensor in the printer detect the “paper.”