Canon Speedlite/transmitter - Manual mode - Change flash power via Speedlite

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Steve K

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Steve
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Hi all,

I'm quite new to flash photography - I have a Canon 600EX II RT plus an ST-ET-R3 transmitter.
I want to use the off-camera flash in manual mode. Is it possible to control the flash power output via the flash itself, rather than the transmitter interface?

I have the flash set to wireless slave, and the transmitter is the master. They are linked ok.
The transmitter is set to Manual mode, and I can work out how to change the flash power output using the transmitter interface, but this is fiddly and takes a few clicks/different buttons to change.
And since the transmitter interface is typically almost horizontal (place-wise, atop the camera), if my camera is set up fairly high, it can be awkward to read (especially in low light)
And the flash itself, the interface is typically vertical, and in front of me, hence easy to read, and would be a lot easier to change the power output on there, rather than the transmitter.

But with the transmitter set to Manual mode, the flash itself changes to ETTL mode, and I cannot change this to Manual via the Mode button on the flash i.e. in my ignorance, this means to me that I cannot change the flash power via the flash itself, and only via the transmitter - is this the case? or can this be done via some settings changes?

Thanks much.
Steve.
 
Steve, this sounds weird, once they are connected properly the flash setting should change based on the controller. If you find the controller fiddly, try using the flash control menu in the camera.
 
Steve K said:
Hi all,

I'm quite new to flash photography - I have a Canon 600EX II RT plus an ST-ET-R3 transmitter.
I want to use the off-camera flash in manual mode. Is it possible to control the flash power output via the flash itself, rather than the transmitter interface?

I have the flash set to wireless slave, and the transmitter is the master. They are linked ok.
The transmitter is set to Manual mode, and I can work out how to change the flash power output using the transmitter interface, but this is fiddly and takes a few clicks/different buttons to change.
And since the transmitter interface is typically almost horizontal (place-wise, atop the camera), if my camera is set up fairly high, it can be awkward to read (especially in low light)
And the flash itself, the interface is typically vertical, and in front of me, hence easy to read, and would be a lot easier to change the power output on there, rather than the transmitter.

But with the transmitter set to Manual mode, the flash itself changes to ETTL mode, and I cannot change this to Manual via the Mode button on the flash i.e. in my ignorance, this means to me that I cannot change the flash power via the flash itself, and only via the transmitter - is this the case? or can this be done via some settings changes?

Thanks much.
Steve.
Click to expand...
It’s a ‘quirk’ of the wireless protocols is that in order to use Manual mode but allow control of the flash, the flash itself needs ETTL to be running.

Most of the time this wouldn’t be a problem, common sense says it’s easier to change the flash power from the camera position? Unfortunately in your specific circumstances this isn’t the case.

The obvious solution is to just buy a pair of dumb triggers, it means spending money, but fortunately not a lot.
 
Phil V said:
It’s a ‘quirk’ of the wireless protocols is that in order to use Manual mode but allow control of the flash, the flash itself needs ETTL to be running.

Most of the time this wouldn’t be a problem, common sense says it’s easier to change the flash power from the camera position? Unfortunately in your specific circumstances this isn’t the case.

The obvious solution is to just buy a pair of dumb triggers, it means spending money, but fortunately not a lot.
Click to expand...
It's odd that you can't just elect to put the flash into manual though (and forgo adjusting the output from the trigger). I've done this in the past with the old SB900/YN422 pairing - usually when I want them to fire at full power, and I want to eliminate any TTL shenanigans even if the group is set to manual on the trigger. I don't know if you can do this with the R3 transmitter, but another way I've solved this when my camera (and trigger) are clamped up in the air somewhere and out of reach, is to use a second flash controller to adjust the power. With the current Godox XPro triggers, this just involves putting the trigger on the camera in to "app" mode so it doesn't send any settings to the flashes - it just triggers, leaving the values to be set by the second controller. Mind you, I can imagine the cost of those R3 controllers - it may be cheaper to get a completely different flash system :p
 
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