01. Rosalinde lit with a barefaced Cactus RF60 Speedlight triggered by the remarkable Cactus V6 trigger on my Fuji X-T1. The Cactus trigger can also work with all recent Nikon, Canon and Pentax Speedlights giving full manual control from the camera and a digital readout of the power set. These eclipse all the triggers I’ve tried previously and are a perfect tool for those photographers migrating to the Fuji X system.
On the last day of my trip to Den Haag in the Netherlands I had a fun shoot set up with my friend Nick Liburd. We shot in my hotel suite until lunchtime then ventured out into the cold for an hour or so with top model Rosalinde Kikstra. Here is a small selection of the shots we took just a few hundred meters from the hotel. Enjoy
02. The same single Cactus Speedlight was used here set at half power and at 105mm zoom. Shot using the 35mm lens on the X-T1.
03. I must admit I’m a lover of hard light. I find it a delight to use. I had to place Rosalinde carefully here to try and avoid sun splodges. The light from the Cactus RF60 is as good as any Speedlight I’ve owned. Taken with the trusty 56mm lens on the X-T1.
04. ‘Stairway to heaven’ or Out of the blue’ you choose. Shot with the 56mm lens.
05. I set up an action shot for Rosalinde. I wanted energy and her feet off the ground. The flip out screen on the X-T1 is perfect for ground shots avoiding lying in the gutter. The Fuji 14mm lens is fab for full length portraits like this.
06. A Blue Transit van was the perfect background for this classic shot. 56mm lens with a Hoya Pro x64 ND filter (6 stops). The Hoya Pro series are fantastically neutral and consistent. I use them regularly when shooting on location to allow me to use open apertures in sunlight or with flash. Unlike an SLR the viewfinder, weather EVF or LCD on the Fuji X cameras remains at perfect exposure.
Coming up: The boudoir set with Rosalinde. Probably my favourite set of hotel room shots ever. Don’t miss it here soon.
Please feel free to comment or ask questions below :)
Hi Damien, Thanks for the informative site, is it possible to fire rear curtain sync with Nikon flash Cactus V6 on the Fuji XT1
Have you try v6 high speed sync on xt1?
Hi Saleh,
Nope I’ve always stuck to 1/180th second with flash on my X-T1 and V6.
Cheers, Damien.
I just picked up the Cactus system to use on my x-t1 but cannot get the flash to fire. I can use the test button on the v6 to fire the r60 but with the transceiver on the Fuji it’s not working. Am I missing something obvious?
Hi Raffaella, Yes, On the Fuji you need to be in ‘S’ mode on the drive and with silent mode off. I hope this helps. Damien
Brilliant, that was exactly it! Thanks so much for the speedy reply – I was getting very frustrated!
Hi Damien, three questions about the Cactus. 1) can you use the flashes on E-Ttl? 2) will it work whilst using the wifi function on the Fuji XT1 and Fujifilms Camera Remote app on a mobile to take self portraits? Or will the signals get confused? 3) can I use faster shutter speeds than the fastest flash sync speed 1/180 of the xt1 camera?
Thank you for your advice.
Helen.
Hi Helen,
Cactus V6 – Is a manual mode trigger system. Yes the frequencies of flash trigger and WiFi are different so no problems there. You are limited to 1/180th second shutter speed. However we use ND filters on mirrorless cameras rather than high speed sync electronics. For instance a x64 ND filter from Hoya will get your exposure with flash from ISO 200, 1/180th second at f/11 to ISO 200, 1/180th second at f/1.4 And this is how you get super bokeh shots with mirrorless systems with flash. The screen or EVF brightness stays perfect.
I hope this helps,
Damien.
Fantastic Damien. Photo 2 (escalator and bicycle) is a killer shot!
Cheers
Paul
Thanks again Paul. I love a bike in the shot. Especially in Holland :)
Cheers,
Damien.
Whoa!! Absolutely love this set Damien and I’m looking forward to the boudoir set with Rosalinde.I particularly like the hard light from those Cacti Quick question…where did you get the Cactus gear from (especially the V6 triggers)? I’ve tried a few European dealers without success so I guess it’s the US or HK?
Hi Paul, Many thanks for your kind comments. I was sent the Cactus gear to test out ahead of release. I think you can buy them online from Asia. It’s great kit.
Exciting times for us flash shooters.
Kind regards, Damien.