Hong Kong based manufacturer Cactus Image has introduced the Cactus V6 II, a new version of the already-popular V6 wireless flash triggers, now with cross-brand high speed sync (HSS).
The Cactus V6 II is the first trigger that lets photographers control flashes from different brands while retaining HSS functionality. For instance, now it is possible for a Canon camera to trigger a Nikon Speedlight while using FP-Sync (HSS) and being still able to remotely adjust the power of the flash. And the best thing is you are not only limited to Canon or Nikon!
The V6 II transceivers support HSS with Canon, Nikon, Sony (with different hot shoe), Olympus, Panasonic, Pentax and Fujifilm cameras, although some minor limitations do apply. This a rather impressive list, and most surprising is that Fujifilm is included, although Fujifilm has not implemented a working HSS function on their cameras. The V6 II triggers are able to provide HSS support for Fujifilm cameras even though the camera doesn’t support it self yet. A different trigger will be sold for Sony cameras, named the V6 IIs, which features the latest Multi Interface hotshoe.
Besides the added functionality of HSS, Cactus also has implemented a AF assist mode on the trigger itself. Unfortunately for most mirrorless users, this AF assist mode only works on DSLRs. There is also good news for Cactus RF60 users. Those flashes have received a firmware update that gives them HSS functionality when it is used together with a V6 II trigger.
Almost all original functionality that was found on the original V6, such as the remote power adjustment and the zoom adjustment can now also be found on the new V6 II triggers. The support for older non-digital TTL flashes has been removed, meaning that the power on older speedlites such as the Nikon SB-28 cannot be changed remotely anymore.
What do you think of the new V6 II triggers? Will you be buying some? Let us know in the comments!