Need help setting up flash units

[Satyaa]

Hi. In the past (DSLR world) I used only one on-camera flash with a reflector card, on rare occasions.

I now have three flash units for use with my GH bodies. My end goal is to use TT350 on-camera, and two TT685ii units on stands. Right now, I am testing them using the test button on the TT350. It's not working as desired. I am looking for suggestions. This is my setup.

I can't describe how I got to these setups; I followed YT videos and after some trial-and-error, I got these settings.

1 TT350[O] - Group is [A], Channel is 11, flash is turned off on left top (I understand this is for trigger only). The radio icon and M on the left bottom side indicate it's in master mode.

2 TT685ii[O] - Radio icon and M on the left top, Channel 11 and Group A. Between the channel and group there is an RX, which I understand is receiver mode. Right below that there is a bold OFF.

When I click the test fire button on TT350, it fires itself, doesn't trigger the TT685. What am I doing wrong?

I want to set up the second TT685ii the same way once the settings above work.

Happy to provide any other information. I am not sure what is relevant and what's not. Thanks.

 

[Gato Amarillo]

I think you have group A (the 685) turned off on the 350 master. On the 350 set A to the mode you want for the 685.

The 350 itself is Group M - so set Group M to Off if you do not want it to flash. The 350 may flash when you press the test button but should not when triggered by the camera.

See if that helps.

Gato

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[daddyo]

I don't have the Godox flashes you have, but it sounds like you're saying your 685 receiver mode is OFF, and it needs to be ON -- otherwise it will not get the signal from your 350. Now what I don't know is whether you turn that on from the 685 unit, or if it is controlled at the 350 unit.

Someone on here is doubtless more knowledgeable than I am with the Godox system. I have a Yongnuo YN560 manual set up I really like as it's a very uncomplicated system to use.

 

[Satyaa]

I think you have group A (the 685) turned off on the 350 master. On the 350 set A to the mode you want for the 685.

The 350 itself is Group M - so set Group M to Off if you do not want it to flash. The 350 may flash when you press the test button but should not when triggered by the camera.

That's what I am unable to figure out. The manual and videos say that the M next to the radio icon at the left bottom means it is in 'Master' mode. I didn't think of it as group M.

There is '[A]' right above it, and channel 11.

I will try to take a photo of the two screens with my pone and post here.

See if that helps.

Gato

Thanks.

 

[Satyaa]

I don't have the Godox flashes you have, but it sounds like you're saying your 685 receiver mode is OFF, and it needs to be ON -- otherwise it will not get the signal from your 350. Now what I don't know is whether you turn that on from the 685 unit, or if it is controlled at the 350 unit.

I was able to change that bold OFF to something else like 1/128 but it still doesn't fire.

I will try to take photos of both screens with my phone and post here.

Thanks

Someone on here is doubtless more knowledgeable than I am with the Godox system. I have a Yongnuo YN560 manual set up I really like as it's a very uncomplicated system to use.

 

[john isaacs]

Hi. In the past (DSLR world) I used only one on-camera flash with a reflector card, on rare occasions.

I now have three flash units for use with my GH bodies. My end goal is to use TT350 on-camera, and two TT685ii units on stands. Right now, I am testing them using the test button on the TT350. It's not working as desired. I am looking for suggestions. This is my setup.

I can't describe how I got to these setups; I followed YT videos and after some trial-and-error, I got these settings.

1 TT350[O] - Group is [A], Channel is 11, flash is turned off on left top (I understand this is for trigger only). The radio icon and M on the left bottom side indicate it's in master mode.

2 TT685ii[O] - Radio icon and M on the left top, Channel 11 and Group A. Between the channel and group there is an RX, which I understand is receiver mode. Right below that there is a bold OFF.

When I click the test fire button on TT350, it fires itself, doesn't trigger the TT685. What am I doing wrong?

I want to set up the second TT685ii the same way once the settings above work.

Happy to provide any other information. I am not sure what is relevant and what's not. Thanks.

When the master flash is showing group A, then those settings are controlling the slave group A. If the off symbol is showing, that means group A is turned off. So, your remote flash will not fire.

When the flash shows group A, press the MODE button to set group A to OFF, TTL or M. The TEST button will fire group A if it is set to TTL or M.

To turn off the master flash, press the GR/CH button until the flash shows group M, then press the MODE button to change the mode of the master flash to OFF, TTL or M.

When you add another flash, you can set it up in group B. Then press GR/CH on the master flash until it shows group B, and press the MODE button to set group B to OFF, TTL or M.

If you set a group to TTL, you can press the SET button, which will cause the exposure compensation (EC) setting to flash. Rotate the dial around the SET button to increase or decrease EC, and press SET again to set the EC. If EC is set, it will be displayed when the group is selected.

Here's a rundown on the TT350 controls, in the order I use them for setup.

SYNC button:

- Long press to select Master/Slave mode, control dial to set to M or S

- Short press to turn high speed sync ON/OFF

SLAVE button:

- Long press to select channel number. Make sure everything is on the same channel

- Short press to change group. When Master, this changes group to be controlled. When Slave, this changes group the flash is in. Master flash is always group M, Slave flash is never M.

MODE button:

- Long press to turn Multi mode ON/OFF

- Short press to change set mode to OFF, TTL or M

ZOOM button:

- Long press to enter settings menu

- Short press to set zoom. When pressed, the zoom setting will flash (default is auto AU). Rotate the control dial to change setting, press ZOOM or SET button to set the flashing value.

You might want to explore using a TT685ii on camera as well; it adds the TCM feature which allows you to use TTL on an initial exposure, then turn that into Manual mode at the same power for consistently repeated exposures. Great for focus bracketing or when your subject is moving about and you don't want exposure values changing.

And the Nano controller is now available for Olympus/Panasonic. Very small remote that has TCM as well. Well sized for the smaller cameras.

 

[Satyaa]

Thank you for the detailed instructions. I will give it a try after I get home.

The controls are different between the TT350 and TT685 (to be expected due to their features) but that is adding to my confusion.

Thanks.

 

[VanskeligBrukernavn]

A good alternative is using the Godox X2T flash trigger. It expand the possibilities.

 

[Gato Amarillo]

I think you have group A (the 685) turned off on the 350 master. On the 350 set A to the mode you want for the 685.

The 350 itself is Group M - so set Group M to Off if you do not want it to flash. The 350 may flash when you press the test button but should not when triggered by the camera.

That's what I am unable to figure out. The manual and videos say that the M next to the radio icon at the left bottom means it is in 'Master' mode. I didn't think of it as group M.

There are several places where an M can show up. It can be confusing.

You are correct about the M in the bottom left - that's the radio setting for the flash. M is what you want.

The letter or symbol at left side of top row indicates the mode set for the 350, which can be Off, TTL, or another M for Manual. Then between these two, center row left, is where you make the group settings -- it will show group letters A,B,C, or M in brackets - in this case Group M is your 350, the Master.

The group is where you are seeing the [A] -- That's the letter for the group you are controlling, A being your 685. Use the mode button to set that to what your want for the your 685. You probably want either TTL or Manual, which is another M -- not OFF.

(The OFF on the 685 will disappear when you make the change on the 350)

Then use the Group button to move from A to M (in Master mode the 350 will always be Group M). Now you can set the 350 to OFF if you do not want it to flash, or to the flash mode you want.

(To make it more confusing, when set to OFF the 350 will flash from the test button, but will not when triggered by the camera.)

You probably want your second 685 to be Group B. So set that 685 to B and you can use the 350 to set the Group B Mode and power.

This is the 350 panel showing Group A (in your case the 685) set to Manual and 1/2 power

Top row: M for Manual. Middle row [A] for group A and 1/2 for half power. Bottom row M for radio Master (In TTL mode the + or - compensation settings show instead of power level.) The smaller M in the box is manual zoom settings.



This is the panel showing Group M -- the 350 -- set to OFF

Top row is symbol for Off. Middle row [M] for Group M, the 350 Master.

There is '[A]' right above it, and channel 11.

I will try to take a photo of the two screens with my pone and post here.You need to see M where you see the A. Press the Group button to step through the groups to M

There are at least 3 places where you may see an M - at the top left where it indicates Manual mode, at the bottom where it indicates the flash is in Master mode, and in the middle left where it indicates M group, again for Master.

See if that helps.

Gato

Thanks.

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[Satyaa]

If this doesn't work, then I will get a trigger. Thanks

 

[Satyaa]

Thank you, John and Gato for detailed instructions and the screenshots. What you said about M appearing in three or four places each with a different meaning was throwing me off. I did not think that the flash off icon at the left top was related to the group, which is probably why it did not trigger the slave.

Here're my new settings.

The 685 in slave mode. I notice that the screen of this unit is usually a light blue color but when in slave mode it turns to yellow/orange. That helps me understand what mode it is in. It is now set to RX, Group C and Channel 11. The [A] at the top relates to "Auto Zoom" mode.

There is a lock icon on right side of the circular dial. Can I lock the current settings when I am happy with it, and unlock again when I need to change something?

The 350 is in master mode, indicated by radio icon and an M in the left bottom corner.
Group is C and Channel is 11.

When I test fire, it only fires the 350, not the 685.

Thanks

PS: Next I will swap these two units between master and slave, then try between the two 685 units.

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[Satyaa]

I swapped the TT350 into slave mode, same Channel 11 and Group C.

I put the second TT685 unit into master mode, Channel 11 and Group C (the first unit is turned off).

When I test fire the TT685, both TT685 and TT350 fire.

Now I turned on the first TT685. When I test fire the second TT685, it only triggers the TT350. The first TT685 that's in slave mode does not fire.

I turn off the TT350. Now only the master unit fires. The first TT685 in slave mode does not fire.

Clearly, the first TT685 has something going on.

I spent few minutes digging through the menus to match the two TT685 units.

It turns out the one that didn't work had an ID = 99 in the menu. The working unit had it turned OFF.

Now The TT350 works as trigger and both TT685 units fire in slave mode.

The other thing I have yet to figure out is how to stop the master unit from firing. I want only the slave units to fire.

Some more experiments to do but thank you all for the inputs to get me to this point.

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[john isaacs]

Thank you, John and Gato for detailed instructions and the screenshots. What you said about M appearing in three or four places each with a different meaning was throwing me off. I did not think that the flash off icon at the left top was related to the group, which is probably why it did not trigger the slave.

Here're my new settings.

The 685 in slave mode. I notice that the screen of this unit is usually a light blue color but when in slave mode it turns to yellow/orange. That helps me understand what mode it is in. It is now set to RX, Group C and Channel 11. The [A] at the top relates to "Auto Zoom" mode.

There is a lock icon on right side of the circular dial. Can I lock the current settings when I am happy with it, and unlock again when I need to change something?

The 350 is in master mode, indicated by radio icon and an M in the left bottom corner.
Group is C and Channel is 11.

When I test fire, it only fires the 350, not the 685.

Thanks

PS: Next I will swap these two units between master and slave, then try between the two 685 units.

When you change mode for group C on the 350, does it change on the 685? Also, try changing EC in TTL mode or power in M mode; it should change on the 685 as well.

If it doesn't change, then check the menu (C.Fn) whether ID is set on the 685.

By the way, you have a 685II, not an original 685.

 

[Satyaa]

Yes, TT685ii[O].

Yes, the ID=99 in the menu turned out to be the main problem.

Once I got them to work, I locked both the 685 units. Hopefully, I don't need to touch anything again.

Thank you.

 

[Satyaa]

My original problem is solved. I found the problem setting in the menu and all your instructions helped.

My new question is, sometimes I do not want the master unit to fire, just the slave units.

Is there a way to stop TT350[O] from firing in master mode? It should only trigger the slaves.

I thought that's what the manual explained but I got something wrong.

Thanks.

 

[Gato Amarillo]

My original problem is solved. I found the problem setting in the menu and all your instructions helped.

My new question is, sometimes I do not want the master unit to fire, just the slave units.

Is there a way to stop TT350[O] from firing in master mode? It should only trigger the slaves.

Yes, but it only works when the 350 is triggered by the camera -- it will always fire on the test button. At least that's how my older 350 works.

Find Group M on the 350 and set it to Off - the cancel icon on top left. Now try with the flash on the camera triggered by the shutter button.

I thought that's what the manual explained but I got something wrong.

Thanks.

 

[Satyaa]

My original problem is solved. I found the problem setting in the menu and all your instructions helped.

My new question is, sometimes I do not want the master unit to fire, just the slave units.

Is there a way to stop TT350[O] from firing in master mode? It should only trigger the slaves.

Yes, but it only works when the 350 is triggered by the camera -- it will always fire on the test button. At least that's how my older 350 works.

Find Group M on the 350 and set it to Off - the cancel icon on top left. Now try with the flash on the camera triggered by the shutter button.

PERFECT!

Thanks again. I will check this when I set up the slaves on stands and try with the camera.

I thought that's what the manual explained but I got something wrong.

Thanks.

Thank you.

 

[john isaacs]

My original problem is solved. I found the problem setting in the menu and all your instructions helped.

My new question is, sometimes I do not want the master unit to fire, just the slave units.

Is there a way to stop TT350[O] from firing in master mode? It should only trigger the slaves.

I thought that's what the manual explained but I got something wrong.

Thanks.

The 350 will fire if you press the TEST button, no matter what mode it is in. But if you set the mode to off, it will not fire on camera.

As far as I know, there is no way to change it. It works the same with other Godox flashes (my 685 and 685ii both have the same issue).

Which is an issue if doing manual flash with Godox flashes. I hold my hand in front of the flash when setting power levels in manual mode. But it's just better to use a trigger if you want the flash off.

 

[Satyaa]

Yes, thank you.

I did not realize the difference between pressing the test button and using it via camera shutter release button.

If that works with camera, that's good for me.

Thanks.

 

[alcelc]

IIRC Godox TT350 is optically controlled off camera only, hence should be on slave and Auto mode, not TTL supported.

Not sure about the 6XX model.

IIRC you might need a Godox Remote Trigger (a TX?) instead of using TT350 as the master.