eos m6 mkii - no wireless flash control

Please correct me if I'm wrong - I can't find a setting that would let me fire my Canon Speedlite off camera with the camera and EVF electronic viewfinder attached to the hotshoe.

Any thoughts - the built in flash is generally insufficient for daylight fill flash unless you are really close to the subject.

I usually do street portraits up close with a speedlite - and would like to do that with the M6 AND EVF and external flash. -

Thoughts??? - and thanks

Maybe I misunderstood, but I thought that most Canon speedlights were optically (wirelessly) triggered, and your built-in flash should be able to do this ?

Of course, how and where you mount the external speedlight to receive the optical signal may be an issue.

Colin

Only M5 or M50 can do that, when you mount EVF on M6, there is no hotshoe left to mount flash or radio trigger like ST-E3-RT, use LCD for composition with flash then, this has been addressed by other members who are still waiting for M5mkIi to be able to use EVF with flash.

NYCArthur wrote:

Please correct me if I'm wrong - I can't find a setting that would let me fire my Canon Speedlite off camera with the camera and EVF electronic viewfinder attached to the hotshoe.

Any thoughts - the built in flash is generally insufficient for daylight fill flash unless you are really close to the subject.

I usually do street portraits up close with a speedlite - and would like to do that with the M6 AND EVF and external flash. -

Thoughts??? - and thanks

The only option seems to be using a passive slave flash triggered by the internal flash light. This gives no control
Very strange by Canon. I really hope it is wrong or that Canon can solve this huge problem.

Does the M6 II not have Optical Master mode in the flash settings?

It uses the built-in flash to trigger other canon speedlites but it isn’t dumb. I believe you can set power and ETTL and everything as long as it is the Canon Speedlites or Speedlites with the Canon Optical Slave feature such as Yongnuo 600EX-RT.

I would be surprised to hear that this camera does not have an Optical Master mode for external speedlites. Especially since it has a mechanical shutter.

ken_in_nh wrote:

DavidArmenPhoto wrote:

Does the M6 II not have Optical Master mode in the flash settings?

It uses the built-in flash to trigger other canon speedlites but it isn’t dumb. I believe you can set power and ETTL and everything as long as it is the Canon Speedlites or Speedlites with the Canon Optical Slave feature such as Yongnuo 600EX-RT.

I would be surprised to hear that this camera does not have an Optical Master mode for external speedlites. Especially since it has a mechanical shutter.

This is what the manual says:

Thank you. So the M6 II indeed does have smart Optical Master Control for any speedlights that have the Canon Optical Slave feature, and it uses its own internal flash to trigger the speedlights.

DavidArmenPhoto wrote:

ken_in_nh wrote:

DavidArmenPhoto wrote:

Does the M6 II not have Optical Master mode in the flash settings?

It uses the built-in flash to trigger other canon speedlites but it isn’t dumb. I believe you can set power and ETTL and everything as long as it is the Canon Speedlites or Speedlites with the Canon Optical Slave feature such as Yongnuo 600EX-RT.

I would be surprised to hear that this camera does not have an Optical Master mode for external speedlites. Especially since it has a mechanical shutter.

This is what the manual says:

Thank you. So the M6 II indeed does have smart Optical Master Control for any speedlights that have the Canon Optical Slave feature, and it uses its own internal flash to trigger the speedlights.

No, M6ii has no built in master control, those settings are available when you mount external flash on camera hotshoe, that post is misleading.

NYCArthur wrote:

Please correct me if I'm wrong - I can't find a setting that would let me fire my Canon Speedlite off camera with the camera and EVF electronic viewfinder attached to the hotshoe.

This is why I waited for Panasonic to release the G3 when I went mirrorless instead of getting a GX1. I needed a viewfinder that didn't take up the hotshoe, because I like to shoot Strobist and I prefer to have an eye-level viewfinder when I do it.

If you're using the hotshoe for the viewfinder, you can't use it to trigger flashes and vice versa.

Any thoughts - the built in flash is generally insufficient for daylight fill flash unless you are really close to the subject.

Maybe try to find a TTL cable that has a passthrough hotshoe, or give up using the EVF (maybe waist-level shoot with the flip-up LCD?).

Radio triggers, like a Godox X1T or X2T, probably aren't going to work for the viewfinder, since they tend not to actually do passive passthrough of all signals, but do some manipulating to the flash signalling. Still, you could try it and see.

ken_in_nh wrote:

kli wrote:

Maybe try to finda TTL cable that has a passthrough hotshoe, or give up using the EVF (maybe waist-level shoot with the flip-up LCD?).

This won't work. Canon added a row of tiny contacts to the hotshoe in order to connect to the viewfinder. I doubt any third party is going to extend these contacts.

Figures.

Why all the concern about in camera control of remotes? You can easily set the remotes manually.

I don't think it's concern, more a note that when you have the convenience of remote control, you become loathe to give it up. It's a pain to have to have to repeatedly rip open some modifiers to reach in and adjust a light's power and then seal it up again.

And sometimes it's not always that easy. If, say you've placed flash a long distance away, very high up on a stand/clamp, outside a window, or some other place that's not easily accessible, it's just a lot nicer to have remote control. Not everybody's light is standing easily accessible a few steps away with the controls easily visible and accessible.

And, once you get to three or more groups, it's just nice to have group control over all the lights from where you're standing, especially the ability to turn the groups on and off.