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Canon 550Ex X 4 Mount driven from one Phottix Odin TTL (ETTL & Remotely adjusted M) Radio Rx
(Originally uploaded 5-2-12)
It had to happen. This is 4 Canon 550Ex speedlites driven in unison from a single Odin Rx unit. It offers both ETTL and Remotely adjusted 'M' flash, with the units acting as one but controlled from the camera. That's ETTL or Remotely adjusted 'M' and either with HSS or SCS saving three receivers!
Warning: This is a non-standard configuration. I am not recommending this use of Odin receivers. If you try this, it is entirely at your own risk. This configuration does not seem to work with Canon 580ExIIs!
I stumbled across the 'Ishoot' brand of 'Dual' ETTL cable which, it seems, is unique in allowing the perfect transmission of outgoing pre-flash & flash power instructions even when in the 'piggybacked' setup, as shown. Just be careful with that stack of hot-shoe interfaces - there is some leverage with 4 in a column - I make the 'stack to speedlite' connection last. (Edit: @ 20-02-12: Although only 3 cords are strictly required for 4 speedlites, as shown, in fact I've picked up a 4th cord purely to allow the safer repositioning of the 'stack'. Now I clamp the Rx with x4 proximal cord heads directly to the stand. Tougher real world configuration.) There is a standard Manfrotto Lit-tite umbrella adaptor underneath the mount board - I would only use a strong adaptor!
This works with the on-camera Odin TCU for both TTL and remotely adjusted Manual power fractions (any one of 3 groups), still allowing normal or Second Curtain sync. I'm still testing HSS. (As at 6-02-12; I'm getting standard HSS functionality with approx 2.3 stops power drop or equivalent range reduction as HSS actually 'kicks in' - but X4 the power! Yep, at 06-04-12, HSS seems reliable.)
High frame rate shooting? This thing doesn't even break sweat. It keeps up with a 7D at 8 fps with no trouble at all - it would probably go faster. Of course, if you were near max power, you could fry some flash tubes very easily - even more so if you add X4 battery packs! But with due caution, this setup just works.
Please note this configuration uses identical speedlites - in this case, x4 550Exs. This configuration does not seem to work with 580ExIIs!
I would not recommend mixing types - and specifically I would not recommend trying to use these cords with a speedlite on one end and the Odin TCU on the other (the foot of the 'dual' cord being in the cam's hot-shoe) - there are safer ways to achieve on-axis fill!
My 'switch on' sequence invariably starts with the most peripheral/distal device(s) i.e. the speedlites and works inwards, through all the Rxs then the TCU, ending with the most central/proximal device, i.e. the camera! Same sequence for switch off.
N.B. All of this applies using 550Exs with the original release Odin firmware. Update 24-08-12: This setup still works with 550Exs and Firmware version 1.2 - Oh yes!
As you can see, as at 5-02-2012, I have not finalised the configuration of this mount as yet. With this orientation, all the batteries are accessible, as are the external battery ports. But ganging 4 identical quadruplet 550Exs, using the 'Ishoot' thingeys all from a single Phottix Odin Radio Rx, is proven.
Edit @ 06-04-12: Still proven, many hundred pops, 3 cords or 4, zero misfires - not one.
Also, see Elv's brill Odin review;
www.flickr.com/groups/strobist/discuss/72157628093126883/
Edit @ 27-05-12: 4 seems to be the limit! I managed to beg & borrow some extra 550Exs - but - things start to get unreliable above four. So you can gang four 550Exs off a single Odin Rx and maintain all usual Odin functionality including HSS, but to get to eight, you need 2 Rx units!
Now using either 'Ishoot' dual cords or 'Godox' dual cords - both work well.
(For the 550Ex Speedlite group: this was from Feb 2012, done as a proof of concept. My wife thinks that I own half the European stock of old 550Exs. She is wrong. But I do like them!)
Edit: 2-8-13: This post refers to the original hardware version 'Odin for Canon'. I updated to firmware v1.2 c August 2012. It seems that Phottix migrated to hardware type 'Odin 1.5 for Canon' some time ago.
Canon 550Ex X 4 Mount driven from one Phottix Odin TTL (ETTL & Remotely adjusted M) Radio Rx
(Originally uploaded 5-2-12)
It had to happen. This is 4 Canon 550Ex speedlites driven in unison from a single Odin Rx unit. It offers both ETTL and Remotely adjusted 'M' flash, with the units acting as one but controlled from the camera. That's ETTL or Remotely adjusted 'M' and either with HSS or SCS saving three receivers!
Warning: This is a non-standard configuration. I am not recommending this use of Odin receivers. If you try this, it is entirely at your own risk. This configuration does not seem to work with Canon 580ExIIs!
I stumbled across the 'Ishoot' brand of 'Dual' ETTL cable which, it seems, is unique in allowing the perfect transmission of outgoing pre-flash & flash power instructions even when in the 'piggybacked' setup, as shown. Just be careful with that stack of hot-shoe interfaces - there is some leverage with 4 in a column - I make the 'stack to speedlite' connection last. (Edit: @ 20-02-12: Although only 3 cords are strictly required for 4 speedlites, as shown, in fact I've picked up a 4th cord purely to allow the safer repositioning of the 'stack'. Now I clamp the Rx with x4 proximal cord heads directly to the stand. Tougher real world configuration.) There is a standard Manfrotto Lit-tite umbrella adaptor underneath the mount board - I would only use a strong adaptor!
This works with the on-camera Odin TCU for both TTL and remotely adjusted Manual power fractions (any one of 3 groups), still allowing normal or Second Curtain sync. I'm still testing HSS. (As at 6-02-12; I'm getting standard HSS functionality with approx 2.3 stops power drop or equivalent range reduction as HSS actually 'kicks in' - but X4 the power! Yep, at 06-04-12, HSS seems reliable.)
High frame rate shooting? This thing doesn't even break sweat. It keeps up with a 7D at 8 fps with no trouble at all - it would probably go faster. Of course, if you were near max power, you could fry some flash tubes very easily - even more so if you add X4 battery packs! But with due caution, this setup just works.
Please note this configuration uses identical speedlites - in this case, x4 550Exs. This configuration does not seem to work with 580ExIIs!
I would not recommend mixing types - and specifically I would not recommend trying to use these cords with a speedlite on one end and the Odin TCU on the other (the foot of the 'dual' cord being in the cam's hot-shoe) - there are safer ways to achieve on-axis fill!
My 'switch on' sequence invariably starts with the most peripheral/distal device(s) i.e. the speedlites and works inwards, through all the Rxs then the TCU, ending with the most central/proximal device, i.e. the camera! Same sequence for switch off.
N.B. All of this applies using 550Exs with the original release Odin firmware. Update 24-08-12: This setup still works with 550Exs and Firmware version 1.2 - Oh yes!
As you can see, as at 5-02-2012, I have not finalised the configuration of this mount as yet. With this orientation, all the batteries are accessible, as are the external battery ports. But ganging 4 identical quadruplet 550Exs, using the 'Ishoot' thingeys all from a single Phottix Odin Radio Rx, is proven.
Edit @ 06-04-12: Still proven, many hundred pops, 3 cords or 4, zero misfires - not one.
Also, see Elv's brill Odin review;
www.flickr.com/groups/strobist/discuss/72157628093126883/
Edit @ 27-05-12: 4 seems to be the limit! I managed to beg & borrow some extra 550Exs - but - things start to get unreliable above four. So you can gang four 550Exs off a single Odin Rx and maintain all usual Odin functionality including HSS, but to get to eight, you need 2 Rx units!
Now using either 'Ishoot' dual cords or 'Godox' dual cords - both work well.
(For the 550Ex Speedlite group: this was from Feb 2012, done as a proof of concept. My wife thinks that I own half the European stock of old 550Exs. She is wrong. But I do like them!)
Edit: 2-8-13: This post refers to the original hardware version 'Odin for Canon'. I updated to firmware v1.2 c August 2012. It seems that Phottix migrated to hardware type 'Odin 1.5 for Canon' some time ago.