Why did my on-camera Canon 600EX trigger another photographer’s Godox flashes?
Asked 5/13/2019
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2 answers
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At a wedding reception I was using a Canon 5D Mark III with a Canon Speedlite 600EX on camera. The lead photographer had two Godox off-camera flashes and I noticed my shots were triggering her lights, while hers were not triggering mine. I tried changing my own flash settings—E-TTL, manual, optical, radio, and channels—and even removed my off-camera flash entirely, but my on-camera 600EX still set off her Godox lights. How can an on-camera flash trigger another photographer’s system, and what setup issue likely caused this?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
7y ago
2 Answers
16
The reason you were triggering the other flashes is that the other photographer is a rookie.
She was probably using the flashes as optical slaves... bad decision.
Even if she was using a radio signal she could easily set up a different radio frequency.
It is a rookie mistake leaving the flashes as the frequency 1. Because most likely other nonprofessional photographers that happen to use the same system will not change the frequency.
Even if your flash is sending more radio signals than a neutron star... the professional thing to do, if she noticed that the flashes have been triggered by someone else is talking to the other photographers, especially if you are the second aboard.
Originally by user37321. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user37321
7y ago
0
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Most likely her Godox flashes were configured to fire from an optical slave mode, so they reacted to the light from your 600EX. In that case, your flash doesn’t need to share any Canon/Nikon compatibility, channels, or radio settings—any bright flash burst can trigger them.
Another possibility is that her radio system was left on a default frequency/channel and was vulnerable to interference, but from your description optical slave mode is the simplest explanation.
Since your on-camera flash in manual mode still triggered her lights even after you removed your own off-camera unit, the issue was almost certainly on her side, not yours.
In mixed-shooter situations, off-camera flashes should be set up carefully: use radio triggering with a non-default channel/ID when possible, or avoid optical slave mode if other photographers are shooting nearby. The practical fix is to coordinate settings with the other photographer before or during the event.
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