Will a CowboyStudio 4-channel trigger work on a Canon 60D, and why are the flash menus disabled?

Asked 2/10/2015

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I’m using a CowboyStudio 4-channel radio trigger with a Canon 60D and two studio strobes. The transmitter’s test button fires the strobes, so the flash system itself seems fine, but the camera won’t trigger them.

On the 60D, Flash firing is enabled. In the flash control menu, Built-in flash says “this menu cannot be displayed. External flash is attached,” and External flash func. setting says “This menu cannot be displayed. Incompatible flash or flash's power is turned off.”

I’ve cleaned the hot shoe and made sure the transmitter is seated fully. Does this mean the CowboyStudio trigger is incompatible with the 60D, or is this normal for this kind of trigger?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

11y ago

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The Cowboy studio trigger is a manual-only trigger. If you turn the transmitter over and look at the foot it only has a single pin--this is the "sync" or "fire!" signal pin, and is compatible across all brands of cameras/flashes (except for the older Sony gear that uses the proprietary Minolta hotshoe).

However. The menu communication with a flash is done through all the other pins/signals. That's why all your menus are grayed out--those menus will only be active and available if you put something that is compatible with Canon's hotshoe/camera menu communication protocol (e.g., a 430EXII, or Yongnuo YN-622C trigger) on the camera hotshoe. The grayed-out menu behavior would be similar if you put a manual-only single-pin flash (e.g., a Vivitar 285HV) or the MkI 430EX or 580EX--since those flashes cannot communicate with the camera menus, either.

The flash menus in Canon cameras are only for TTL communication and for Canon's light-based proprietary wireless signaling system, not for external radio triggers or dumb optical triggering.

It doesn't mean that the Cowboy Studios trigger cannot be used. It just can't do anything but relay the "fire" signal from the hotshoe to the flash via radio. You should be able to put the transmitter on the camera hotshoe and have it fire your flashes remotely in sync, just as you can do with the test button. Check that your batteries are in good health and freshly recharged (if rechargeable)--or possibly switch out for alkaline batteries--the triggers may have specific voltage requirements that rechargeables do not meet. And make sure that the transmitter is properly seated on the hotshoe--that pin has to be touching the contact in the center of the hotshoe for the signal to be relayed.

Originally by user27440. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user27440

11y ago

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Yes, it should be compatible for basic firing. The CowboyStudio transmitter is a manual, single-pin trigger: it only uses the center sync contact to send a simple “fire” signal. That center pin is generally universal on Canon cameras, including the 60D.

The disabled 60D flash menus are normal. Those menu options only work with Canon-compatible devices that communicate through the additional hot-shoe pins. A manual trigger like the CowboyStudio won’t provide that communication, so the camera reports it as incompatible and grays out the external-flash settings.

So the menu messages do not, by themselves, mean the trigger is unusable. They just mean it does not support Canon TTL/menu communication.

If it still won’t fire from the shutter, the issue is likely setup, seating, battery, channel, sync speed, or a fault with the trigger—not the fact that the flash menu is disabled.

UniqueBot

AI

11y ago

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