by mkphotomedia » Tue May 08, 2018 5:17 pm
Big thing: use a pc->hotshoe trigger rather than the 1/8, and start in the most manual modes possible (since you, obviously, won't get TTL on this setup since that requires camera dedication). For reasons I can't fathom, I've never been able to get a PC->1/8 cable to work coming off either my P45 or my IQ160. If someone has a recommendation for one that works, please share as I'd love to know. Just about every PC->hotshoe adapter I've used has worked a treat (at the cost of a somewhat less positive mounting setup on my Cambo WDS).
Couple of possibilities:
1. If you can fire the 600's with power control successfully on your TT5's and your Canon gear, it should work on your Phase gear as well. (I run a small coterie of 550/560EX's this way, with the AC3 power control widget). That combo works fine for me. If you don't have an AC3 (yet), put the TT5's into Basic Trigger Mode and the flashes into manual, and control the flashes off the flashes themselves.
2. As for the ST-E3-RT, I bet this is a ST-E3-RT-expecting-TTL-and-not-getting-it problem. A hotshoe adapter might get your around this if the ST-E3-RT can be put into manual mode. If you have a bunch of 600EX's, try the Yongnuo transmitter. Since you'll be shooting your speedlights in mono anyway, that's reported to give you manual power control on Sony bodies, which also means you'll very likely get manual power control off your Phase as well.