Inspiration strikes VS-570C for Canon WIRELESS TTL FLASH User’s Manual
Copyright © 2015 Gradus Group. Bolt and other names of Bolt products are trademarks of Gradus Group. Other product and corporate names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective holders.
Introduction Thank you for choosing the Bolt VS-570C Wireless TTL Flash. This advanced digital flash unit puts creative control in your hands with a broad range of automatic and manual features. It can be used as both an oncamera flash and an optical wireless master or slave.
Contents Overview ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 6–9 Warnings ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 10–12 Installing Batteries ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 12–14 Mounting the Flash �
Using Your VS-570C as a Wireless Master or Slave ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 31–32 Using Your VS-570C as a Wireless Master ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 32–35 TTL Master Setup ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 36 Choose the Group mode �������������������������������������������������
2 15 1 3 45 60 75 VS-570C 9 16 18 11 10 17 14 19 20 8 13 12 4 5 7 6 6 | Overview
Overview 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. Flash head Reflector panel Diffuser panel Battery compartment cover Wireless sensor (optical) Mounting foot Mounting foot lock Mode button Up button Down button Zoom position button Ready light / Test button Power switch Automatic exposure confirmation light 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.
21 22 H S 27 23 24 TTL GROUP A GROUP B 25 26 M GROUP C 32 EV+ EV- 28 8 | Overview 29 30 31
Wireless TTL Master Settings 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32.
Warnings Before using your VS-570C, please read the following safety notices carefully and thoroughly to ensure safe use, and to help prevent damage to your flash or injury to yourself or others. • Do not fire the flash at close range directly into the eyes of people or animals. This can cause damage to the retina and may even lead to blindness. • To avoid overheating and damaging your flash unit, please wait for at least 10 minutes after 20 continuous flashes at full power.
• Install batteries in the proper orientation, according to the indicator in the battery chamber. Installing batteries in the reverse orientation could cause them to leak, overheat, or explode. • Do not use or store the VS-570C in flammable conditions (such as environments containing flammable gases or liquid chemicals). This could damage the flash, start a fire, or cause an electric shock.
• Do not store or use this product at temperatures above 104°F (40°C). • Keep the metal contacts in the battery compartment clean and free of corrosion and dirt. Do not touch them with your fingers. Corrosive elements on the contacts can damage the VS-570C and prevent it from functioning properly. Contacts may be cleaned with isopropyl alcohol on a cotton swab. • Dispose of used batteries properly.
To install batteries, make sure the VS-570C is turned off and follow these steps: 1. 2. 3. Press on the battery compartment cover and slide it in the direction of the arrow to remove it. Insert batteries in the orientations indicated by the illustration inside the compartment. Replace the battery compartment cover by pressing and sliding it into place in the opposite direction of the arrow on the cover. Important! Replace all four batteries at the same time.
Mounting the Flash To mount the flash on your camera, make sure the VS-570C is turned off and follow these steps: 1. 2. Turn the mounting foot lock counterclockwise to loosen it. Slide the mounting foot all the way into your camera’s hot shoe.
45 60 3. 75 Turn the mounting foot lock clockwise until snug. Do not overtighten. 3 LOCK 45 60 75 To dismount the flash from your camera, make sure the VS-570C is turned off and follow these steps: 1. 2. 1 Turn the mounting foot lock counterclockwise to loosen it. Slide the mounting foot out of your camera’s hot shoe.
Mounting the VS-570C on the included stand: You can mount the VS-570C on the included stand in the same way you would mount it on your camera. This allows you to set the flash up on a flat surface or to attach it to a tripod head, light stand, or clamp that has a compatible 1/4"-20 screw mount. Turning On the Flash and Firing a Test To turn the flash on, simply slide the power switch to the On position. When the flash is ready to fire, the Ready light will glow red.
Extended Interface You can connect your VS-570C to an external power source or PC sync via the extended interface on the side of the flash. External power source: An external power source, such as the Bolt Cyclone Battery Pack, can greatly increase the battery life of your flash and reduce the recycle time in between flashes. Important: When an external power source is plugged into the flash, the AA batteries must still be in the flash in order for it to operate.
Using the Automatic TTL Flash Mode When the VS-570C is mounted on a compatible camera, it can set the appropriate flash level automatically, in conjunction with the camera’s through-the-lens (TTL) metering system. To use the automatic mode, mount the flash on the camera and follow these steps: 1. 2. 3. Each time you turn the flash on, it will be in automatic mode. This will be confirmed by the TTL mode indicator on the LCD.
4. Press your camera’s shutter-release button to take the picture. The Confirmation light below it will glow green momentarily to indicate that the proper exposure was attained. The aperture indicator on the VS-570C provides readouts up to f/11, in full-stop increments. The indicator will display the f-stop closest to your current camera setting. Note: The aperture setting may not appear with all cameras.
To activate high-speed sync mode on the VS-570C, press the Mode button repeatedly to cycle through the flash modes until the high-speed sync mode indicator appears on the LCD. H To turn high-speed sync on or off, press the up or down buttons. “On” will appear in the top right corner of the LCD when high-speed sync mode is activated, and “--” will appear when high-speed sync mode is deactivated.
3. Make sure the FEL indicator is showing in your camera’s viewfinder before you take your photograph. Reframe your image as desired. For more information about the flash exposure lock feature, consult your camera’s manual. Using Flash Exposure Compensation In automatic TTL mode, you can use flash exposure compensation to adjust the VS-570C’s flash output incrementally, just as you would adjust exposure with the exposure compensation function on your camera.
Using the Manual Flash Mode You can also set the VS-570C’s flash output level manually for greater creative control over your images. Seven manual settings are available: 1/1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, and 1/64. The 1/1 setting is the full-power flash, and each successive setting halves the light output. To use the manual mode, turn the flash and camera on and follow these steps: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
M Important! To access most camera-controlled flash features when the VS-570C is in manual mode, the Silent Shooting option on cameras that offer Live View must be disabled. To avoid overheating and damaging your flash unit, please wait for at least 10 minutes after 20 continuous flashes at full power. The flash will automatically shut off if it gets overheated.
When the flash zoom setting is adjusted, the position of the reflectors inside the flash head shift in order to make the angle of coverage wider or narrower. The available zoom positions are 24mm, 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, 70mm, 85mm, and 105mm. Automatic zoom control: When you turn the VS-570C on, the zoom mode indicator on the LCD will show an A to indicate that it is in automatic mode and at the default 35mm position.
Manual zoom control: To manually select a setting that corresponds to the focal length of your lens, press the Zoom button to make the M indicator for manual mode appear. Then continue to press the button to cycle through the available focal length settings. Note: Manual zoom can also be used to achieve special effects, such as using the 105mm setting with a wideangle lens to produce a vignette.
The diffuser also softens the light, providing an alternative when no surface is available for bouncing the flash (see Bouncing Your Flash on page 27). Using the Autofocus-Assist Light Camera autofocus systems can have difficulty locking onto a subject in dim light. When the ambient light level is low, the VS-570C will emit a red autofocus-assist beam when you press your camera’s shutter-release button halfway to autofocus. The camera will then be able to autofocus by locking onto the projected light.
Bouncing Your Flash Using flash to directly illuminate a subject often creates harsh, unnatural, and unattractive shadows. To avoid this, the flash can be tilted or swiveled, allowing you to aim your flash at a large white or neutral-colored surface, such as a ceiling, a wall, or a reflector. The light will bounce off of the larger surface before striking your subject to provide softer, more natural illumination. The VS-570C flash head can be tilted up at 45°, 60°, 75°, and 90° angles to the lens.
When bouncing your flash, you may need to adjust your exposure settings, since the level of light falling on your subject will be reduced. The farther away the bounce surface and your subject are, the more illumination will be reduced. Tip: Bouncing your flash off of colored surfaces can create a color cast in your images. Bouncing off of a white or neutral-colored surface will not alter the color of the light, while bouncing off of a gold-toned surface can give portraits a warmer look.
2. Pull the built-in reflector and diffuser panels all the way out of their slot in the flash head. Push the diffuser back in while leaving the reflector extended. Using Rear- or Second-Curtain Synchronization When you photograph a moving subject with a slow (1/30 second or longer) shutter speed and a flash, the flash will freeze the moving subject, and the long exposure will cause motion blur and light trails to appear in the image, especially in low light.
This “slow-sync” flash technique, also referred to as “dragging the shutter,” can be applied in two different ways: The flash can be synchronized with the camera’s shutter release so that it fires at the beginning of the period when the shutter opens, or it can fire near the end of that period. The former is called “front-curtain” or “first-curtain” flash sync, and the latter is called “rear-curtain” or “second-curtain” sync.
Using Your VS-570C as a Wireless Master or Slave The VS-570C is equipped with advanced wireless flash functions, allowing you to fire the flash remotely while still maintaining full TTL or manual control. In addition, it can be set to multiple channels and groups, giving you unlimited creative lighting possibilities.
Channels: Master and slave flash units exchange data through channels. On the VS-570C, four channels (1, 2, 3, 4) are available. You can select the channel you prefer for communication between the master and remote flash units. You can use this option to prevent your remote units from being triggered by the master unit of another photographer working with the same type of system nearby.
Setting the VS-570C as a wireless master involves pressing the Mode button to advance from one setting to the next, as well as using the up and down navigation buttons to adjust or enable the settings. The settings that you can adjust or enable are wireless master mode, master flash on/off, channel number, high-speed sync on/off, group mode, and each group’s power, ratio, or FEV. To set the VS-570C as a wireless master, follow these steps: 1. 2. Enable wireless master mode.
3. 4. Turn the master flash on or off. Choose whether you want the master flash to fire as part of the exposure. Press the Mode button so only the master flash on/off selector appears onscreen. Use the up or down navigation buttons to select on or off. EV+ EV- Select the wireless channel. Press the Mode button and use the up or down navigation buttons to cycle through channels 1–4.
5. 6. Turn high-speed sync mode on or off. Press the Mode button and use the up or down navigation buttons to select on or off. For more information on high-speed sync, refer to page 19. Choose the wireless communication mode. Choose whether to use the VS-570C as a wireless master in TTL or manual mode. Press the Mode button and use the up or down navigation buttons to select TTL or Manual. For instructions on TTL master setup, continue with TTL Master Setup below.
TTL Master Setup The VS-570C offers three wireless TTL master modes, which are ABC, A:B, and A:B+C. In ABC mode, all three groups fire at the same power output. In A:B mode, only groups A and B fire, and power output for groups A and B is set at a ratio. For example, if the A:B ratio is set at 2:1, group A fires at twice the power of group B. In A:B+C mode, all three groups fire. As in A:B mode, power output for groups A and B is set at a ratio.
Choose the Group mode. After completing steps 1–6 on pages 33–35, press the Mode button to continue to the wireless master setup screen. Use the up or down navigation buttons to cycle through the three TTL modes. ABC mode: While cycling through the three TTL modes, press the Mode button when the ABC mode indicator appears onscreen. At this point your VS570C’s wireless TTL master setup will be complete. The wireless master summary screen will appear, and you will be ready to start shooting.
A:B mode: To set A:B mode, follow these steps: 1. Choose A:B mode. While cycling through the three TTL modes, press the Mode button when the A:B mode indicator appears onscreen. 2. Set the A:B power ratio. Use the up or down navigation buttons to adjust the A:B power ratio from 8:1 to 1:8. 3. Confirm your settings. Press the Mode button to return to the wireless master summary screen. At this point, your VS-570C’s wireless TTL master setup will be complete, and you will be ready to start shooting.
A:B+C mode: To set A:B+C mode, follow these steps: 1. 2. 3. 4. Choose A:B+C Mode. While cycling through the three TTL modes, press the Mode button when A:B+C mode appears onscreen. Set the A:B power ratio. Use the up or down navigation buttons to adjust the A:B power ratio from 8:1 to 1:8. Set EV for group C. Press the Mode button and use the up or down navigation buttons to adjust EV from -3.0 to +3.0. Group C’s EV adjustment will be relative to group B’s power setting. Confirm your settings.
Manual Master Setup Wireless manual master mode enables you to remotely set independent power output for each of your slave flash groups. Flash power output is indicated onscreen as levels 1 through 8.
Manual master mode offers three modes, which are A, AB, and ABC. In A mode, all three groups (A, B, and C) fire at the same (global) flash power output. In AB mode, only groups A and B fire, and power output is set individually for both groups. In ABC mode, all three groups fire, and power output is set individually for all three groups. Choose the Group mode. After completing steps 1–6 on pages 33–35, press the Mode button to continue to the wireless master setup screen.
2. 3. Set the power output. Use the up or down navigation buttons to set the power output from 1–8. Confirm your settings. Press the Mode button to return to the wireless master summary screen. At this point, the wireless manual master setup will be complete, and you will be ready to start shooting. GROUP A EV+ EV- AB mode: To set AB mode, follow these steps: 1. 2. Choose AB mode. While cycling through the three manual modes, press the Mode button when the AB mode indicator appears onscreen.
3. 4. Set the power output for group B. Press the Mode button and use the up or down navigation buttons to set the power output for group B from 1–8. Confirm your settings. Press the Mode button to return to the wireless master summary screen. At this point, the wireless manual master setup will be complete, and you will be ready to start shooting. ABC mode: To set ABC mode, follow these steps: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Choose ABC mode.
5 1 2 H TTL GROUP A 6 44 | TTL Master Summary screen 3 GROUP B 7 GROUP C 8 4
TTL Master Summary screen 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
1 2 H 5 3 M GROUP A 6 46 | Manual Master Summary screen GROUP B 7 GROUP C 8 4
Manual Master Summary screen 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Using Your VS-570C as a Wireless TTL Slave Setting the remote TTL flash units: You can set the VS-570C as a wireless TTL slave for both the Canon and Nikon TTL systems. To set the flash unit to function as an automatic TTL slave, follow these steps: 1. 2. 3. Make sure the master flash or controller on your camera is on and set to automatic TTL mode. Select the appropriate group and channel on the master unit. Consult the master’s manual to find out how to set it.
4. 5. 6. Press the up or down buttons to select the channel and the group. The flash will cycle through channel 1, groups A through C, and then GROUP B channel 2, groups A through C, and so on. The numbers represent the channel, while the letters represent the group. C. When using a single flash, set it to the same group and channel as the master. D. When using multiple flash units, select the same group and channel for all units being used in a particular light position.
Using Your VS-570C as a Wireless Manual Flash For even greater creative control, you can set the output levels of your remote flash units manually. Using the optical slave feature, the VS-570C can be set to fire whenever it detects a signal from the master flash. This works optically—when the VS-570C “sees” another flash firing, it will instantaneously fire along with it.
Setting the slave mode: Depending on your camera and flash settings, the master flash may emit more than one burst of light in quick succession (called a “pre-flash”). Pre-flash is used to help the camera meter and/or focus, and is done automatically by the camera. If the slave flash is not set correctly, it may be triggered by the pre-flash and fire before the camera’s shutter opens.
Important! Some cameras, when set to red-eye reduction, will emit a series of quick flashes lasting a second or more. This may not work properly with any slave mode. We suggest you avoid using red-eye reduction when using the VS-570C as a slave. Positioning Remote Flash Units You can create a professional lighting setup by positioning remote units singly or in groups to function as main, fill, accent, and other lights.
meters) at both sides. These ranges may vary, depending on the ambient light. • The flash head should not be aimed directly into the camera lens. • The wireless sensors are located on the front of the VS-570C. Make sure that the sensor is facing the master flash and that there is no obstruction between the two units. • When photographing outdoors or in bright ambient light, the sensors can be overwhelmed by ambient light, which will lower their sensitivity.
Troubleshooting Problem Solution The flash is stuck in the camera hot shoe. Make sure that the mounting foot lock is released. (Page 15) The flash is turned on but won’t fire. Make sure that fresh batteries are installed and in the proper orientation. (Page 12) • The flash is set up as a wireless master, but the slave won’t fire. • The flash is set up as a wireless slave, but it won’t fire.
Problem Solution The edges of images look dark. Make sure that the flash zoom setting corresponds to the focal length of your lens. (Page 23) There’s a whining sound coming from the flash. This is normal and does not indicate a malfunction. When the flash becomes warm from continuous use, vibrations inside the unit may cause this sound. It will dissipate as the unit cools.
Specifications Type: On-camera and wireless TTL automatic and manual flash Compatible cameras: Canon EOS and G-series models, with support for E-TTL and E-TTL II flash systems Guide number (at 50mm focal length, ISO 100): 141 feet / 43 meters Flash coverage: 24mm–105mm (18mm with diffuser panel) Flash duration: 1/1,000–1/20,000 second High-speed synchronization: Yes Flash recycle time: 0.
Tilt positions: 0º, 45º, 60º, 75º, 90º Swivel range: Right 0º–120º, Left 0º–180º Dimensions: 2.5" × 3.9" × 4.7" (65 × 100 × 120 mm) Weight: 9.2 oz.
FCC notices for customers in the U.S.A. Tested to comply with FCC Standards for home or office use. FCC Statement This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.
One-Year Limited Warranty This BOLT product is warranted to the original purchaser to be free from defects in materials and workmanship under normal consumer use for a period of one (1) year from the original purchase date or thirty (30) days after replacement, whichever occurs later.
www.boltflashes.
