Is the Stroboss Series Multi-System?
Can Stroboss 60 flashes work across different camera systems? Peter Bielack tested Canon, Nikon and Olympus bodies with several Quadralite flashes to find out.
Have you ever wondered whether Stroboss 60 flashes can work across different camera systems? Peter Bielack decided to test it.
Is Stroboss 60 multi-system?
Imagine a joint photo session where one photographer uses Canon, another Nikon and a third Sony or Olympus. Everyone owns a Quadralite Stroboss 60, but each unit has a different dedicated hot shoe. Can they still share flashes off-camera in TTL?
The important point is that this test concerns off-camera flash (OFC). A flash mounted directly on the camera should always be the version dedicated to that camera system.
Preparing the multi-system test
The general question was: will a Stroboss 60 made for one camera hot shoe, for example Nikon, work in TTL when triggered by another system such as Canon, Sony or Olympus?
The short answer is yes. Off-camera, Stroboss 60 can work in TTL with different systems as long as the camera carries the appropriate Navigator X transmitter.
The test used:
Three cameras:
- Canon 6D,
- Nikon D7100,
- Olympus E-M1 Mark II,
each fitted with the appropriate Navigator X2 transmitter.
Quadralite flashes:
- Stroboss 60 N,
- Stroboss 60evo C,
- Stroboss 36 F,
- Reporter 200 TTL,
- Atlas 400 PRO TTL.
Reporter 200 TTL and Atlas 400 PRO TTL are multi-system by design and served as reference units.
Shooting Stroboss 60 in TTL
The main light was a Hexadecagon 90 deep parabolic softbox with two diffusion layers, mounted in an S-holder on an Air 275 stand. A Reporter 200 TTL with barn doors and coloured gels lit the background through a glass wall.
The flashes were swapped one after another and tested in TTL with each camera. Histograms were compared after every frame. Stroboss 60 worked correctly with all three tested systems. Exposure differences between cameras were small – roughly 1/3 to 2/3 EV at most. The example below shows an Olympus E-M1 Mark II with Navigator X2 MFT triggering a Stroboss 60evo C.
Photographs and backstage
After completing the technical combinations, the team made regular photographs and experimented with different positions, lighting arrangements and coloured gels.
What about Stroboss 36?
Stroboss 36 is not fully multi-system in TTL. A Stroboss 36 F, for example, requires a compatible Fujifilm system for automatic TTL operation. It will not provide TTL with Canon or Nikon.
In manual mode, however, the flashes triggered correctly across the tested systems. HSS also worked correctly with Stroboss 36 F on the tested cameras, illuminating the full frame evenly.
Conclusions
When triggered, Stroboss 60 even shows which system sent the command – for example “Nikon” or “OLPS”. The Navigator X2 transmitters were also used in “multi-photographer” mode, useful when two photographers share the same lighting but use different power settings.
The practical conclusion is that Quadralite's radio ecosystem makes it much easier for photographers using different camera brands to share off-camera flashes. Testing your own equipment remains the best way to understand how a setup behaves.
Equipment used
- Atlas 400 PRO TTL
- Reporter 200 TTL
- Stroboss 60evo C
- Stroboss 36 F
- Navigator X2 C
- Navigator X2 N
- Navigator X2 MFT
- Air 275 stand
- Quadralite 200 stand
- S-holder
Text and photographs – Peter Bielack