YN-622C II Transceiver and 600ex-rt Flash Setup firing inconsistently on cold shoe umbrella mount

Question

When using Canon 6D, with one YN-622C II placed on camera. And the other YN-622C II placed on a cold shoe mount externally and 600EX-RT Flash placed on top of that. The flash fires inconsistently or not at all.

I have to jimmy, fiddle and fool with the 2nd YN-622C II that is on the cold shoe mount to get it to fire. It seems that the "prongs" that are at the base of the transceiver might be the problem. When they are "pushed in" due to being placed on the cold shoe, it causes the flash to pop crazily on it's own, then not work at all.

I have checked and the channels are correct. It ONLY doesn't work properly when placed on the cold shoe. It DOES work when the flash is only placed on the transceiver and hand held. Do I need a different shoe mount? I need more knowledge of this.

Below are the items in question:

Transceiver: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1183034-REG/yongnuo_yn_622c_ii_e_ttl_wireless.html

Bracket with adjustable shoe: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/656152-REG/Impact_9101880_Umbrella_Bracket_with_Adjustable.html

Answer 1

It sounds as if the metal of the cold shoe might be shorting some of the pins on the foot of your YN-622C. You can try putting a piece of tape over the foot of the YN-622C, so the pins don't make contact with the cold shoe, or you could replace the coldshoe with something like a Frio, which is plastic and won't conduct electricity.

However, I use a similar combination of equipment (YN-622C-TX and YN 622C I with a 580EXII) and have never seen the problem you are describing. You may also want to make sure that the flash is seated correctly in the hotshoe of the YN-622C II--recognizing there's a flash on top should turn off the pins on the bottom.

You could also consider swapping the YN-622CII triggers for an -RT transmitter unit for the 6D's hotshoe (e.g., a Canon ST-E3-RT, Yongnuo YN-E3-RT, or Phottix Laso transmitter). This would eliminate the need for the triggers altogether, and just use the built-in transceiver in the 600EX-RT.