Canon 1dx Mkii with Camera Connect live view with studio strobes inconsistently firing

[JoskaPhoto]

Hello everyone! So I've seen posts dealing with separate parts of the issues I'm dealing with and haven't been able to find a clear and concise answer. What I'm trying to say is I looked! 

Issue: Strobes/speedlights firing inconsistently with canon app camera connect in live view. 

I'm a professional studio photographer and I work with this equipment everyday. I've tried to troubleshoot the issue but have come to no conclusion. It looks like its all random. Shooting outside of camera connect fires every time with no issues so I'm leaning toward the app having issues. Has anyone experienced this specific issue and/or has anyone figured out the cause? 

Thank you in advance! 

JoskaPhoto

[RobertTheFat · Accepted solution]

I admit that this is far-fetched, but it seems that you have two wireless connections going: phone-camera and camera-strobes. I wonder if the two connections could somehow be getting in each other's way. You'd think they'd be on different portions of the radio spectrum, but maybe not. If interference is the culprit, maybe moving your strobes to a different channel would help. At least it should be easy to test.

[JoskaPhoto]

Hey Rob! That would be really interesting if that's what's going on! But what I will do is hardline the camera to the powerpack just to trouble shoot and update you on the results! Thank you for responding!

[JoskaPhoto]

Rob you were right! 

So for everyone else: It looks like if you are using pocketwizards or another RF transceiver combo, the connection can be disrupted by either A. the wifi connection in general or B. the signal sent from your wifi enabled device specifically. 

Hooking the powerpack directly to the camera fixed the issue.

Though it is not entirely clear if the said transmitter on the hotshoe is failing to trigger the reciever or if the hotshoe itself is not properly triggering the transmitter