Master unit in flash system

The master is the unit that triggers the other flashes (slaves) to go off. As a master unit you may have dedicated speedlite transmitter or speedlite flash with Master mode. It is common that higher-end speedlites support master mode, either optical or radio master mode.

Besides genuine Canon or Nikon speedlites, there are also flashes of other brands that can act as a master unit in Canon and Nikon wireless flash system. We will mention just few of them. Yongnuo YN568EX II supports optical master mode for Canon wireless system. Pixel X800C Pro and X800N Pro support both optical and radio master modes, as well as Godox TT685C and TT685N. Meike MK910 for example supports only optical master mode for Nikon CLS system.

There are numerous speedlite transmitters which act as master units in the wireless flash systems. Yongnuo YN-E3-RT, YN622C-TX, YN622N-TX, YN560-TX wireless transmitters are capable of controlling flashes as well – therefore acting as the Master. Pixel King Pro, Godox X1C and X1N also act as master units. On the contrary, the slaves are a group (or groups) or flashes controlled by the master unit.

Below is the list of all speedlite flashes and wireless triggers/commanders that can act as master units.