Canon has a new top of the line speedlite. It is slightly more powerful, has built-in
radio control and works with on-camera menus if
you have a new Canon camera.
Based on the internet response, these units will be best sellers.
The euphoria is somewhat justified. Digital Cameras have made multiple flash
photography less difficult. The internet
has made it easier to learn how to control them well.
1 Radio is more reliable. Previous generations of Canon's top line
speedlites used pulses of light to communicate their remotes. Canon users have been begging for radio
control for years.
2 The new 600EX-RT is only $100 more than the 580EX
II and have radio control built in. It
costs over $200 to add a Pocket Wizard to the 580EX II so if you want radio
control you are already saving over $100.
3 The Pocket Wizard and 580EX II needed to be
connected. This added extra steps and
weight and contributed to communication problems.
To sum it up, the 600EX-RT is cheaper, lighter, more
powerful and more reliable than the flash it replaces.
What isn't there to like?
1 I no longer automatically assume that Canon
products are developed with the photographer in mind. It's obvious
that the 600EX-RTwas designed to put Pocket Wizard's share of the market dollars
into Canon's wallets. They are
engineered to make every generation of Pocket Wizard obsolete. Unfortunately, this attack on Pocket Wizard
means that the new speedlites will not work as well with any of the older Canon
cameras or flashes. Canon cut off their
nose to spite their face.
2 Canon's previous speedlite - the 580EX II was an
engineering disaster. It leaked so much electromagnetic
radiation other nearby devices were not able to use their assigned portion of
the spectrum.
3 Many of the 580EX II speedlites had a manufacturing
defect that caused them break when certain features were used. Canon
never took responsibility for this defect.
Hopefully the 600EX-RT is more reliable.
4 Canon has a flat rate for may repairs regardless
of the difficulty of the repair. The 600EX-RT
has more features to break. If the built-in radio transceiver develops
problems, a Pocket Wizard would have been much cheaper.
Earlier this year, I purchased several used 550EX speedlites
and Pocket Wizard Flex TT5 units to trigger them. The 550EX is nearly as powerful as the 600EX-RT. It doesn't leak electromagnetic radiation and
is considerably cheaper. Unlike the
600EX-RT, the 550EX works with all my Canon cameras.
Pocket Wizard is in serious trouble. On one side they have big corporations like
Canon trying to sabotage their market share.
On the other side, they have Chinese manufacturers making cheap copies
of their products.
I hope that the 600EX-RT lives up to the hype. Canon users have patiently waited for a
better flash. I'll wait a little longer.
