Canon 600EX-RT (Wireless) Speedlite Reviews

bloomphotog

Just picked up a couple of the new wireless Canon 600EX-RT speedlites. Here's some of my immediate thoughts.

Price
Can't ignore the elephant in the room. I must admit it felt a little crazy to be spending $1250 on two flashes! But, here's how I look at it. The PW FlexTT5 system I have been using is not compatible with the high-powered Canon flashes due to RF issues. The PW system was not entirely reliable and a 2 light wireless kit meant 6 pieces of flash related equipment(2 430II's, 2 FlexTT5, MiniTT1, AC3). The 600EX-RT system would halve the number of pieces, theoretically doubling reliability in my mind. That alone almost makes it worth the upgrade. The performance advantages are significant as well, and I will briefly address those next. When you add everything up, a 2-3 light 600EX-RT system will not run you much more that a 580EX/TTL PW system.

Performance
I love the 200mm zoom head. For off camera lighting spill control is everything, and I LOVE more control. The 200mm beam is way tighter than the 105mm beam of the 430EXII's I have been using. The wireless range is great. An easy 100ft outdoors, which means it's perfectly suited for use with my 70-200mm. I love the "Link" indicator light. If you drop the wireless connection you'll know it.

Features
The included gel kit is pretty sweet. Looks to me like a CTO and 1/4 CTO. You just slip the gels into the clear plastic holder and clip onto the front of the flash. There are a couple of eyes on the bottom of the flash head that appear to measure the color temperature of the gel and report back to the 5D3. Auto white balance will auto-adjust for whatever gel you using. Very slick. Very useful.

I'm happy to answer any questions or do some tests for my fellow Dgrinners.

Here's some iPhone snapshots of the 600EX-RT with the 5D Mark III.







Add your own review of the 600EX-RT below.

Rob Pauza

Thanks for the post. I'm glad you like them. That really is quite an investment for Speedlights, but it sure beats lugging around studio lights. That's worth a LOT. I was wondering how those gel holders work. -Pretty slick.

I'm going to purposely forget I read this or I'll be ordering some. Thanks again.

-Rob

chrisdg

Thanks for the write-up. But I'm unclear about one thing....

I currently have 3 430II's, 2 FlexTT5, 1 MiniTT1, and an AC3. I was avoiding the 580's due to that interference problem with these pocketwizards. So, are you saying that the 600EX-RT has no interference issues with the PWs?

bloomphotog

chrisdg wrote: »

Thanks for the write-up. But I'm unclear about one thing....

I currently have 3 430II's, 2 FlexTT5, 1 MiniTT1, and an AC3. I was avoiding the 580's due to that interference problem with these pocketwizards. So, are you saying that the 600EX-RT has no interference issues with the PWs?

The 600EX-RT has a built in wireless radio transceiver. Pocketwizards are a thing of the past with the 600EX-RT. I had the EXACT same setup and have switched to an entirely 600EX-RT system. Such an improvement.

chrisdg

bloomphotog wrote: »

The 600EX-RT has a built in wireless radio transceiver. Pocketwizards are a thing of the past with the 600EX-RT. I had the EXACT same setup and have switched to an entirely 600EX-RT system. Such an improvement.

ah, ok. I totally avoided reading anything about the new 600's because I didn't want to be tempted. It's already costing me a fortune to replace my 50D and EF-S lenses with the 5Dm3 and a few pieces of L glass.

So, yeah, the new 600's look really nice. Syl is very pleased with them:
http://pixsylated.com/blog/canon-600ex-rt-first-impressions/

VERY compelling to simplify things down to two or three 600s + maybe a ST-E3-RT transmitter. No more fussing with the PW setup.

However, I'm often a low-light shooter, so significant downsides for me are: (1) no rear-curtain sync, (2) no focus assist beam on the transmitter, and (3) apparently not firmware-upgradeable as features/capabilities improve. As you probably know, the PW Flex system really improved over time with nothing but free firmware upgrades.

Thanks again!

bloomphotog

chrisdg wrote: »

However, I'm often a low-light shooter, so significant downsides for me are: (1) no rear-curtain sync, (2) no focus assist beam on the transmitter, and (3) apparently not firmware-upgradeable as features/capabilities improve. As you probably know, the PW Flex system really improved over time with nothing but free firmware upgrades.

Thanks again!

I can use rear curtain sync on my 5D3, not sure about older bodies. The absence of a focus illuminator on the transmitter was a HUGE fail in my book. Incredibly useful in my book. I didn't buy the transmitter and just use a 600EX-RT on-camera. Interesting point about upgradability; would be a nice feature for sure.

chrisdg

bloomphotog wrote: »

I can use rear curtain sync on my 5D3, not sure about older bodies. The absence of a focus illuminator on the transmitter was a HUGE fail in my book. Incredibly useful in my book. I didn't buy the transmitter and just use a 600EX-RT on-camera. Interesting point about upgradability; would be a nice feature for sure.

From what I'm reading, the new Speedlite can do rear curtain sync only as a single speedlite (on-camera mode)... have you successfully had the remote units fire on 2nd curtain?

bloomphotog

Ah. I have not tried 2nd curtain on remotes. Will get back to you.

UPDATE: No rear/second curtain sync when in wireless mode.

photogreen

thanks for info. good write up!