Mini review: Canon 600EX-RT & ST-E3-RT
Nikolai
Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
Spent some time today playing with my new toys and reading the manuals. Granted, I'm not a speedlite expert, as most of my lighting skills share very deep roots with studio lighting and full manual setup. However, it was a perceived ease of use of this setup that made me to obtain it in the first place. So I did, and simply to make sure I didn't just waste $1,700+ for nothing I decided to put on my learning hat and took off reading/experimenting.
First off: unlike ST-E2/580EX(I/II), the new transmitter/flash are nearly identical in both "hard" and "soft" UI (user interface):
So, basically, you learn one, you know both. Huge time-saver!
Next: both "hard" and "soft" UI have been much improved. More buttons mean more things are available directly.
But not only that: rather than hitting a cryptic combination or, instead, hitting your forehead trying to remember which of the buttons has a "hidden" functionality you want if being depressed for a seemingly unpredictable long time, the new design features a 4-button menu/function system. Essentially, whatever mode you're in, the bottom part of the screen provides you with a context-specific menu:
Well, allow me to correct myself.
There is one (one!) menu item that does require a longer pressing to activate it. It's a venerable "C.Fn" item on the main menu, opening the door to your Custom and Personal Settings.
It does nothing if pressed quickly (thus giving you a strong hint you need to do something else), you gotta hold it a bit longer.
Considering these are the rather important settings that you don't really have to change all that often, I think it's a good safety measure.
Once you're in, however, the button becomes a regular button again and requires but a simple press to operate.
I don't know about you, but for me the very idea of going through the pains of setting Custom functions on the previous Canon flashes was more than enough to leave them in whatever state they were. Probably leading to the reason why I almost never used the darn thing, and if I did, it was, gulp, in fully auto mode...
Well, not anymore. Just like Canon has greatly improved the usability of 5D3 menu system, the usability of the new flash/transmitter just reached MACH1.
Here's what you see inside the Custom/Personal Functions vault instead of former set of mysterious numbers:
Needless to say, you can also control all this functionalty via 5D3 or 1D-X through thier even more convenient interface:
As I have mentioned before, the usability of the transmitter/flash has been improved by leaps and bounds.
While I did pick up some fine details from the manuals, I was able to control one/two flash units in ETTL/Manual/mixed mode, setup FEC, FEB, ratio, etc. right off the bat without even reading about it first - so easy to understand the whole thing was!
A few extras that I didn't try yet, but was pleasnatly surpsrised to learn about:
* you can trigger the master unit (camera) from one of the slave units (while keeping it in its slave mode), effectively turning it into a wireless remote. :clap
* along the same line of thought, you can set up several cameras equipped 600EX-RT/ST-E3-RT and "link" them all so they can be all triggered from one of the units, thus providing you with multiple angles/scenes at the same time
(CAVEAT: there will be a slight timing discrepancy, so technically it will not be THE same precise nanosecond, but it should be fairly close) :clap
All that with a elaborate channel (x15) /id (x9999) system, that prevents your setup being triggered by someone else, and still usabale for up to 30m/90ft :clap
All in all, while not cheap, this new generation of portable flashes/transmitters look like a great improvement over their predecessors. WTG, Canon!:thumb
First off: unlike ST-E2/580EX(I/II), the new transmitter/flash are nearly identical in both "hard" and "soft" UI (user interface):
So, basically, you learn one, you know both. Huge time-saver!
Next: both "hard" and "soft" UI have been much improved. More buttons mean more things are available directly.
But not only that: rather than hitting a cryptic combination or, instead, hitting your forehead trying to remember which of the buttons has a "hidden" functionality you want if being depressed for a seemingly unpredictable long time, the new design features a 4-button menu/function system. Essentially, whatever mode you're in, the bottom part of the screen provides you with a context-specific menu:
Well, allow me to correct myself.
There is one (one!) menu item that does require a longer pressing to activate it. It's a venerable "C.Fn" item on the main menu, opening the door to your Custom and Personal Settings.
It does nothing if pressed quickly (thus giving you a strong hint you need to do something else), you gotta hold it a bit longer.
Considering these are the rather important settings that you don't really have to change all that often, I think it's a good safety measure.
Once you're in, however, the button becomes a regular button again and requires but a simple press to operate.
I don't know about you, but for me the very idea of going through the pains of setting Custom functions on the previous Canon flashes was more than enough to leave them in whatever state they were. Probably leading to the reason why I almost never used the darn thing, and if I did, it was, gulp, in fully auto mode...
Well, not anymore. Just like Canon has greatly improved the usability of 5D3 menu system, the usability of the new flash/transmitter just reached MACH1.
Here's what you see inside the Custom/Personal Functions vault instead of former set of mysterious numbers:
Needless to say, you can also control all this functionalty via 5D3 or 1D-X through thier even more convenient interface:
As I have mentioned before, the usability of the transmitter/flash has been improved by leaps and bounds.
While I did pick up some fine details from the manuals, I was able to control one/two flash units in ETTL/Manual/mixed mode, setup FEC, FEB, ratio, etc. right off the bat without even reading about it first - so easy to understand the whole thing was!
A few extras that I didn't try yet, but was pleasnatly surpsrised to learn about:
* you can trigger the master unit (camera) from one of the slave units (while keeping it in its slave mode), effectively turning it into a wireless remote. :clap
* along the same line of thought, you can set up several cameras equipped 600EX-RT/ST-E3-RT and "link" them all so they can be all triggered from one of the units, thus providing you with multiple angles/scenes at the same time
(CAVEAT: there will be a slight timing discrepancy, so technically it will not be THE same precise nanosecond, but it should be fairly close) :clap
All that with a elaborate channel (x15) /id (x9999) system, that prevents your setup being triggered by someone else, and still usabale for up to 30m/90ft :clap
All in all, while not cheap, this new generation of portable flashes/transmitters look like a great improvement over their predecessors. WTG, Canon!:thumb
"May the f/stop be with you!"
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Nick.
my equipment: Canon 5D2, 7D, full list here
my Smugmug site: here