p.3 #2 · Canon Speedlite 600EX II-RT Discontinued / New EL-5 announced
In the 100-300 lens thread there's a tangential discussion:
jtford9 wrote:
What are you using on the “sub-100” side of a graduation event? Personally, I bit the bullet for the RF28-70 and I really like having the RF85 1.2. That’s enough weight right there so I can’t imagine adding anything heavier than the RF70-200 2.8 on the longer side.
JimmyJames wrote:
Assuming I am shooting a handshake/diploma handoff, I have a 24-105mm f4 on an R5 as my primary with the 24-105mm STM on an RP as a backup. These have 600EX-RT flashes in them with a bracket.
A second R5 will be a 24-70mm f2.8 pre/post ceremony and I can drop on the 16mm f2.8 if I need wide shots or overview that need more than the 24 will deliver. I'll often change to the 70-200mm f2.8 for the ceremony (but that will change with the new 100-300mm f2.8).
On the R3, I put on big glass. It was the 400mm f4 DO II which is very light and compact. I still have that lens but when I got the 200-400 f4, I loaned it more than I used it. Now I will use the 100-300mm f2.8 on the R3. I did just get the new EL-5 to add to that combo too.
I routinely shoot with long glass at commencements to get tight shots of graduates and the stage party/speakers. I usually work with other photographers that typically don't have as much gear as I carry and they are lucky to have a 70-200. As a team, we are shooting to sell images and sometimes shooting PR for the university for a photo book too. The long glass allows me to get a lot of images of both grads and PR.
I also own the RF 100-400 (yes, I have GAS) and it is a surprisingly solid lens. If you have plenty of light, it is very useable and of course very light.
And as rscheffler mentioned: I can get much tighter compositions and backgrounds that better show the context of the event. I'm also not moving around as much at the front near the podium and causing a visual distraction. ...Show more →
I'm curious how you will use the EL-5, I assume, on a bracket? The newly announced Canon off-camera flash cord? Or via Canon's RT system? Otherwise the problem seems to be that most hot shoe mounts don't allow a straight passthrough and won't accommodate the longer multifunction shoe of the EL-5...
p.3 #3 · Canon Speedlite 600EX II-RT Discontinued / New EL-5 announced
Not who you’re replying to, but they do say they got the EL-5 for their R3, which has the newer shoe. rscheffler wrote:
In the 100-300 lens thread there's a tangential discussion:
I'm curious how you will use the EL-5, I assume, on a bracket? The newly announced Canon off-camera flash cord? Or via Canon's RT system? Otherwise the problem seems to be that most hot shoe mounts don't allow a straight passthrough and won't accommodate the longer multifunction shoe of the EL-5...
p.3 #4 · Canon Speedlite 600EX II-RT Discontinued / New EL-5 announced
Yeah, just wondering if he plans to use it directly on the R3 or like his other cameras on a bracket. If on a bracket, I'd like to know how he will attach it due to the new shoe design.
p.3 #5 · Canon Speedlite 600EX II-RT Discontinued / New EL-5 announced
Hadn’t even thought about potential bracket issue going forward.
What kind of attachment is there on the new cords??
I’ve got two older (I think discontinued) RRS flash brackets that I’ve had for a long time and use for almost all my flash photography. It would really suck if I can’t use them once I get the R5 replacement. For now I’m okay, as I can use the older off shoe extension canoes with the EL1, and R5. But that probably won’t be possible in the future.
rscheffler wrote:
Yeah, just wondering if he plans to use it directly on the R3 or like his other cameras on a bracket. If on a bracket, I'd like to know how he will attach it due to the new shoe design.
p.3 #7 · Canon Speedlite 600EX II-RT Discontinued / New EL-5 announced
Has anyone used the ST-E10 with the EL-5 yet? It's cheaper than the cord but I have read some bad reviews, granted they're likely with speedlites other than the EL-5 since it just came out. I have an R6ii and just got the EL-5 and like to do off camera flash for macros etc, and am considering the ST-E10...
p.3 #8 · Canon Speedlite 600EX II-RT Discontinued / New EL-5 announced
khurram1 wrote:
Hadn’t even thought about potential bracket issue going forward.
What kind of attachment is there on the new cords??
I’ve got two older (I think discontinued) RRS flash brackets that I’ve had for a long time and use for almost all my flash photography. It would really suck if I can’t use them once I get the R5 replacement. For now I’m okay, as I can use the older off shoe extension canoes with the EL1, and R5. But that probably won’t be possible in the future.
The new cord appears to only have the multifunction connection and no 'traditional' pin connections in the shoe, which would mean it's only compatible with the new cameras and flash.
One option would be to wirelessly control the flash off-camera, but here it will also depend on the design of the shoe on the bracket or stand. The multifunction shoe is longer than the traditional shoe design and may prevent the flash from fully seating. I've also found that Canon's RT system has become a lot less reliable with Canon-brand speedlites as receivers, so am more reluctant to use them in wireless configurations (though off-brand products operating on the RT network seem to have remained stable - see my comment below).
benz240 wrote:
Has anyone used the ST-E10 with the EL-5 yet? It's cheaper than the cord but I have read some bad reviews, granted they're likely with speedlites other than the EL-5 since it just came out. I have an R6ii and just got the EL-5 and like to do off camera flash for macros etc, and am considering the ST-E10...
Not yet. I was thinking of this as a lower cost option and also saw the reviews. I suspect it's not the ST-E10 but something with Canon's wireless hardware on the receiving end of the set up. In the last year I've had poor reliability with my 600EX-RT units as remotes, but at the same time, my Phottix Laso receivers (now discontinued) that also operate on the same Canon RT network, have been as reliable as always and as reliable as the Canon 600s used to be. In the last couple years something has changed in the general urban electromagnetic environment that is bedeviling Canon's RT network. There was another thread or two on this forum some time ago about this problem. At first most discredited the poor experiences of the OP, but more have since experienced similar problems (including me).
p.3 #9 · Canon Speedlite 600EX II-RT Discontinued / New EL-5 announced
Used my EL-5 the other late afternoon. I thought it was perfect to bring a flash because it's so hazy here with the smoke from the forest fires. Man, I'm so impressed by the fast recycling times. I hardly missed a shot when I intended to use the flash. In a few shots I whipped out the Gary Fong Lightsphere Collapsible V5 but it was really too tight because of the bigger head of the EL-5 vs. my 580 EXII. I took a lot of shots and still end up with 40% battery power left.
Here are some of my faves:
Canon EOS R6m2EF35mm f/1.4L USM lens35mmf/1.41/5000s100 ISO-0.7 EV
Canon EOS R6m2EF35mm f/1.4L USM lens35mmf/4.01/250s100 ISO0.0 EV
Canon EOS R6m2EF35mm f/1.4L USM lens35mmf/2.51/1250s100 ISO-0.7 EV
Canon EOS R6m2EF35mm f/1.4L USM lens35mmf/1.41/4000s100 ISO-0.7 EV
p.3 #10 · Canon Speedlite 600EX II-RT Discontinued / New EL-5 announced
I used mine on a job today. Lots of bounce flash inside a very large atrium style room with 2-storey floor to ceiling window-walls on two sides, two white walls and white ceiling. Depending on exposure setting and amount of direct sunlight outside, at times the flash was outputting near full power, but kept going pretty well. Head did feel a bit warm to the touch at one point, but can't really say if I experienced any gradual slow-down with recycling times. By the end the info panel indicated an equivalent of 296 full power pops with 27% capacity remaining.
Also used it as a master for a couple 600EX-RTs and that all worked. It was nice to have C1 saved for group multi-flash control so I didn't have to fiddle with the setup. The slaves worked fine, but I had them controlled by Phottix Laso receivers that work on the Canon RT network, rather than use the 600's internal radios because of all the problems I've had recently with dropped connections. Will have to test this more in non-critical conditions.
p.3 #11 · Canon Speedlite 600EX II-RT Discontinued / New EL-5 announced
Well I took the plunge and bought the ST-E10 transmitter thinking it would work seamlessly with the EL-5. And it is very easy to link the flash, but as many reviewers have lamented, it drops this link again and again within 2-3 minutes of being established. I am literally doing nothing during that time, and the camera/transmitter and flash are within inches of each other. Even if I'm shooting, I will notice within a couple of minutes the flash stops firing, and the green link LED is out. The only way to re-establish the link is to turn both the flash and the transmitter off and on again. Literally unusable. It seems from other reviews that Canon may be aware of this but they need to initiate a recall if it's this bad.
p.3 #12 · Canon Speedlite 600EX II-RT Discontinued / New EL-5 announced
Could you try putting everything in a microwave (of course don't turn it on) to see if the green link LED stays on indefinitely? If the same thing happens - the link is dropped - then it's certainly a problem within the system. If it doesn't, then it would imply external interference.
In the other thread(s) there was speculation that something in the last 1-2 years changed in respect to RF interference. Canon's RT system used to be pretty much rock solid - I've shot hundreds of events without problem, but that was pre-pandemic. Once events picked up again in 2022, I started to see the same dropped connections others complained about.
As I've mentioned, I can make the Canon RT system work correctly, but only if I use a discontinued Phottix Laso receiver instead of the 600EX-RT's internal receiver to control the flash.
p.3 #13 · Canon Speedlite 600EX II-RT Discontinued / New EL-5 announced
I haven't been shooting much with on-camera flash lately, so the EL-5 hasn't been used for about a month. I've kept the batteries stored separately from the flash because it appeared there might be a slow drain if left in the flash. But checking the batteries today, just before putting them on the charger for an event tomorrow, and they're both at 68%. So ~30% self-drain in about a month.
I'm curious why this is happening with the LP-EL batteries but doesn't seem to be the case with my LP-E6NH camera batteries...
