For my wedding work I love to use off camera lighting and am always looking for ways to streamline my lighting systems. When you are on the go at a wedding and sometimes only have 2 minutes to quickly light up a shot, you have to use a very portable lighting system. Many times at a wedding I am moving from location to location and have to setup a shoot on the fly. When Canon announced the 5D Mark III last month they also announced a new speedlight the Canon 600EX-RT. With built in radio transmitter in the flash and a new ST-E3-RT Transmitter that you can use to control the flashes it looks like Canon provided a worthy upgrade to the 580. It does come with a hefty price tag of $620 but when you factor in the cost of pocket wizards or other radio controls for your flash it really isn’t that bad of a deal.
I haven’t had the time to really put a few of these speedlights to the test yet but will be doing an extensive review as soon as I can. Along with the radio transmission there are a few other changes to the 600EX including a boost to the guide number (now at 197′ at ISO 100). Also the zoom flash head now covers a wider 20-200mm range, and the updated AF assist beam is compatible with Canon’s new 61-point High Density Reticular AF.
In the meantime I found this video that gives you a good look at what the 600EX-RT Speedlite & ST-E3-RT Transmitter can do.
The Future of Speedliting – Hands on with the 600EX-RT Speedlite & ST-E3-RT Transmitter from Syl Arena on Vimeo.
You can also check out the 600EX-RT Speedlite at B&H here: Canon 600EX-RT Speedlight.
What do you think about the 600EX-RT Speedlite & ST-E3-RT Transmitter? Overpriced for a flash, or love it? Always love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
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