Canon recently announced a new flash to their line up of photography accessories, the Canon Speedlite 600EX II-RT. A speedlite flash is very useful and a very essential photography accessory for the photographer (leisure or professional). The new multi-functional and powerful Canon Speedlite 600EX II-RT is definitely a worthy consideration for the photographer to add on to their photography setup.
For my current setup, I owned a Canon Speedlite 580EX II, it is a useful photography accessory for my photography shoot and it is an essential tool for my events photography shoot as well as strobist lighting photography shoot. The new Canon Speedlite 600EX II-RT is in my consideration and plans for an upgrade from the 580EX II to 600EX II-RT.
Let me share with you more information on the Canon Speedlite 600EX II RT from the press release information below ~
Canon announced the launch of Speedlite 600EX II-RT, the multi-functional flash is designed to meet the needs of professional users such as wedding photographers, photojournalists and studio photographers. The Speedlite 600EX II-RT offers impressive continuous firing function and ease of operation, with new features such as the battery charge level indicator. It also comes bundled with a bounce adaptor and a set of colour filters.
“The Speedlite 600EX II-RT reinforces our commitment to consistently provide innovative and effective products for our customers. With this new flash, users benefit from features that deliver quality performance, and greater usability for professional photographers.” said Edwin Teoh, Head of Marketing, Singapore Operations, Canon Singapore.
Improved Ease of Use in Outdoor Environment
With the Speedlite 600EX II-RT’s new charge level indicator on the display panel of the master flash unit, flash-readiness of both master and slave unit can immediately be recognised when shooting in radio-transmission wireless mode. When operating with multiple flash units while flash mode is set up in a group-by-group manner, the flash-readiness of each group is also displayed. In addition, the selection of flash modes and wireless modes have been improved to prevents accidental mode changes caused by an unintended operation of the mode button.
With exterior airtight sealing and dust/drip proof rubber adapter, users can also count on the reliability and durability of the Speedlite 600EX II-RT in difficult weather scenarios.
Radio Transmission for Wireless Flash Shooting
Unlike optical transmission, radio transmission is not easily affected by physical obstacles as there is no line of sight required for signal transmission. In addition, the wireless receptor of the slave unit is not required to face the main master unit. With a maximum sync distance of approximately 30m, slave unit cameras can be placed in wide physical areas and used for multi-angle shooting. Hence, the built-in radio transmission feature enables Speedlite 600EX II-RT to synchronise with multiple flashes and allows master-linked shooting with multiple cameras.
Bundled Accessories for Better Performance
The Speedlite 600EX II-RT comes with a complimentary bounce adaptor, SBA-E3, which disperses and softens the illumination of flash and suppresses shadows around the subject when shooting with the bounce flash technique. A newly-designed coloured filter set, SCF-E3, is also supplied, which helps to compensate for bluish flash illumination and optimise balance between indoor lighting and flash output.
Enhanced Compact Battery Pack
The new Speedlite 600EX II-RT compact battery pack, which is sold separately, offers a remarkable 65% more battery life[1]. It has improved reliability with better heat dissipation properties and an increased maximum continuous flash output of approximately 100 times when paired with the Speedlite 600EX II-RT.
External battery packs come in handy for heavy-duty users such as photojournalists and wedding photographers where there is a need to fire flashes in quick succession. An added convenience is being able to use AA batteries as a power source as well.
Pricing and availability
The pricing and availability of the Speedlite 600EX II-RT will be advised at a later date
[1] This is approximately 65% more than the previous battery pack.
Product Specifications
Speedlite 600EX II-RT
Guide Number (Wide Panel): 60 (15)*
Dimensions: Approx. 78.7 x 143.2 x 122.7 mm
Weight: Approx. 435g (excluding batteries)
Multi flash shooting: Radio and optical transmission
LCD Panel: 172 x 104 dot display
Power source: 4 x AA/HR6 Ni-MH batteries
*ISO 100, in meters (Approx)
*Information and picture Courtesy of Canon Singapore and Ogilvy Public Relations*