THOUGHTS ON THE NEW CANON SPEEDLITE 600EX-RT AND THE NEW CANON ST-E3-RT
Hi everyone! My Thoughts and findings on the new Canon flash and Controller
Just want to share some info for Canon users and the new Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT and the new Canon ST-E3-RT Transmitter with relation to the pocket wizards FlexTT5 and the miniTT1.
I purchased the new flash for my recent event but I did not buy the transmitter. I used the new flash on my TT5 pocket wizard. I had the flash off camera and was controlling the flash with the miniTT1 and the AC3 controller on camera. For the most part it functioned well but I remember there being a few miss fires which is one of the canon flash issues when using the Pocket Wizards. This is why they supply the little body bag (what I call it) for the flash unit when it sits on a TT5 Pocket Wizard.
A few days after the shoot I was culling my images and discovered that I had missed more than a few moments because of misfires. (I have my camera set on one shot to give the flash some cycle time.) I decided to upgrade and ordered the new canon controller ST-E3-RT. I received it yesterday (Jan, 31st) and began testing and using it immediately. Below is a quick synopsis of my findings.
My short Findings: (The bad stuff)
The controller cannot trigger the pocket wizards due to the different frequencies. I called the Pocket Wizard tech support and verified.
The controller cannot trigger your older flashes, such as the 580 or 580 II.
My short findings: (The good stuff)
The controller works really well with the new flash system and the controls are exactly the same as on the flash. Very long range..
It allows you to power down the flash when on manual, down to 1/128th of second. The Pocket Wizards only powers down to 1/64th.
BONUS: I found that if you place the new Canon controller on top of the miniTT1 it will act as a AC3 controller and control your new flash plus the your old flashes on the TT5 pocket wizards at the same time. Interesting........
It's a little bulky on top on the camera with the miniTT1 and the new Canon controller but just wanted to mention that it worked. You can control each flash independently of each other in manual mode.
I hope Canon comes out with a TT5 type of receiver for the older flashes to make them compatible with the new system. Those will sell like hot cakes!
Hope this helps and thanks for stopping by, Rick.
Comments
I started trying different scenarios until i found that if I placed the pocket wizard tt1 mini atop my camera in the hotshoe and placed the canon st-e3 rt transmitter on the tt1 mini, the canon transmitter became the same type of equipment as the ac3 controller atop the tt1 mini. By doing this it actually controlled not only the 580's on the tt5 pocket wizards but it also controlled the new canon 600 flash. I was able to independently control the three flashes manually or TTL.
As good as that sounds the top of the camera was too bulky with the tt1 mini and st-e3-rt transmitter on the hot shoe. I sold all of the pocket wizards and 580 flashes and bought two more canon 600ex-rt speed lights and never looked back. I absolutely love the set up. I now own three canon 600EX-rt speed lights and they work flawlessly with the Canon transmitter.
Hope that helps. If you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask.
Rick Garcia, Wedding and Portrait Photographer based in the Riverdale area of the Bronx, New York serving all 5 boroughs and the adjoining counties.
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