Canon Speedlite 600EX II-RT

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Let me start off by saying I have been a professional wedding/portrait photographer for the past 21 years. I have been using Canon products the entire time. I started with the 540EZ, then the 550EX, 580EX, 580EXII and now the new 600EX-RT and 600EXII-RT. Not sure what Canon did to these new 600 versions but they just do not have the staying power of the older units. I need flashes to be fast and reliable. My 580EXII"s were/are die hard workhorses. I was shooting and event and ran one of my 580s to the point the front lens melted but it kept on firing and didnt miss a beat. My flashes are always connected to external battery packs so they can recycle quickly. At the beginning of the day, these new 600s are fine if you let them rest 15 or 20 seconds at least between firing. Thats the good....the bad is once you start needing them to fire every 3 or 4 seconds, they start to fail. The original 600s would go into overheat mode and just stop working. The new version two, just stops working. It typically takes 5 or 6 seconds to recycle with a fully charged pack and fresh batteries. These units are totally unreliable. If you are using them in manual, no problem, my issue is when I am using them in ETTL. Radio triggering also no issue. I really want to love these flashes but when I really need them in a critical situation, they constantly fail. If you are a hobbyist and just shoot occasionally, these are a nice option. If you need them to work no matter what, look elsewhere. I dread the day when my 580EX IIs finally die as Canon is no longer repairing them.

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Unlike some other people I have had no problems with my 600EX II-RT. I have used it a few times a month on average for the past year often shooting thousands of shots with it in the span of a couple hours and honestly havent had a single hiccup in all that time. I use rechargeable NiMH batteries in mine and get decent recycle times. If you want faster recycle times you need to get the battery pack for it. Normally I keep it at 1/2-2/3 power at max. I tend to use mine off camera in manual mode more than TTL as well. This units radio functionality is also great either when operating as a slave or master for other flashes/strobes. All in all I highly recommend this unit.

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I have used two generations of the 430EX Canon flash and absolutely love them. I just bought and returned, to Amazon, the 600EX ii - RT flash. The LED panel is incredibly difficult to read even when illuminated. Most frustrating is the menu structure and the selection wheel which is the only method of navigating it. It takes a great deal of force to fire the test button .. so much force that if the camera is on a tripod the entire frame must be reframed. This flash, I am certain, is functionally as incredible as the 430EX series but the user interface is horrible. I was going to replace one of my 430EX iii -RT flashes with the 600EX iI-RT. I returned it to Amazon after less than a day.

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Im so disappointed with this speedlight. I purchased this on Spetember 1, 2017. Ive shot 4 weddings and an engagement using it, and two of my "old" Canon 600s (the newest of which was purchased in Feb. 2016, and both have been through numerous weddings, engagements, and seniors). During the ceremony of my wedding (shot in a dark barn) this past Friday, this speedlight quit firing. It was taking a painfully long time to recycle or "charge", as it reads on the screen. I ended up switching out to my old Canon 600EX-RT, and shot the rest of the day with it. Decided to give the 600 EX II another go for an engagement session last night, and half way in the recycle time became a hindrance. I ran home, and picked up one of my 600s, and finished up. Im going to pick up a Canon CP-E4N Battery pack, and see if it makes a difference... If not, Im retiring this speedlight, and picking up another one of the original 600s. Note: I always use Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries, as I have found that nothing else compares when it comes to juicing a speedlight.

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I had a 430 ex ii that I managed to burn out and replaced it with a Chinese version. That worked well but was never consistent. I finally had some spare cash for this beast and wow am I impressed. Ive used it on both my 7D and my 6D with the 24-105 L and also played around with my 70-200 f2.8. I am so happy with my purchase. I cant wait to try it at my local track for wheels up launches at the lights.

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So I got this yesterday for use on my Canon 7D Mark ii and Canon 5D Mark iii. LOVE IT!! Fast, fast , fast and did I mention fast. Im an event photographer and love natural light but when inside a dark club or dark festival I love me some good flash fill. To be honest Ive only used it for one gig since I just got it two days ago but it worked great at the party and cant wait to buy another to slave together for studio lights. It does recycle every 1/2 second to second using my Amazon Basic AAs lithium batteries so no complaining from me. Also syncs perfect with both the 7d Mark ii and 5d Mark iii. Ill give a newer more in-depth review after further use. It gets only 4 stars because $579.00 is SPENDY for a flash but I needed a new Canon flash and Im not buying anything that has an older version when a brand new version just came out. Cool toy for my gear.

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WOW - Shouldve bought this flash sooner! Wanted to step away from my 430EX ones and this was the best choice I ever made! HIGHLY recommended!!!

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WOW! Im blown away by how well this works. Interestingly though, it shipped without instructions of ANY KIND, not sure if thats normal but Im well versed enough to figure out how to use it. Others may have huge problems with that.

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Love the flash other than the fact that there is no battery level meter, just any indicator when your batteries are low. Lots of functions and features and it does a great job in auto for most normal circumstances with my T6i.

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I still need to learn how to manually use this flash but Ettl works great. AA batteries lasted a long time. Im happy with this purchase and would recommend it.

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